WeatherAI 2026.01.1: RTMA Analysis, Soundings, and Lightning Animation

What's New

WeatherAI 2026.01.1 is our most powerful update yet for weather enthusiasts and professionals alike. This release brings real-time mesoscale analysis (RTMA), atmospheric soundings, animated lightning data, enhanced precipitation tracking, and major improvements across radar and space weather features.

Here's everything packed into this release.

RTMA Layers: Real-Time Atmospheric Analysis

See the atmosphere like never before with Real-Time Mesoscale Analysis (RTMA) layers. This professional-grade data gives you a detailed snapshot of current atmospheric conditions across the continental United States.

New RTMA layers include:

• Temperature — Current surface temperatures with high spatial resolution
• Dew Point — Moisture content in the air, essential for understanding fog, frost, and storm potential
• Wind Speed — Ground-level wind speeds across the region
• Wind Direction — See how air is flowing to anticipate weather changes
• Relative Humidity — Understand moisture levels in your area

Each layer includes hourly animation, so you can track how conditions have evolved over time. RTMA layers are available with a Pro subscription.

Atmospheric Soundings

For the first time, WeatherAI brings atmospheric soundings directly to your device. Soundings display vertical profiles of temperature, humidity, and wind from the surface up through the atmosphere.

This data is invaluable for understanding:

• Storm potential and severity
• Atmospheric stability
• Temperature inversions
• Wind shear at different altitudes

Whether you're a storm chaser, pilot, or just deeply curious about what's happening above you, soundings give you the full picture. Available with Pro.

MRMS Precipitation Totals

Track rainfall accumulation with two powerful new MRMS (Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor) layers:

• 1-Hour Precipitation — See how much rain has fallen in the last hour
• 24-Hour Precipitation — Get the full-day precipitation picture

These layers are perfect for monitoring flooding potential, tracking storm totals in real time, and understanding how much rain your area has actually received. Combined with our existing MRMS layers, you now have the most comprehensive precipitation analysis available on mobile.

Pro Radar: Storm Tracks and Annotation

Our Pro Radar suite gets even better with two major additions.

Storm Tracks let you see the predicted path and movement of individual storm cells. Watch where storms are heading and plan accordingly—whether that means seeking shelter or positioning for the perfect storm photo.

The new Radar Annotation Tool lets you mark up radar imagery directly on screen. Circle areas of interest, draw attention to rotation signatures, or highlight features before sharing. Speaking of sharing—your annotations are included when you export radar screenshots and animated GIFs.

WPC Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions

The Weather Prediction Center issues Mesoscale Precipitation Discussions (MPDs) when significant rainfall events are occurring or imminent. These discussions are now displayed directly on the radar map, so you can see exactly which areas meteorologists are highlighting for heavy precipitation.

Tap any MPD to read the full discussion, complete with AI-generated summaries to help you quickly understand the key points.

GLM Lightning Animation

Lightning visualization takes a huge leap forward with animated GLM (Geostationary Lightning Mapper) data. Instead of a static snapshot, you can now watch lightning activity unfold over time.

See thunderstorm electrification patterns develop, track lightning clusters as they move, and identify the most active cells in a storm complex. Lightning animation makes it easier than ever to understand storm behavior and intensity.

Space Weather Upgrades

Our space weather section receives significant enhancements:

• Interactive charts with pinch-to-zoom and pan functionality
• Extended animation time ranges for solar imagery
• Smoother navigation through coronagraph and X-ray flux data

Whether you're monitoring for aurora potential or tracking solar activity, the improved charts make analysis more intuitive and powerful.

NWS Data Improvements

National Weather Service data gets a polish with improved text formatting for forecasts, discussions, and observations. Text is now cleaner and easier to read, making it faster to digest critical information from your local NWS office.

Backend Reliability

Under the hood, we've made significant backend reliability improvements to ensure weather data loads faster and more consistently. You'll notice snappier performance throughout the app.

Get the Update

WeatherAI 2026.01.1 is available now on the App Store for iPhone, iPad, and Vision Pro. If you have automatic updates enabled, you may already have it.

Download WeatherAI →

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