> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.xtremewx.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Radar Screenshots and GOES-19 Satellite in Snowball

> Pull a live radar screenshot for any US location or browse GOES-19 satellite imagery by region, product, and view type — all from Discord.

Snowball gives you two ways to see what the atmosphere is doing right now: a radar screenshot pinned to the nearest WSR-88D station for your exact location, and GOES-19 satellite imagery covering the US, surrounding oceans, and beyond. Both commands work entirely inside Discord — no browser required.

<Tabs>
  <Tab title="Radar">
    ## `/weather radar`

    The radar command finds the nearest WSR-88D Doppler radar station to your location and returns a screenshot of the current scan. A **View Interactive Radar** button lets you open the live, interactive radar at [radar.xtremewx.com](https://radar.xtremewx.com) for real-time animation and panning.

    <Note>
      Radar coverage is limited to the United States. Snowball also requires a WSR-88D station within **150 miles** of your location — areas farther from a radar site will not return an image.
    </Note>

    ### Available layers

    When you run `/weather radar`, you can choose a **layer** to change what the radar image shows. The default is Reflectivity.

    | Layer                          | What it shows                                                        |
    | ------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
    | **Reflectivity**               | Precipitation intensity — the standard view for seeing rain and snow |
    | **Velocity**                   | Radial wind speed — useful for spotting rotation in thunderstorms    |
    | **Hydrometeor Classification** | The type of precipitation (rain, snow, hail, ice pellets, and more)  |
    | **Rainfall (1 hour)**          | Estimated rainfall accumulation over the past hour                   |
    | **Rainfall (storm total)**     | Cumulative rainfall since the storm began                            |

    ### How to use it

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Type the command">
        Enter `/weather radar` in any channel. Use Tab autocomplete to speed up location entry.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Enter a location">
        Type a city, state, or coordinates. Snowball finds the nearest radar station and fetches the latest scan.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose a layer (optional)">
        Select a layer from the dropdown. If you leave it blank, Snowball defaults to Reflectivity.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Open the interactive radar">
        Click **View Interactive Radar** in the response to open the live radar at radar.xtremewx.com, centered on your location.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Tip>
      The Velocity layer is especially useful during tornado warnings — inbound and outbound wind in a tight couplet can indicate rotation.
    </Tip>
  </Tab>

  <Tab title="Satellite">
    ## `/weather satellite`

    The satellite command fetches the latest GOES-19 imagery from NOAA's NESDIS CDN and posts it directly in Discord. You can choose a **product** (what the imagery highlights) and a **region** (which geographic area to show). Snowball can also infer the right region automatically from a location name or state.

    ### Products

    Snowball supports a wide range of GOES-19 products:

    <AccordionGroup>
      <Accordion title="GeoColor (default)">
        True-color visible imagery during the day and multi-spectral infrared at night. The best all-purpose view for seeing cloud cover, storm systems, and overall weather patterns.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="GLM Flash Extent Density (Lightning)">
        Lightning flash extent density overlaid on GeoColor. Shows where lightning is occurring across the field of view.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="AirMass RGB">
        A multi-channel composite that highlights different air masses using infrared and water vapor bands. Useful for tracking fronts and upper-level dynamics.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Sandwich RGB">
        Infrared Band 13 blended with visible Band 3 for enhanced contrast on cloud tops and storm systems.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Derived Motion Winds">
        Wind vectors calculated from the movement of clouds and water vapor features. Available for CONUS and Full Disk views.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Day Night Cloud Micro Combo">
        Highlights cloud-top phase during the day and detects low clouds and fog at night.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Fire Temperature RGB">
        Designed to identify active fire hot spots and estimate fire radiative power.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Dust RGB">
        Detects and highlights tropospheric dust plumes.
      </Accordion>

      <Accordion title="Individual spectral bands (Bands 1–16)">
        All 16 ABI spectral bands are available, from visible blue (Band 1) through CO2 longwave infrared (Band 16). Each band highlights different atmospheric and surface properties.
      </Accordion>
    </AccordionGroup>

    ### Regions

    You can specify a region directly, or let Snowball infer one from a location name or state abbreviation. Available regions include:

    * **CONUS** — Full continental United States
    * **Full Disk** — The entire Earth disk as seen by GOES-19
    * **Meso M1 / Meso M2** — The two live mesoscale sectors (updated every minute)
    * **Regional sectors** — Northern Rockies, Upper Mississippi Valley, Great Lakes, Northeast, Southern Rockies, Southern Plains, Southern Mississippi Valley, Southeast, U.S. East Coast, Canada, Northern Atlantic Ocean, Caribbean, Gulf of America, Puerto Rico, Tropical Atlantic Ocean, Eastern Pacific Ocean, Mexico, Central America, and both northern and southern South America

    ### How to use it

    <Steps>
      <Step title="Type the command">
        Enter `/weather satellite` in any channel.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose a product">
        Select a product from the dropdown, or leave it blank to get GeoColor.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose a region">
        Pick a region, or type a location name (such as `Texas` or `Chicago, IL`) and Snowball will select the most appropriate regional sector automatically.
      </Step>

      <Step title="Choose image type">
        Select **animation** (an animated GIF loop) or **still** (the latest single frame). Snowball falls back to a still image if an animation is not available.
      </Step>
    </Steps>

    <Tip>
      The GeoColor product on the CONUS view is a great default for a quick overview of ongoing weather across the country.
    </Tip>
  </Tab>
</Tabs>