 Download Data From NCDC Archive
The Archive of WSR-88D NEXRAD Radar Data is stored on the NCDC Robotic Mass Storage System, commonly known as the Hierarchical Data Storage System (HDSS).
Data is available from 1991 to 1 day from present.
The data is easily accessable with the
NEXRAD Inventory Search tool.
This tool allows users to view the data completeness and download data.
The ordered data is ready for use with the
NCDC Java NEXRAD Viewer and Data Exporter.
Each order may contain up to 24 hours of data at a time for a single site.
NEXRAD Inventory Search: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/nexradinv/
The data may also be ordered from the
NCDC HDSS Access System (HAS) web page .
This is a better option for users
needing large amounts of data in the tar archive format. Up to a week of
data for multiple sites may be ordered.
A 5-Minute HAS Tutorial is available to
guide users downloading nexrad data.
NCDC Mass Storage System (HAS):
http://has.ncdc.noaa.gov
The NEXRAD sites may be viewed in 3D Earth browsers (such as Google Earth) using this KML file:
nexrad.kmz (8KB)
Visualize Radar Data
Downloaded Radar Data is in a unique digital binary format. Special software must be used to visualize the data. Several free visualization and analysis products are available for download.
NCDC Radar Software
The NCDC Java NEXRAD Viewer is Java(TM)-based software which visualizes
WSR-88D Level-II and Level-III NEXRAD Radar data from the NCDC Archive.
The Java NEXRAD Data Exporter allows the export of NEXRAD data to common
scientific formats such as Shapefile, Arc/Info ASCII Grid and more.
Unidata Software
The Integrated Data Viewer (IDV) from Unidata is a Java(TM)-based software framework for analyzing and visualizing geoscience data. The IDV brings together the ability to display and work with satellite imagery, gridded data, surface observations, balloon soundings, NWS WSR-88D Level II and Level III Radar data, and NOAA National Profiler Network data, all within a unified interface.
NSSL/CIMMS Software
The Warning Decision Support System -- Integrated Information (WDSS-II) is the second
generation of a suite of algorithms and displays for severe weather analysis, warnings
and forecasting. Extensive C++ API, 3D analysis, data mining, real-time algorithms and
storm tracking capabilities. Linux platform only.
Decode Radar Data
Downloaded Radar Data is in a unique digital binary format. Special software must be used to decode the data. Several free (and currently supported) decoders are available for download.
Check out this example "easiest cross-platform solution".
NetCDF for Java ( code example )
The NetCDF-Java library implements a Common Data Model (CDM), a generalization of the NetCDF, OpenDAP and HDF5 data models. The NetCDF-Java library is a 100% Java framework for reading netCDF and other file formats (including NEXRAD) into the CDM, as well as writing to the netCDF-3 file format.
NWS Software (WSR-88D C.O.D.E.)
CODE is an algorithm development environment for the WSR-88D radar, written in the C language. CODE contains the software and guidance required to create the algorithm development environment on an Intel PC running Red Hat Enterprise Workstation Linux.
- CODE provides a 'clone' of a WSR-88D Radar Product Generator on a workstation which can run existing and user-created algorithms by ingesting WSR-88D Archive level 2 data.
- A secondary use of CODE: studying past weather events by ingesting Level 2 data obtained from the NCDC Web site and creating products for analysis.
NCDC Radar Software
The NCDC Java NEXRAD Viewer is Java(TM)-based software which visualizes
WSR-88D Level-II and Level-III NEXRAD Radar data from the NCDC Archive.
The Java NEXRAD Data Exporter allows the export of NEXRAD data to common
scientific formats such as Shapefile, Arc/Info ASCII Grid, Gridded NetCDF and more.
NSSL/CIMMS Software
The Warning Decision Support System -- Integrated Information (WDSS-II) is the second
generation of a suite of algorithms and displays for severe weather analysis, warnings
and forecasting. Extensive C++ API, 3D analysis, data mining, real-time algorithms and
storm tracking capabilities. Linux platform only.
Real-Time Radar Data
Real-Time Level-III images and data are available from the National Weather Service.
Real-Time Level-III data may be downloaded from:
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/tg/rpccds.html.
Real-Time Level-III images are available at:
http://www.crh.noaa.gov/radar/national.html.
Other Real-Time Level-III
Radar Images may be found at NCDC's List of External Radar Resources.
Level-II data is also available in real-time. Please read the
NOAA Press Release
for more information.
Storm Events Database
The Storm Events Database provides descriptive information about severe
weather events beginning in 1950. This tool can be used to search for severe
weather events such as tornados, hurricanes, floods, lightning and hail. The
Storm Events Database can aide in the search for interesting and/or event specific radar data.
Storm Events Database:
http://www4.ncdc.noaa.gov/cgi-win/wwcgi.dll?wwEvent~Storms
Storm Data Publication:
http://www5.ncdc.noaa.gov/pubs/publications.html#SD
Virtual Globe (KMZ) Archived Severe Weather Warnings
The Virtual Globe Archived Severe Weather Warnings is a collection of daily and monthly
KMZ/KML files containing the polygons and/or counties of Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm,
Flash Flood and Special Marine Warnings produced by NOAA's National Weather Service (NWS).
These warnings may be loaded and animated in Google Earth.
Archived Severe Weather Warnings
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