DopplerWx Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I'm thinking of getting some weather/radar software for Christmas, any suggestions? Thanks in advance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinwood Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 GRLevel3... probably the most widely appraised piece of commercial radar software out there. http://www.grlevelx.com/grlevel3/ 21-day free trial... $80 one-time registration fee. If you're looking to go more advanced and your computer can handle the higher requirements GRLevel2AE (GRLevel2 Analyst) is another great solution. There's also the very new GREarth, but last I checked that was still in beta. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxmeddler Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 Definitely 100% without doubt... Gibson Ridge's software. http://www.grlevelx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
audioguy3107 Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I've been using GR level 3 for several years, mainly to follow severe weather outbreaks, and so far its worked flawlessly. You can download files to add METARS, maps, etc... Very user friendly in my opinion too. I'd definitely do the trial to see if it'll do what you want it to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellinwood Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 I've been using GR level 3 for several years, mainly to follow severe weather outbreaks, and so far its worked flawlessly. You can download files to add METARS, maps, etc... Very user friendly in my opinion too. I'd definitely do the trial to see if it'll do what you want it to. Also, if you want to expand on the software, there are additional plug-ins available. WeatherWarrior has live lightning data incorporated into his GRL3. Most chasers use GRL3 since it's not terribly taxing on a computer and can get the data consistently and reliably in an easy-to-interpret format. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WeatherNC Posted November 21, 2010 Share Posted November 21, 2010 GR2 analyst if you have the $, GR2 is what I run and the most detailed given a cost-effective budget... http://www.grlevelx.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southmdwatcher Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 GR2 analyst if you have the $, GR2 is what I run and the most detailed given a cost-effective budget... http://www.grlevelx.com/ Gibson Ridge products are great. If you have the $$$ GR2 Analyst is great for following tornadic/severe hail producing storms with its 3D volume scans. GREarth is loaded with features and is a great all-around program with metar/satellite/radar/mesoanalysis etc., etc. on a contnental/global domain, and so far been especially nice for following severe weather outbreaks. This program will be received well when it becomes more widely available. GRLevel 3 radar is superb for those on a budget or for reduced connection on the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxdudemike Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Yep, I would go GR3 or GR2 Analyst if you have the money. Also some great add on's for it at www.allisonhouse.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNOWCREATURE1 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Here's another vote for GR Level 3 - it's almost like having your own personal radar dish at your location! The street-level overlays let you pinpoint your home. We are incredibly enthusiastic about this software. We also have the more expensive GR2 analyst, which provides a wonderful 3-D view of storms. Tornado profiles for GR2 allow you to see if the storm has rotation. Our installation has been rock solid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlwx Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I have GR Level 2 Analyst and it's amazing. I don't think you'll find many folks on here that suggest anything else. For computers it simply doesn't get much better. The $250 for analyst is high but well worth it. If you don't need level 2 resolution and the 3d feature then level 3 is just as functional. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DopplerWx Posted November 22, 2010 Author Share Posted November 22, 2010 Thanks so much for the suggestions, I think I may go with the GRLevel2 analyst. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlwx Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Thanks so much for the suggestions, I think I may go with the GRLevel2 analyst. Wise choice! Well worth the money if you really are invested in seeing "inside" the storm and having a whole host of features. Allisonhouse is a must for this as the free level 2 data feed goes out every now and then. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoMo Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Cool addons http://www.grlevelxstuff.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxmeddler Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Thanks so much for the suggestions, I think I may go with the GRLevel2 analyst. Before you buy, make sure you get the trial version (Which is fully functional, just has a 21 day time limit) and make sure it works on your PC. Take the time also to explore all the features and get your shape files and place files working. It takes a bit of time to download the files, and get them imported into the program though the import process is very easy if you remember where you put the files and keep them organized. Its also worth registering on the GRLevelX forums so if you have any questions people can help you out. http://www.grlevelx.com/trials/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteoutwx1796 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 And for those who are a little more unfortunate there is http://www.simuawips.com/ which I find very good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobbutts Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 http://www.grlevelx.com/ GRlevel3 is one of very few pieces of software I'm totally satisfied to have paid for, no regrets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phlwx Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 This program is great, incredibly customizable, and it's free. http://climate.ok.gov/software/ GR does a lot more but if you're looking for freebie stuff, weatherscope is arguably the best free tool out there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
huronicane Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 And for those who are a little more unfortunate there is http://www.simuawips.com/ which I find very good. I just checked that out. That is pretty awesome. It's kind of something that I wanted to put together, but they've done a great job with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kmlwx Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 I just checked that out. That is pretty awesome. It's kind of something that I wanted to put together, but they've done a great job with it. And they continue to improve it as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whiteoutwx1796 Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 And they continue to improve it as well. What's great about it is he uses the users feedback and improves on that. It can only improve b/c of that process. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msp Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 bought GR3 a few years ago and now own GR2AE... couldn't be happier with them. the level 2 data is just incredible on the latter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radarman Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Love GR2 but hate Windows... WxScope is visually appealing and works on osx. If you're a linux guy like myself, you might be able to get your hands on WDSS2 from NSSL. A bit of a learning curve, but if you can code in C++ there's a very nice API to work with and write your own processing algorithms, not to mention a large suite of processing binaries already included. I have a love/hate relationship with the visualization part of WDSS2. It's OpenGL based, at least I think so. Same navigation methods. On the whole, its pretty nice. 3d stuff doesn't look as good as GR2 though. I guess if you just want to look at data, you're probably better off with GR or WxScope. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFanatica Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Love GR2 but hate Windows... WxScope is visually appealing and works on osx. If you're a linux guy like myself, you might be able to get your hands on WDSS2 from NSSL. A bit of a learning curve, but if you can code in C++ there's a very nice API to work with and write your own processing algorithms, not to mention a large suite of processing binaries already included. I have a love/hate relationship with the visualization part of WDSS2. It's OpenGL based, at least I think so. Same navigation methods. On the whole, its pretty nice. 3d stuff doesn't look as good as GR2 though. I guess if you just want to look at data, you're probably better off with GR or WxScope. Yeah, WDSS2 is powerful, but man what a pain it is to deal with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amped Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Windgrids and IDV are good free programs, IDV takes a while too learn. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFanatica Posted November 22, 2010 Share Posted November 22, 2010 Windgrids and IDV are good free programs, IDV takes a while too learn. I haven't tried the latest version, but I found IDV to be really buggy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riptide Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I'm loving this thread, what happened to that expensive experimental software? I forget the name but there was a thread about it on eastern. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fred Gossage Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I'm loving this thread, what happened to that experimental software that was expensive? I forget the name but there was a thread about it on eastern. You're thinking of GREarth. It's part of the Gibson Ridge line of products. It, however, is not a storm-by-storm radar tracking tool like the other GR programs... but is rather an overview/mesoscale nowcasting/situational awareness tool. It does have a winter radar algorithm, but you're not going to see storm-based products like VIL, echo tops, velocity, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scotty Lightning Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I haven't tried the latest version, but I found IDV to be really buggy. It's also very RAM intensive too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtticaFanatica Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I'm curious as to how much the dual-Pol add-on will be for GR. I'm guessing whatever the price is, I'll pay for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wxmeddler Posted November 23, 2010 Share Posted November 23, 2010 I've never heard of this program, after an hour of playing with it.. Im addicted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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