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Land-based weather radar detects a hurricane once it comes within about 325 kilometres (200 miles) of the coast. RainViewer combines data from over 1000 radar stations worldwide to track tropical storms and hurricanes in real time, including rain intensity, movement, and speed.
Turn on tropical storm tracks using the icon in the top-right corner of the map. RainViewer shows the storm's past, current, and forecast path as a chain of coloured dots, each colour matching the storm's category at that point. In the RainViewer app, tap the storm's name for full details.
Hurricanes are ranked on the Saffir-Simpson scale from Category 1 to Category 5, based on sustained wind speed. Category 1 starts at 74 mph (119 km/h) and Category 5 starts at 157 mph (252 km/h). See the table above for the full breakdown.
Hurricane, cyclone and typhoon describe the same type of storm in different regions — the Atlantic and North-East Pacific use hurricane, the North-West Pacific uses typhoon, and the South Pacific and Indian Ocean use cyclone. Read the full explanation in RainViewer's guide to hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons.
The World Meteorological Organization maintains rotating name lists for each basin, alternating alphabetically between male and female names. A storm is given a name once sustained winds reach 39 mph (63 km/h). Read more in RainViewer's guide to how hurricanes are named.
The Atlantic season runs from 1 June to 30 November, peaking in September. The Eastern Pacific season starts on 15 May. See RainViewer's full breakdown of hurricane season by basin.
Spaghetti models show forecast tracks from several weather models overlaid on one map. A wide spread between the lines signals greater uncertainty about the storm's future path.
RainViewer processes new radar scans as they arrive. The map updates roughly every 10 minutes, depending on each radar station's own scan cycle.
The cone of uncertainty shows the probable area a storm's centre could travel through, based on historical forecast accuracy. It widens the further ahead in time it goes. The cone shows the possible path of the centre, not the size of the storm.
The RainViewer app tracks hurricanes on iOS and Android, with live radar, a full storm timeline and push notifications timed to when a storm reaches your location.