LOCATION · United States
New Orleans Weather Radar & Live Satellite Map
Is a Gulf storm or tropical system heading for New Orleans?
New Orleans lives with water on every side and weather to match: hot, humid, and squarely in hurricane country. From summer downpours that overwhelm the pumps to Gulf hurricanes that define the city's history, live radar and satellite are essential tools here — not curiosities.
Open the live map over New Orleans and switch on Precip Radar and Cloud Imagery.
What to watch over southeast Louisiana
- Tropical systems & hurricanes — from June through November, the warm Gulf of Mexico is a hurricane factory. The Atlantic hurricane tracker and the Saffir–Simpson scale guide are built for exactly this season.
- Heavy-rain flooding — the city's below-sea-level bowl means even an ordinary slow-moving thunderstorm can flood streets faster than pumps can drain them. Radar rainfall intensity is an early warning.
- Summer thunderstorms — Gulf moisture and intense heat fire near-daily afternoon storms, bright and brief.
- Cool-season squall lines — in winter and spring, fronts sweeping in from the west can bring fast-moving lines of strong storms.
Reading the map for New Orleans
Tropical moisture and systems usually approach from the south and southeast off the Gulf. The satellite view is the best way to spot an organized system out over open water, often days before its rain reaches the coast — crucial lead time in a city where evacuation takes planning.
Stay ahead of the tropics
During an active stretch, keep the hurricane tracker open and overlay shipping and flights to see how the storm is disrupting the ports and airports of the Gulf coast. Always defer to local officials for evacuation orders.
Open the live map over New Orleans to see current conditions.
Frequently asked questions
Why does New Orleans flood so easily from rain?
Much of the city sits at or below sea level in a bowl ringed by levees, so rainfall has to be pumped out rather than draining away. Slow-moving Gulf storms can dump rain faster than the pumps can clear it, which is why radar rainfall intensity is watched so closely here.
How do I track a hurricane heading for New Orleans?
Switch on satellite cloud imagery to watch a system's structure and track in the Gulf, then add radar as it nears the coast to see the rain bands arrive. The Atlantic hurricane tracker is built for this — and always follow the National Hurricane Center for official forecasts and evacuation orders.
SEE IT LIVE
Everything in this guide is on one real-time map.