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New! NOAA Launches New, Interactive Satellite Maps

May 23, 2018

Are you a weather enthusiast? Or someone who loves maps and beautiful images of the Earth? We’ve got you covered. NOAA Satellite Maps is a suite of interactive Earth-viewing tools that offer real-time, high-resolution satellite imagery from NOAA’s most advanced geostationary and polar-orbiting satellites.

Image of the earth

At the click of a button, you’ll be able to see the latest weather patterns around the globe, including high-resolution cloud features and storm imagery, just as NOAA satellites see them from space.

The 3D Earth Scene

Use the 3D Earth Scene to take a trip around the globe or zoom in to find your neighborhood! Four different datasets help you view Earth from different perspectives:

  • GeoColor(Western Hemisphere) shows visible satellite imagery as the human eye would see Earth from space, captured by the GOES East (GOES-16) satellite. This imagery is updated every 15 minutes.
  • Infrared(Western Hemisphere) shows heat radiating off of clouds and the surface of the Earth, captured by GOES East. This imagery is updated every 15 minutes.
  • Water Vapor(Western Hemisphere) shows the concentration and location of water vapor in the atmosphere, captured by GOES East. This imagery is updated every 15 minutes.
  • True Color(Global) shows land, water, and clouds as they would appear to our eye from space, captured each day by the NOAA-20 polar-orbiting satellite.

Latest 24 Hours and Global Archive - Downloadable Imagery

These two web maps include a time slider that allows you to see current and past satellite imagery. Zoom in on different locations, and use the camera tool to capture and download your favorite views of the Earth! Two options are available:

  • Latest 24 Hours(Western Hemisphere) displays the most recent 24 hours ofvisible(GeoColor),infraredandwater vaporimagery from the NOAA GOES East satellite. This imagery is updated every 15 minutes.
  • Global Archive provides a daily view of the whole Earth, captured by our polar-orbiting satellites (NOAA/NASA Suomi NPP and NOAA-20). The polar satellites circle the globe 14 times daily and capture a complete daytime view of our planet once every 24 hours. Images in this archive date back to 2014.

 

 

Image of satellite maps

NOAA Satellite Maps places the world in your hands. Whether you’re a satellite expert or a novice, get ready to immerse yourself in the latest real-time views of our majestic planet Earth.

Still have questions? Learn more on the NOAA Satellite Maps FAQ Page.

A note for our more advanced data users:

One of the most important features of the Satellite Maps service is the interoperable nature of the data upon which it is built. The sharing capabilities of real-time data from these NOAA satellites in geospatial form is a first of its kind for GOES data through the NOAA GeoPlatform.

Users can combine georeferenced data layers from other datasets together with the data from our web maps. For example, GOES East infrared Band 10 data can be combined with Doppler radar data to see how cloud cover and instances of rain align during a critical weather event. These geospatial web services are free and accessible to the public and are located on our Satellite Maps ArcGIS REST Web Service.

We support open information sharing and integration through this RESTful Service, which can be used by a multitude of GIS software packages and web map applications (both open and licensed). Please note: Data is for display purposes only, and should not be used operationally.