Memory-Map Weather Radar is
an application to display live National Weather Service doppler radar
images and animated loops from radars located throughout the United States.
Radar is the most effective tool to detect precipitation, especially thunderstorms,
and has been used by NWS forecasters since the 1940's. Memory-Map now
brings this information, conveniently and efficiently, right to your phone
or PDA.
If you take part in, or organize, any kind of outdoor activity, it is always worth keeping an eye on the radar. Whether you are planning a picnic, racing a sailboat, or painting your house, a rain squall can spoil your day! The radar gives you an accurate picture of the weather that is heading your way in the next two or three hours, and can help you make best use of the day.
With Memory-Map Weather Radar, when you update the image, the radar data is downloaded as a compressed overlay, without having to download the whole base image each time. There are no usage fees or subscriptions for using the service, except your mobile carrier's normal data access fees. If the sky is clear, the download is only 1 or 2 kbytes; if there is widespread rain, it might be 10 kbytes. The first time you view each radar station, the base map image is downloaded, which is 50 to 100kbytes.
Animated loops of radar images help you judge the speed and direction of the weather systems. To help optimize the download speed, you can select how many images to use in the loop, and the time interval between frames.
Other mobile sources of the radar images only give you a tiny thumbnail image. This application gives you the highest resolution available, and you can scroll and zoom the image to see all the detail on your mobile device screen.
Interpreting the radar image does take a little practice. It is best to familiarize yourself with the technology and your local weather patterns using the NWS website www.weather.gov before using it on your phone.
The doppler radar imagery is available for the United States only. Coverage includes AK, HI and various US territories.
You need a Microsoft Windows Mobile device:
Pocket PC (with touchscreen): Windows Mobile 2003, or WM5, or later.
Smartphone: 2003 or WM5, or later.
Your device must have an available internet connection. Usually, this is the built-in cellular wireless data service (GPRS), but any means that allows the built-in web browser to access the internet will also work for Memory-Map Weather Radar.
Memory-Map Weather Radar is
available exclusively through Handango.
To download a free 10-day trial, click:
Pocket PC (with touchscreen)
Smartphone (buttons only)
Go to the Handango pages, above, and click the Buy button. Handango will send you a registration key, which you enter into the opening screen of the demo software. The software costs only $9.99, and there are no subscription fees.
If you also have Memory-Map Navigator you can display your GPS location on the doppler radar images, but you can use the weather radar software alone.
We have added an Auto-Update feature to keep the display continuously up to date with the latest radar images. You can now choose from the full range of radar image types, including short and long range reflectivity, composite reflectivity, velocity and accumulated precipitation. In addition, there is a Storage dialog that allows you to place the cached images on a storage card, and delete unwanted images. The update is free of charge.
By popular request, we have added the ability to display selected layers (roads, cities & county/state boundaries) on top of the radar image. This allows you to see your location relative to the storm, even when the radar image is full of precipitation. We also now display NWS warning polygons, to alert you to possible severe weather.
