FIELD GUIDE · Weather Basics
Radar vs. Satellite: Which Weather Map Should You Use?
Should I be looking at radar or satellite — and what's the difference?
Open a live weather map and you'll usually find two main views: radar and satellite. They look similar — colorful blobs over a map — but they're measuring completely different things, and knowing which to trust when is one of the most useful weather skills there is.
You can switch between both on the live map using the Precip Radar and Cloud Imagery layers.
What radar sees: precipitation
Weather radar sits on the ground and fires microwave pulses outward, measuring the energy that bounces back off raindrops, snow and hail. So radar answers one precise question: where is precipitation falling right now, and how hard?
- Strength: pinpoint accuracy on rain and storm intensity near the ground.
- Limitation: it only sees precipitation, and only where the beam reaches — distant or sheltered areas can be missed entirely.
What satellite sees: clouds
Satellite imagery looks down from space and shows clouds — the whole weather system, whether or not it's raining yet.
- Strength: the big picture. You can see a storm's size, organization and rotation from thousands of kilometers away, plus things radar can't detect at all, like smoke, dust and fog.
- Limitation: it shows cloud, not rain. A thick cloud might be dumping rain or might be dry.
The simple rule
- Want to know if it's raining on you right now? → Radar.
- Want to understand the whole system and what's coming? → Satellite.
- Tracking a hurricane or big storm? → Satellite to find and follow it, radar as it reaches the coast.
Why the fusion wins
The real insight comes from stacking them. A towering cloud on satellite with a bright red core beneath it on radar is a serious storm. That's exactly what LEV is built for — both layers on one map, plus live flights, ships and fires on top. Open the live map and try switching both on at once.
Frequently asked questions
What's the difference between weather radar and satellite?
Radar detects precipitation — where rain, snow or hail is actually falling — by bouncing microwaves off it from the ground up. Satellite sees clouds from space, showing the whole weather system. Radar tells you what's reaching the ground; satellite tells you the bigger picture.
Should I use radar or satellite to track a storm?
Use both. Satellite shows the overall system and its rotation or organization from far away; radar shows exactly where the heavy rain is and how it's moving once it's close. Together they give the complete picture.
SEE IT LIVE
Everything in this guide is on one real-time map.