"Rain Radar: Where and when will it rain today?"

The rain radar is one of the most useful tools for short-term weather planning. It shows you not only if it will rain, but also where, when, and how heavily. In our app, we integrate this data to give you minute-by-minute forecasts for the next hour.

How Does a Rain Radar Work?

Imagine a radar station as a lighthouse that sends out radio waves instead of light. These waves travel through the atmosphere. When they hit raindrops, snow, or hail, a portion of the waves are reflected back to the station. A computer measures how long the wave took to travel there and back, and how strong the returning signal is.

• Position: From the time the signal takes, the computer can calculate the exact distance of the raindrops.
• Intensity: The strength of the returning signal reveals how heavy the precipitation is. Light drizzle reflects weakly, while a heavy hailstorm sends back a very strong signal.

This data is then visualized on a map, with different colors indicating the intensity of the precipitation: typically, blue/green stands for light rain, yellow/orange for moderate rain, and red/purple for heavy rain or hail.

How to Use the Rain Radar in Daily Life

The biggest advantage of the radar is short-term planning certainty:

Example 1: Cycling to work. The app shows a rain cloud approaching your city. Its direction and speed indicate it will be over you in 30 minutes. You decide to leave 10 minutes earlier to arrive dry.

Example 2: The barbecue in the garden. Dark clouds are gathering. A look at the rain radar shows it's just a small, isolated shower that will pass in 20 minutes. Instead of frantically moving everything indoors, you simply wait out the brief downpour under the patio cover.

Minute-by-Minute Forecast in Our App

Our app uses this radar data to create a precise forecast for the next hour, as seen in the "Precipitation Alert" tile on the "Today" view. This allows you to see at a glance if rain is expected in the next 60 minutes and adjust your plans accordingly, without constantly having to look at a map.