Weather Radar Database API

Weather radar database is a dynamic JSON file that describes three main entities and their relations:

Whenever any of this data is changed in RainViewer, it will change in this database as well. To get access to the database, you need to be a Gold, Gold+, or Platinum patron on our Patreon page. We will send you a link to the database, and this link will work until you remain an active patron.

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Database File Example

A database file consists of three root objects:

Here is an example of the database file with one radar, one image, and one source description:

{
  "radars": [
    {
      "id": "KESX",
      "country": "US",
      "state": "NV",
      "location": "Las Vegas",
      "status": 1,
      "latitude": 35.7012894,
      "longitude": -114.8918277,
      "image_id": "KESX"
    }
  ],
  "images": [
    {
      "id": "KESX",
      "provier_id": "Iastateedu",
      "status": 0,
      "projection": "EPSG:4326",
      "products": "https://data.rainviewer.com/images/KESX/0_products.json",
      "frequency": 240
    }
  ],
  "providers": [
    {
      "id": "Iastateedu",
      "name": "Iowa Environmental Mesonet",
      "description": "Iowa State University, Iowa Environmental Mesonet.",
      "url": "https://mesonet.agron.iastate.edu/docs/nexrad_composites/"
    }
  ]
}

Radar Object

keyDescriptionValuesExample
idInner radar identifier. Sometimes equal to the ICAO airport code, sometimes we choose it at our own discretion.String(8)SATAI
countryISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_3166-1_alpha-2String(2)US
stateState of the country if applicableString(255)Hawaii
locationName of the radar or its locationString(255)KLIA Airport
statusNot usedTinyint(1)1
latitudeLatitude of the weather radar station, WSG84Float35.7012894
longitudeLongitude of the weather radar station, WSG84Float-114.8918277
image_idID of image file, which contains the data of this radar. Sometimes we download composite images that show the data from several radar stations at once. Example: UK radar imageString(8)UKCOMP2

Image Object

keyDescriptionValuesExample
idImage identifier. Most of the time it is equal to the Radar ID object.String(8)USCOMP
provider_idID of provider object from this database.String(64)Idgobmkg
statusStatus of this image. 0 - not used in composite maps, 1 - used in composite maps.Tinyint(1)1
projectionSource image projection.String(64)AEQD
productsLink to the products.json file when you can get all images of this radar.String(255)https://data.rainviewer.com/images/KESX/0_products.json
frequencyTypical update frequency in seconds. Zero if not updated for a long time.Int600

Provider Object

keyDescriptionValuesExample
idProvider identifier. Reversed domain name with a few exceptions.String(255)Mxgobcnasmn
nameOfficial name of the provider in native language.String(255)中央氣象局全球資訊網
descriptionDescription of the radar source, typically in English.String(255)Taiwan Central Weather Bureau
urlLink to the page with the radar data on this source.String(255)https://meteo.gov.ua/en/33345/radar
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