West Coast & California Weather Radar - Live Doppler Map

🌇️ West Coast & California Weather & Live Doppler Radar Guide

The West Coast has a Mediterranean-style pattern: dry summers and wet winters driven by Pacific storms. From late autumn through spring, atmospheric rivers funnel deep Pacific moisture into California, Oregon and Washington, producing days of heavy coastal rain and deep Sierra Nevada snow. Summer is usually dry, with thunderstorms confined mainly to the mountains and deserts.

📡 NOAA NEXRAD Stations: KSOX & KATX (Los Angeles & Seattle)

Our interactive West Coast radar connects directly to NOAA Level-III NEXRAD stations across the region, including KSOX (Los Angeles) and KATX (Seattle). These dual-polarization S-band Doppler radars detect horizontal and vertical hydrometeor dimensions, allowing meteorologists and residents to distinguish between rain, snow, hail cores, and sleet across the coastal ranges, Central Valley and Pacific Northwest.

🎨 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 West Coast & California radar:

⚠️ Seasonal Severe Storm Threats in West Coast & California

Atmospheric rivers are the signature West Coast threat: Doppler radar tracks their landfall, showing where the heaviest rain bands stall over coastal mountains and where Sierra snow piles up. The same radar tracks burn-scar flash flooding after wildfire seasons and the rare but intense desert thunderstorms of the Southwest monsoon.