Seattle Weather Radar - Live Doppler Map (WA)

🌦️ Seattle Weather & Live Doppler Radar Guide

Seattle is nestled in the Pacific Northwest between the saltwater of Puget Sound and the snow-capped Cascade Range. Renowned for its temperate oceanic climate, Seattle experiences frequent overcast skies, gentle drizzle, and persistent winter rainfall driven by low-pressure storm systems moving onshore from the North Pacific. A famous meteorological feature of the region is the Puget Sound Convergence Zone (PSCZ), where maritime air splitting around the Olympic Mountains collides over King and Snohomish counties, triggering narrow bands of heavier rain, gusty winds, and sudden winter snow.

📡 NOAA NEXRAD Station: KATX (Camano Island / Seattle, WA)

Our live Seattle radar connects directly to NOAA's Level-III NEXRAD radar station KATX, located on Camano Island, Washington. Operating with S-band dual-polarization technology, station KATX overcomes complex Pacific Northwest mountain terrain to monitor approaching Pacific storm fronts, atmospheric rivers, and snow levels across Puget Sound and the Cascade foothills.

🎨 How to Read Doppler Reflectivity (dBZ Scale)

Radar reflectivity measures precipitation density in decibels of Z (dBZ). Use this color reference when monitoring approaching storms on the Seattle radar:

⚠️ Seasonal Severe Storm Threats in Seattle

Autumn and winter (October through March) bring atmospheric rivers that drop heavy rainfall over several days, raising river levels and causing landslides on steep bluffs. In winter, cold air draining out of the Fraser River Canyon can bring surprise low-elevation snowstorms to the Seattle metro.