Where To Find An Accurate Source Of Live Weather Radar For Severe Weather Forecast

The year of 2011 has seen some of the most severe weather on record. Storms and tornadoes have hit several parts of the country. Areas that are prone to severe weather rely on accurate live weather radar to give warning of when harsh weather is coming toward an area.

Many people rely on their local news for accuracy with the weather. They provide this service to give an accurate severe weather forecast. Many stations have different sources of radar. For urban areas near military bases, the military may provide radar services to local media outlets as a service. However, for areas that do not benefit from this or similar services, they may need to rely on private commercial radar services.

For years the military and the government were the only entities that used satellite imagery and data. Strict U.S. regulation of the technology meant no American commercial company can operate radar imaging satellites. In recent years however, the federal government has issued contracts for radar satellite data to be used by private satellite operators. The U.S. government has also started to relax licensing restrictions on commercial radar satellites. U.S. companies have begun to distribute quality data and may have created a domestic market in this field.

These kinds of policies by the government have meant that companies can now use the radar imagery for a variety of purposes. Companies can contract out with media outlets to provide radar imagery. Stations in larger markets that can afford better technology and services can receive state of the art live weather radar. For markets where there is competition between media sources, the better the technology, the better the reputation of the station.

This kind of competition promotes companies to improve the quality of data in radar imagery. This may be of benefit to residents by improving severe weather forecast services. Companies may also find innovative ways of marketing this information to different customers. Outdoor enthusiasts for example would want the most accurate data and may be willing to subscribe to a service if the technology warranted it.

Hugh Priestley is the author of this article on real time weather radar. Find more information, about aviation weather here