Rain total, 1 hour
Last hour
Latest
All the rain of the last hour, in inches: the quickest way to see where the downpours are falling now.
.0112 in
Live radar / Rain total, 24 hours
Rain in the last 24 hours, radar total
Over Citizen station GW0114, North Carolina, where the map opens. The whole country
The rain of the last 24 hours, in inches: where the heaviest totals of the day fell, and which ground is soaked. How to read it.
The rings are the storms the radars detect, the larger ring a severe one; each line runs to where its storm will be in an hour if it keeps its present speed and heading. Rotation and hail are what the radars detect and the analysis measures, not warnings: the official watches and warnings in force are drawn on the map in their own colours and set out in full under Alerts.
What the last day map shows
The rain of the last 24 hours, in inches. The map to read after a storm: where the heaviest totals fell, and which ground is soaked. Played, it shows the rain gathering where the storms pass.
How to read it
- Under 0.25 in
- Light rain.
- 0.25 to 1 in
- A soaking rain.
- 1 to 3 in
- Heavy rain; low ground and small streams flood.
- Over 3 in
- Flooding likely; over 6, major flooding.
What it is for
- Read after a storm: where it rained hardest, town by town.
- See which ground is already soaked before the next storm comes.
- Judge whether rivers below will rise in the days ahead.
How it is made
The totals are added up from the radar’s own estimate of how hard it is raining, a new one every two minutes, corrected against the rain gauges that report through the hour. Snow counts as the water it melts to. Each frame of a loop is the total to its own hour, so the swaths of rain move as it plays.
A frame each hour, played as a loop of 6 hours to 3 days. As data: /radar/now.json?show=p24h, the times of its frames.
In the Field Book
- Flash floodFB-EVT-100
- WSR-88D radarFB-INS-005
Over a state
AlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareDistrict of ColumbiaFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
With it
Severe AlertsWeather by stateForecast accuracyInstrument atlas
Beside it
Rain total, 48 hours
2 days
Latest
The rain of the last 48 hours, in inches: a slow storm, or two in a row, added up across the country.
.0112 in
Rain total, 72 hours
3 days
Latest
The rain of the last three days, in inches: a long storm whole, and the totals that lead to river flooding.
.0112 in
Forecast total
Rain total
For
All the rain forecast from now to each frame, in inches: the week’s rain adding up, and where it builds highest.
.0112 in