So it turns out we have plenty of gear. Well I say we, but really its Tony who has all the gear. Its all a bit bewildering but one thing is for sure; we should have enough backup gadgets to keep up with storm developments in May.
I’m pretty much blown away by quite how much technology there is available for the hobbyist chaser these days. With just a couple of laptops, my Nexus 7 and a satellite system for backup we will have more data at our disposal that I quite know what to do with.
GrLevel3
A split screen GRLevel3 window
This is going to be our daily driver while out on the plains and tells you pretty much anything you need to know in real time. Whether it is rainfall radar, cloud tops, wind shear or just where you are in relation to the storm, this should have us covered. You also have mesocyclone indicators (to show where the rotating bit of the storm is) storm track estimations, and most importantly, the zones where severe weather or tornado warnings are currently in effect.
PYKL3 radar Service
PYKL3 - tracking storms on an Android tablet
PYKL3 is, by all accounts, a pretty new entrant to the storm tracking world but the brilliant thing about it is that it runs on an android tablet. This means that not only do we have a backup application if our GR laptops go on the blink, but we can use the Nexus’s built in GPS, its far superior battery life and (And this is the best bit) we can mount it on the dash so it doesn’t have to occupy precious co-driver lap space. The software overlays the main roads while plotting the drivers’ position as well so it will be another useful tool to get us in position if we need it.