I have always liked the weather radar. First of all, it's rainbow. Second of all, the weather is mysterious and constantly changing. I like the visual aid of seeing what's about to head my way, and making the connection of what the radar looks like versus what is happening outside. I am not a meteorologist. I am a curious observer. I've been building this fun and simple app for myself and to share with students to get them excited about science and weather. Hey it's storm season after all!
I've included the live stream of one of my favorite storm crew's when they go live - the ya'll squad. I obviously take no credit for any of their videos, but I enjoy shoring it with others.
I am using publicly available API keys of free services like NOAA/NWS for radar images. I am Using another free one for air quality information. I hope to set up a weather bug or something of the sort so we can have live data for our location, potentially sharing our data for the greater good. This is one of my latest side projects. Just wanted to share the fun colors.
What weather related apps have you created? I may look into some other radars, but this one is working and I am happy with it for now. If you would like to see the actual site you are welcome to visit it on github pages here:
SECRET: Click the "Weather Station" title at the top to use it in your location. Let me know what you think!
SIDE NOTE: The video only plays when the stream is live. Otherwise, it displays current info.
Top comments (11)
This is such a refreshing reminder of why we build things in the first place.
There’s something really powerful about taking curiosity (“I love watching storms”) and turning it into a working app that others can explore. The fact that you’re using real APIs like National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration / National Weather Service and pairing that with a visual, almost playful experience makes it even better—it’s learning disguised as wonder.
Also love the intention behind this: not trying to be “perfect” or overly complex, just building something that works, looks cool, and gets people (especially students) more curious about the world around them.
“Comparing what the radar shows vs what’s actually happening outside” is such an underrated way to build intuition. That’s real understanding—not just consuming data, but connecting it to reality.
And honestly, embedding the storm stream is a great touch—it turns the app from a tool into an experience.
This feels like the kind of project that could spark someone’s interest in weather, coding, or both. More of this energy in tech please 🌈⚡
Curious to see where you take it next!
Aww! Thank you for all of that! I appreciate you! It definitely feels better to build something fun and useful.
yeah , it feels like aa artist in a form of coder.
Well put! ✨️🦚
Thank you! 😊 I really feel coding can be a form of art when you build things like this—glad it resonated with you!
That sounds like a really fun and educational project! 🌦️ I love how you combined curiosity with practical coding. Using live radar imagery and air quality APIs makes the app feel alive, and sharing it with students adds a great interactive learning element. The integration of live storm streams is a neat touch—it shows real-world weather in action while keeping the project visually engaging.
I also like your mindset of contributing data back to the community eventually—it elevates it from a personal tool to a small civic project.
For inspiration, some other devs build things like:
Localized lightning strike maps with notifications
DIY weather stations connected via IoT for hyperlocal readings
Historical storm trackers with visualization of paths and intensity
It’s cool how simple APIs can turn into playful and educational tools. Sharing it on GitHub Pages makes it easy for others to explore and learn too.
If you want, I can suggest some ways to make the radar visualization even more interactive and engaging for students. Do you want me to do that?
Thanks for all of that, Blast. I was thinking of the lightening strike think as a next step. I would be curious about enhancing this app using any open soure tools. However, I am dealing with a band of young mischievous 'hackers' and I want the app to be more of a set-it-and-forget-it app. As much as I want to make it interactive, a few bad apples make it miserable for everyone. Open to suggestions. 😂
Big weather enthusiast here too! My husband 3D printed a little e-ink device that sits on my desk and tells me the weather. I hadn't thought about pulling in a radar. That's neat!
This is neat.. I dig the font style
👍🏻
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