Thunderous direction finder online. The only one in Belarus. The Minsker tracks lightning all over the world. Online thunder map - specifics of network services

They say that nature does not have bad weather. Nevertheless, thunderstorms and rainstorms outside the window can spoil many of our plans, bringing inconvenience and discomfort to our lives. Trying to predict the weather for a particular period, we turn to the services of network services that offer an online weather forecast. Most often, we are interested in the forecast of thunderstorms and precipitation, and below we will analyze which services will show us a thunderstorm map online, and how to work with them.

Online thunder map - specifics of network services

The network has a sufficient number of resources offering users an online thunderstorm map. These resources are free, have a regularly updated dynamic map, and are often based on a volunteer movement. The built-in Russian-language interface makes working with them convenient for the Russian-speaking user.

Working with them will not create any problems even for beginners. The home screen has a convenient text menu that allows you to switch between various forms display of weather (thunderstorm, hail, wind, rain, clouds, snow, temperature, etc.). Using the mouse or the search function, you will need to find the desired geographic region on the map, and turn on the weather display form that interests you at the moment.

When registering on such resources, you receive additional bonuses: informing about the change in the weather in a particular region, the opportunity to participate in the volunteer movement, fresh news from the resource, and so on.

Let's take a look at the network services that provide an online thunderstorm map.

Blitzortung.org - online volunteer meteorological project

Blitzortung.org is a thunderstorm and lightning detection network based on many VLF receivers scattered around the world. The number of stations with such receivers is more than 500, data from them are sent to computer servers, where the information is processed, summarized, and transmitted to the Blitzortung. Almost all people employed on this resource are volunteers working on a voluntary basis. The project has a popular child implementation hosted on the lightningmaps.org resource.

The resource is available at ru.blitzortung.org. To get information about weather and thunderstorms, you can use either a general map of the world, or select a specific continent or region on the left. Archive data for the date requested by the user is available in the menu at the top.

Windy.com - map of winds and thunderstorms online

A fan of kites, helicopters, and jet planes, Czech millionaire Ivo Lukacovic created the Windy.com rainfall and thunderstorm map in 2014 as part of his home entertainment web programming. Since then, the project has overgrown with a significant meteorological base, agreements have been reached with a number of similar projects ("Meteoblue"), the staff has been replenished with qualified programmers, Android has been launched and iOS version resource. GFS and NEMS were chosen as the main weather prediction models. There is also support for the Russian language.

1. Run windy.com, on the left in the search bar, fill in the name of the region you need, and on the right, select the option "Rain, Thunderstorm".
2. Below you can switch between the forecasting models "ICON", "ECMWF" and GFS.
3. In the very bottom line, you can see how the weather will change for the next 10 days.

Weather from Yandex online

Yandex operates in many digital fields, and the weather service was developed by Yandex for quite some time. Yandex weather service makes it possible to switch between the forms of displaying precipitation, lightning, temperature, wind, pressure, thunderstorms and even the concentration of pollen in the air (which will be useful for allergy sufferers). Here you can view the weather forecast for the next 3 hours at intervals of 10 minutes, as well as for the next 10 days and a month.

Log in to yandex.ru/pogoda, in the search bar, enter the name of the desired settlement, at the top, select the "Precipitation" option.

Ventusky.com - allows you to view the movement of thunderstorms in real time

The Ventusky project was created by the Czech meteorology company InMeteo together with two enthusiasts - Moisik and Prantl. The name of the resource comes from the Latin "ventusky", which translates as "wind". The specified resource provides fairly accurate meteorological indicators, displaying weather changes around the globe. The service operates on a variety of weather indicators (precipitation, lightning, cloudiness, wind speed and gusts, atmospheric pressure, thunderstorms, humidity, etc.), and is considered one of the most popular resources of this plan.

1. Go to ventusky.com, in the search bar, select the region you want, and the weather display form on the left.
2. At the very bottom, you can view the weather forecast for the near future.
3. A click on the "App" button will give you the opportunity to download the mobile application of the same name to your smartphone.

Rainviewer.com - private project map of a domestic enthusiast

The founder, inspirator and implementer of the Rainviewer project is the Russian programmer Aleksey Schastlivny, who developed the rainviewer.com storm website and the corresponding mobile applications. Precipitation Map aims to provide its user with the most accurate precipitation map by collecting and organizing information from radars around the world. The site systematically scans the sources of radar information, processes and systematizes them, and then issues information to the map posted on the resource.

1. When you go to rainviewer.com, you will see a map that scrolls with the mouse.
2. By clicking on the "Play" button at the top you can track the latest changes in the weather.
3. And the "Options" button will allow you to customize the display specifics.

Conclusion

The resources listed above are of the highest quality, allowing you to display a map of thunderstorms in real time with a good level of graphic component. I would especially recommend paying attention to the resources of Windy, and Ventusky - their capabilities are appreciated by professionals and enthusiasts of meteorology around the world.

Thunderstorms and lightning are a very exciting sight if you watch them from afar, for example, via the Internet. Here are some online services that will help you assess the scale of the disaster and not get wet.

Lightning maps

The same data as in the previous service, combined with Google maps. You can, for example, watch how lightning strikes on your street or approaching your dacha.

Windy

Animation with wind speed and direction - you can watch in real time where it is windiest now. The warmer the shade, the stronger the wind.

Sat24

How the clouds have been moving for the last two hours can be clearly seen in the animation made from satellite images.

Yandex.Weather

Yandex service can show where it is raining right now, how strong it is and what will happen in the next two hours. True, this map does not work for all of Belarus - you can watch precipitation online only in the Mogilev, Vitebsk and part of the Gomel regions.

Radareu

This map shows the radar reflectivity of the atmosphere - essentially the amount of precipitation. Minimum (blue) - clear weather, maximum (red or burgundy) - heavy hail and snow. New data comes in every 10 minutes, you can watch an accelerated animation over a period of half an hour to six hours.

There are numerous services that provide comprehensive information about thunderstorm activity in a specific area in real time.

As a rule, such services have very accurate information.

Online services can monitor thunderstorms around the world, or in any particular country. But the essence does not change from this.

The user receives accurate and up-to-date information about all weather anomalies.

By the way, there are also maps of winds, clouds and other things, implemented according to the same principle.

However, it is most critical for the user to know when to expect a thunderstorm and how strong it will be. So you can be safe and postpone the planned events.

Content:

Services providing such information

At the moment, there are quite a few online services that provide a map of thunderstorms in real time. But not all of them can meet the user's needs.

Therefore, you need to choose the best ones.

All of the above services are capable of informing the user about thunderstorm fronts to one degree or another. Many of them provide other information as well. Now we need to analyze all these services in more detail.

Blitzortung.org

Probably the most popular online service for getting up-to-date information on thunderstorms.

With its help, you can track the thunderstorm front around the world. This service works exclusively on the bare enthusiasm of users.

It is users who collect information about weather conditions around the world and analyze it.

The project itself only summarizes the collected information and provides it in the form of a visual image that is updated every second.

The service can also display lightning. Moreover, there is a classification.

The lightning just captured is shown in white. And in red, those that have long been noticed and registered.

The resource is capable of providing information about storms. Again, data on these weather events is provided exclusively by users from all over the world. This is probably the reason for the high accuracy of the service forecast.

• always accurate and up-to-date information;
• there is a Russian language;
• graphic display of lightning;
• processing information from multiple sources;
• the opportunity to participate in the creation of a map of thunderstorms;
• no advertising content;
• no need to pay for information;
• pleasant design;
• quick change of the picture when weather conditions change;
• you can see the forecast for several days.

• was not noticed.

User reviews

Users believe that this particular online service can be called ideal. Especially people like the colorful display of lightning.

Moreover, it is good that there is a system for ranking lightning by the age of limitation. For many users, this is relevant.

No matter how strange it may sound, we could not find a single negative review about this service.

Yes, it is not very good at predicting the weather for a certain number of days, but it is intended for something completely different. And the service fulfills its main task one hundred percent.

The service will not only inform about the onset of thunderstorms, but also predict the direction of the thunderstorm front.

Video:

Windy.com

Service of displaying weather conditions in a particular area in real time.

It was created by Czech developers and can provide weather alerts around the globe. Also can display a map of lightning and thunderstorms.

However, this service is “tailored” for displaying the weather. Therefore, he shows thunderstorms not very reliably.

Nevertheless, advanced algorithms for analyzing incoming information do their job. The information is provided comprehensive.

Several information sources are used to display the required information.

However, users cannot influence the quality of the provided data in any way. This is a proprietary system. With all the ensuing consequences.

The service has a very convenient control system. It allows you to choose both the location and the type of data provided.

You can also find out an approximate weather forecast for 30 days. However, you shouldn't really trust him.

• a colorful map of weather conditions in a specific area;
• wind map;
• thunderstorm map;
• the ability to get an approximate forecast;
• lack of advertising content;
• all information is absolutely free;
• the presence of the Russian language;
• intuitive interface;
• pleasant design;
• fast service work;
• monitoring of changes in weather conditions in real time.

• inaccurate display of thunderstorms;
• not very accurate forecast for 30 days;
• sometimes you have to manually search for a location.

User reviews

The vast majority of users are satisfied with the service.

This resource is especially praised by those who need to find out all the features of the weather on the ground, and not just the possibility of thunderstorms and showers. The high accuracy of the data is noted in this case.

Nevertheless, the Internet community is massively complaining about the unstable operation of the service.

Very often the resource is unavailable. The administration blames competitors for everything. But how everything is in reality is unknown.

This service is also suitable for monitoring thunderstorms. But in the relevance of information, it is noticeably inferior to the same Blitzortung.org.

Eustormmap.com

This resource helps to track thunderstorms and storms throughout Europe. However, the rest of the locations are inaccessible.

But there are even sound notifications about the impending storm. This is what makes the service attractive.

But there is one "but": the information is highly questionable in terms of reliability.

This project is proprietary, and the developers do not share about the source of the data. Nevertheless, the service is actively used.

Especially beautiful pictures not in the design, but the interface is well thought out and replete with graphs, dots and other necessary attributes. You can choose a specific location and see what is happening on it in a given period of time.

The service works pretty quickly. The algorithm for analyzing incoming data inspires confidence. However, there are complaints about service failures in a particular location.

And many would like to see a colorful display of the area, and not boring "contour maps".

• advanced data analysis algorithm;
• thoughtful and intuitive interface;
• possible weather forecast for 90 days for the selected location;
• thunderstorm map;
• display of lightning;
• no advertising content;
• pleasant design;
• from locations only European areas;
• temperature map;
• flexible settings.

• information requires verification;
• not always correct display of the location;
• lack of Russian in the interface.

User reviews

It should be noted that this service is used exclusively by residents of the European continent. And positive feedback is heard only from them.

They note the fast work of the resource and a clear picture of the weather conditions of a particular location. The display of thunderstorms also pleased many.

However, there are also negative reviews. There are at least several known cases when the service was wrong in its predictions.

And not only in thunderstorms and storms, but also in ordinary weather forecasts. Therefore, some users do not recommend using it.

Nevertheless, Eustormmap.com is still successfully operating and has regular customers.

If you need to quickly view the weather situation in real time, then this resource is quite suitable.

Lightningmaps.org

This service is almost an exact copy of the above described Blitzortung.org. Moreover, this resource uses the weather data of this particular service.

Therefore, thunderstorm maps are usually accurate and comprehensive here.

The interface painfully resembles Blitzortung. This is not surprising. After all, the resource is executed on the same engine.

The feature set is exactly the same. There is also a display of lightning. And the classification of these celestial phenomena is exactly the same.

The service can provide an accurate weather forecast for 10 days. This is a pretty good option. It is also possible to track thunderstorms, storms and just rains around the world. Since the data is taken from another resource, there is no reason to doubt their accuracy. After all, they are accurate there.

It is not entirely clear why this service was created. Probably in order to unload Blitzortung.org.

After all, due to the influx of users, it is experiencing serious overload.

If so, then the developers have failed. Lightningmaps has a very sparse customer base.

• use of data and data analysis algorithms Blitzortung.org;
• intuitive interface;
• simple and pleasant design;
• ten-day weather forecast;
• display of lightning in real time;
• high data accuracy;
• flexible interface settings;
• various locations;
• no advertising content;
• fast work in any conditions;
• alerts in case of a sharp change in weather conditions;
• proven service engine.

• there is no Russian language in the interface;
• insufficiently colorful picture;
• emphasis on lightning, not thunderstorms.

Today, July 11, a strong thunderstorm awaits most of Belarus. Rain will pass, hail and strong winds are possible. Forecasters have announced an orange level of danger.

Lightning is a very exciting sight if you watch them from afar, for example, via the Internet. Here are some services that will help you assess the scale of the disaster and not get wet.

Blitzortung

Data on each discharge recorded by weather stations. Information appears almost immediately - with a delay of six seconds. The white mark here is the area of ​​the registered fresh discharge. The redder - the more time has passed after.

Lightning maps

The same data as in the previous service, combined with Google maps. You can, for example, watch how lightning strikes on your street or approaching your dacha.

Yandex.Weather

Yandex service can show where it is raining right now, how strong it is and what will happen in the next two hours. True, this map does not work for all of Belarus - you can watch precipitation online only in the Mogilev, Vitebsk and part of the Gomel regions.

Minsk resident Viktor Barchenko knows exactly where and when a thunderstorm will begin in the world. He is the first and so far the only person in Belarus who has assembled a lightning direction finder - a receiving station for determining the coordinates of atmospheric discharges, registered on the Blitzortung.org online service. The owner himself spoke about why an IT specialist needs to catch lightning and why it is easier to detect bad weather in Madagascar than in Central Europe.

The online service Blitzortung.org is a non-profit network of receiving stations around the world set by enthusiasts. Direction finders detect a lightning discharge and transmit data to a central server, where the coordinates of the flashes are calculated from the time of arrival of the signal. The more stations detect lightning and the closer they are, the more accurate the location.

"It was necessary to feed the brains with a problem"

In ordinary life, Viktor Barchenko is a CTO at the FP Trade IT company. But in his heart he remained faithful to the radio engineering education of his native BSUIR. After a working day in the office, a man goes to a village near Minsk, where he stores equipment for monitoring lightning discharges in a workshop.

The direction finder is not the first project that came out from under his hands. About a year ago, Victor, using his own funds, created the Flightradar receiver, which allows tracking the position of aircraft in real time. The man installed the device on the roof of his office building.

- The device was from the series "order a piece of iron, put it on, and it will work." But life has thrown up a lot of difficulties. For example, for safety reasons, it is forbidden to conduct 220 volts on the roof of a building without special permission. Therefore, together with a friend, we developed a custom system where power was supplied using Power Over Ethernet technology. We also protected the receiver with a hermetically sealed box and installed two thermostats responsible for heating and cooling. As a result, the device survived the fall, winter and spring, began to work well and ended up somewhere in the 300th place among ten thousand other Flightradar receivers around the world. It was interesting to think about fixing the problems. But when I realized that it was over, it became boring again. It was necessary to feed the brains with some problem. And then I remembered about Blitzortung.org,- explains Victor.

Silent noise

The prime cost of a lightning direction finder is not that high - around 500 euros. Antenna system, VLF amplifier, controller board and GPS receiver required. Almost everything can be ordered in Germany from the creator of the Blitzortung project, Egon Weik. However, due to the high duties on parcels from abroad, Victor decided that it would be easier and cheaper to deliver the equipment himself.

- Brought here by plane. The old Flightradar box didn't fit, so I went to Vilnius and bought a new one. This is not for sale with us. Well, or you need to try to find. In the conditions of Belarusian reality, the main thing is to come to the store and collect what is required from the available assortment, the enthusiast says half jokingly, half seriously.

The result is obvious. So, the electric antenna located on the roof of the workshop is packed in a piece of sewer pipe. The magnetic antenna attaches to two plastic flowerpot plates. But the creator is concerned not with the aesthetic, but with the functional side of the device. After all, it is planned that the direction finder will stand in the open air within the city.

The main problem lies in the sensitivity of the station to noise. Even simply turning on a nearby light bulb causes a burst of noise. What can we say about a big city stuffed with electronics.

“You see, the monitor displays three channels from a magnetic antenna, plus one more - from an electric one. In fact, every surge is a lightning strike. The farthest lightning we saw was in the middle The Pacific- 8770 km from us. The closest is 2.2 km away. And if there is too much interference, we will stop seeing distant discharges, only close ones. This will lead to the loss of adaptability. After all, how does the station work? She listens to the broadcast, spinning the amplifiers to the noise level, and adjusts to them. To see further, we need a lower noise level, above which we can hear the discharge. So the city is not the best place to accommodate such equipment,- Victor complains.

For the sake of verification, the man placed the direction finder on the same roof of the office. But the noise level was too high for normal operation. Now Victor is thinking about who to turn to in order to establish a station at a high point outside the city. Of course, I would like to involve mobile operators in cooperation and agree with them on the installation of equipment on a suburban cell tower. But, unfortunately, this often means inevitable advertising - for example, adding the name of the operator to the outlet "Minsk" on the Blitzortung website. And the man is against using his brainchild for commercial purposes. He is no less skeptical about the proposal to ask for help from the Belarusian meteorological services:

- What for? Weather services have a radar that shows clouds (no matter if thunderstorm or non-stormy), and they think that's enough. The radar is updated every 15 minutes, and here everything is displayed in real time. Friends offered to raise money through crowdfunding, but I decided that first I should test the direction finder in the city. Didn't want to upset investors with a non-working or poorly performing device.

"Why? For the soul"

Victor displays a map of the world on the monitor, where lightning strikes are marked with colored dots. Thin lines lead to stations that have received the signal. While in Europe and North America the area is literally littered with direction finder marks, in the CIS there are just one or two of them.

- In Kazakhstan, quite a bit, in Ukraine, there are only three ... In Lithuania, not a single one. Most stations are in Germany. But in Finland there are not very many of them, but there is not a huge amount of interference from enterprises: this country has a "clean" power grid and a very good reception. I'm even a little jealous- the man smiles. - But we also hear thunderstorms from all over Europe, only from the central part it does not reach well, the mountains interfere. A good reception - from the Pacific Ocean, we can still see it over Madagascar. Build a second station in Belarus? What for? It would be cooler to install it in the Urals region, since there are no instruments and the signal is hard to hear.

Victor admits that he is the last to think about the benefits of a direction finder:

- The most terrible question is “why do you need this?”. People don't understand that you can do something just like that. For the soul. But in general, there is a benefit for Belarus. If the weather radar shows only the possibility of a thunderstorm, then the direction finder allows you to declare with full responsibility that there will definitely be a thunderstorm. I see the discharges, their intensity. I will not be taken by surprise. At least, if any fisherman, sitting on the river, sees from this thing that there is a thunderstorm front, he will understand: it's time to turn off the carbon fiber rod and run quietly.

Victor cannot predict what will happen to the station in the future. But he is already thinking about the next project. If the first was aimed at tracking aircraft, the second at tracking lightning, then the third will go beyond the atmosphere. The man plans to purchase a broadband receiver, assemble a radio telescope and receive signals from space.

You can watch lightning strikes in real time