The Atmosphr radar guide
Read the time.
Then read the rain.
A practical guide to rain radar colours, playback and zoom, with the limits you need to understand.
01 · Freshness
What does the radar timestamp mean?
The selected frame time tells you when that image belongs in the radar history. It is different from the time you opened the page. Check the frame label and freshness status before interpreting the map.
A feed can keep showing its most recent image while new data is delayed. Refreshing the page cannot make the provider publish a newer frame. If the status says stale or unavailable, use the official BOM radar for another view.
02 · Intensity
What do rain radar colours mean?
Radar detects echoes from particles in the atmosphere. In Atmosphr, the legend runs from light to intense as a relative guide. Do not convert these colours directly into millimetres of rain at your location.
Different viewers use different palettes and scales. Read the legend on the viewer you are using. BOM’s current radar documentation describes its dBZ reflectivity display; that is not the same as an accumulated rainfall total.
To find out how much rain has fallen at ground level, check an appropriate rain-gauge observation. A forecast rain amount elsewhere in Atmosphr is model guidance, not a measurement from the radar image.
03 · History
Playback shows past rain, not future rain
- Open the map and wait for the radar feed to load.
- Use Play to replay available frames. Pause or use the previous and next buttons to inspect one frame.
- Move the timeline to a time you want to inspect, or choose Latest frame.
- Adjust Speed and Loop replay to control the animation.
Moving echoes can help you understand what has happened. Their apparent direction is not a guarantee of where rain will go next. Radar history length depends on the available feed; it is not a date-searchable archive.
04 · Navigation
How to zoom and change location
Search for a town, suburb or postcode in the weather app. Open Maps to view radar near that selection. You can also start with a capital-city shortcut.
- Zoom buttons: use the map’s + and − controls to change scale.
- View width: choose a preset for a wider or closer view. These are app view widths, not a claim that you are viewing a particular BOM radar station product.
- Mouse wheel: enable Wheel zoom first. Otherwise the wheel scrolls the page.
- More space: choose Expand to enlarge the map, then exit the expanded view to return to the page.
- Return to your place: use Re-centre after panning away.
Zooming in enlarges the view; it does not add detail beyond the source image’s resolution.
05 · Limits
Why is rain missing from the radar?
Missing or weak echoes can have several causes: feed outages, incomplete coverage, delays, the height or strength of precipitation, and the limits of radar sampling. An echo may also represent precipitation that does not reach the ground.
First check the layer status and timestamp, make sure Past radar is selected, and try a wider view. If images remain unavailable, follow the official radar link. Do not treat a blank area as evidence that there is no rain.
Sources and further reading
Prefer a familiar starting point? Visit our old BOM radar alternative page.