Forecasting
Nowcasting Weather Explained: Short-Term Forecasts From Radar, Satellite, and Observations
What nowcasting means, why it is useful for the next few hours, and how radar, satellite, lightning, and surface data help.
Quick answer: Nowcasting is very short-term forecasting that uses current observations to estimate what weather will do soon.
Short window
Nowcasting is useful for the next minutes to few hours, especially with storms, fog, snow bands, and outflow boundaries.
It focuses on what is actually happening now.
Data sources
Radar loops, satellite trends, lightning data, surface observations, and storm reports all matter.
Forecasters compare movement, growth, decay, and local boundaries.
Best use
Nowcasting is ideal for event decisions, travel timing, and storm approach timing.
It does not replace longer-range planning.