One of the most used apps on my phone is the weather radar app, RadarScope and following the theme of this week, being severe weather, RadarScope is my “Pick of the Week”.
I discover RadarScope a couple of years ago when it was becoming more and more possible to find real time weather apps for mobile devices. RadarScope provided me with real time weather radar and adjustable settings. Now, after two years of using the app it seems that this will be a resource I will use for years to come.
One of the most obvious features of the RadarScope app is the detailed radar imagery available on the app. Within the settings, you can adjust between Composite Reflectivity, Classic Reflectivity, and Basis Reflectivity—using 4 different tilt settings. Each setting of Reflectivity or Tilt provides the observer with different view and angles of the individual storms. The only drawback I find is that there is no option to overlap different radars. This would be helpful when a storm is moving into another radars. The app is designed as a single source radar app. In addition to the different settings, there are similar setting for wind velocity—which is helpful in understanding the El Paso winds, particularly in the spring.
A favorite feature of mine is the notification icon at the top of the screen. This icon alerts me to the different weather statements around the country. By tapping the icon, the app will take me to a list of all those statements and by clicking on the statement, the app will send me to the current weather picture for the area described. This is very helpful when I am tracking different tornado outbreaks or other large weather events.
There are many other features that I have not discussed, RadarScope is a great app to keep on your phone if you are interested in what the weather is doing above you. As always, do not take this information alone—make sure that you monitor the National Weather Service and Local Media for the current forecast.