Weather Radar !

[magnumpi]

I've been using the radar loop on weather.gov for the Upper Mississippi River Valley and my question is probably too simple. The time they use is UTC - how does this relate to GMT ? Thanks, Craig

[Barnyard]

Try this site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich_Mean_Time. I'm not one that is good at interpretations.

[Don McCombs]

Basically the same as GMT.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coordinated_Universal_Time

[magnumpi]

Thanks guys, I Googled it and it's GMT based on an atomic clock. It's the time used by all radio/tv stations I guess. C

[JimT]

If your on eastern time subtract 4 hours. If your on central time subtract 5 hours.

JimT

PS: Here is a site to show times by state.
http://wwp.greenwichmeantime.com/time-zone/usa/

[magnumpi]

Now that I understand the time configuration, I realize that there's about a 1/2 hour delay in their presentation. Does anyone use a radar site that's a current loop ??? Thanks, C

[pete1941]

Craig, NOAA down here in Georgia, is real time. I have watched severe thunder storms approach in real time that might be capable of producing tornados. Don't know if it's something they change in imminent situations or not. Pete

[Bill Hudson]

Craig,

Try http://intellicast.com to see if it is more current.

Bill

[VinceD]

Craig, I am certainly not an expert on weather radar but when I watch NOAA radar out of Springfield, MO the loop refreshes approximately every 8 minutes.

It could be you are watching a composite of several radar sites and that might account for the delay.

Are you familiar with their "Grid Point Forecast" option? You can enter your latitude and longitude coordinates and get a forecast for your front yard. Pretty cool.

Send a little of that upper Midwest rain down to southern Missouri. We are extremely dry down here. It is so dry that when we go to the river to cool off we have to take our own water.

[magnumpi]

Thanks Vince - that's dry !! We had another 1.5" over the noon hour today which is about 4" total since Saturday. I've had enough thank you. C

[PageRob]

I like going to the source for basically everyone's weather data, http://nws.noaa.gov
They've got more different kinds of radar than you could shake a stick at, plus watches, alerts, warning, point forecasts, etc. I use it every day before I head to work, and find it incredibly useful for those who are working outside, and want a specific forecast for a specific location.

[Rudi]

Craig:

UTC or Universal Time Co-Ordinated is the US version.
GMT or Greenwich Mean Time is the original, and was created when the Time Zones were created by Sir Sanford Fleming a Canadian Geographer and Surveyor.

UTC became the US Standard, so that they could finish the American Revolution and get rid of the last vestiges of the British History .

Seriously though... If I remember correctly, and this is going back at least 30 years.... when the first Cesium Atomic Clock was brought on line and they could keep accurate time down to less than 0.000001 second per century... UTC became the benchmark in the US.

Many view UTC as a needless excercise which does nothing but serve to provide confusion in NATO forces. NATO forces use GMT as primary .. UTC is secondary. but most of the branches of the Militaries in NATO have gotten around the GMT/UTC problem by refering to the term ZULU... ZULU is GMT/UTC 0 hour or the great meridian and shows no particular National bias.... Sailors RULE

[magnumpi]

Rudi: It's nice to see that you are able to "vent" your frustrations on this forum - esp. in the middle of the night ! I hope this doesn'r lead to an International incident. Call me uninformed but I rare hear "those damn Brits" anymore, but then I live in the middle of a cornfield !! C

[Rudi]

Craig:

You asked a question. I gave you a pretty decent answer, and tossed in some humour to make the pie a little more favourable.... is there a problem with that?

I do not vent in public. I may express an opinion, but I do not vent, flame, denigrate or any other form of disrespect. If you disagree.. pm me.. we can hash it out.. where it belongs.. OFF Forum

[magnumpi]

It was meant in a hunorous vein - relax. C