Weather Timeline
Animate the weather map across time and fine-tune the playback in settings.
The Weather Timeline is the control bar that sits over the interactive weather map in Visualization mode. It turns a static layer into a loop you can watch: drag the slider to scrub to any moment, tap play to run it, and open settings to change how much time the loop covers and how fast it runs. It is how you tell whether a cell is building or fading, and which way a front is tracking.
Overview
The timeline bar
| Control | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Slider | Scrub to any point between the start and end of the range |
| Play / Pause | Starts and stops the animation. The icon switches between a play triangle and a pause bar. |
| Time | The time currently drawn on the map, such as "3:45 PM" |
| Date | The day currently drawn, such as "Tue, Feb 12" |
| Loading spinner | Appears while the map is fetching frames, and disappears when they are ready |
| Settings (gear) | Opens the timeline settings panel |
On a phone the bar spans the bottom of the map. On a tablet it becomes a rounded, shadowed card floating over the bottom-right corner, so more of the map stays visible.
The settings panel
The panel is titled Timeline and has two sections.
| Section | Contents |
|---|---|
| Date Range | The Start and End rows, each with four shift buttons, and a note reading "Shift start/end by hour/day intervals." |
| Animation | A Speed row with four choices |
| Setting | Options | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Start | -1 day, -1 hour, +1 hour, +1 day | 24 hours before now |
| End | -1 day, -1 hour, +1 hour, +1 day | Now |
| Speed | 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x, 2x | 1x |
The current start and end are shown beside their rows as a date and time. The selected speed is filled in; the other three are plain.
On a phone the panel opens as a half-height sheet you can swipe away. On a tablet it opens as a small popover pointing at the timeline bar.
Getting Here
- Open Home, then tap Weather.
- Tap Visualization at the bottom of the screen.
- The interactive weather map fills the screen with the timeline bar over it.
The map opens with a temperature layer drawn and the range set to the last 24 hours. Use the Add (+) button to pick a different layer — see the section below.
Playing the Timeline
- Tap Play. The map steps forward through the range and the time and date labels update as it goes.
- Tap Pause to stop on a moment you want to look at.
- Drag the slider to scrub anywhere in the range by hand. The map follows your finger.
The spinner appears while frames are being fetched. On a slow connection the animation can pause at the spinner while it catches up; that is the map loading, not a fault.
Scrub rather than play when you want to compare two moments. Drag to the earlier time, look, then drag to the later one — the difference is easier to see than watching it go past.
Adjusting the Date Range
- Tap the Settings (gear) button.
- Under Date Range, use the buttons on the Start row to move the start earlier or later, and the buttons on the End row to move the end. Each tap shifts by one hour or one day.
- The date and time beside each row update with every tap, and the map's range changes immediately behind the panel.
- Close the panel with the close (x) control, or swipe it away on a phone.
| What you want | How to get it |
|---|---|
| A longer look back | Tap -1 day on Start once or twice |
| A tight look at the last few hours | Tap +1 hour on Start several times to bring it forward |
| A forecast loop rather than a history loop | Tap +1 day on End to push the end into the future, where the layer has forecast frames |
| A one-hour window around now | Bring Start forward with +1 hour taps until it sits an hour behind End |
There is no reset button. To get back to the default last-24-hours range, leave Visualization mode and come back — the range is set fresh each time the map is built.
Changing the Speed
- Tap the Settings (gear) button.
- Under Animation, tap a Speed: 0.25x, 0.5x, 1x or 2x. Your choice fills in.
- Playback stops when you change the speed, so tap Play again to run it at the new rate.
| Speed | Use it for |
|---|---|
| 0.25x | Studying a developing cell frame by frame |
| 0.5x | Watching a front's movement carefully |
| 1x | Normal review |
| 2x | A quick sweep of a whole day's range |
Choosing a Weather Layer
The timeline animates whatever layer is drawn, so the layer and the timeline are used together.
- Tap the Add (+) button at the top of the screen.
- A list of available layers opens, with the one currently drawn highlighted.
- Tap a layer. It replaces the current one and the timeline animates the new layer over the same range.
One layer is drawn at a time. The layers available are grouped into categories such as Conditions, Forecasts, Radar/Satellite, Severe, Tropical, Lightning, Air Quality, Maritime and Climate, and exactly which ones you see depends on what your agency's weather map service provides.
Radar and satellite layers are the ones worth animating — they show movement. A static layer like a temperature field changes slowly, so a 24-hour loop of it tells you less than a single frame of radar.
Working Offline
The timeline needs a connection. Each frame is fetched from the weather map service as it is drawn, so with no signal the spinner stays up and nothing animates.
| Action | Offline behavior |
|---|---|
| Opening Visualization mode | The map may draw from cached tiles, but no weather frames load |
| Playing or scrubbing | Does not work — there are no frames to show |
| Changing the range or speed | The controls respond, but nothing new is drawn |
| Reading conditions instead | Switch to Text List for the cached readings on your saved locations |
Do not rely on the timeline in a dead zone. Switch to Text List and read the Updated at time on each location card, which tells you exactly how old the cached numbers are.
How This Connects
- Where the data comes from. Frames come from your agency's weather map service, requested for the range you have set and drawn on the map as they arrive. Nothing is cached for offline use, which is why a connection is required.
- Weather. The timeline only exists in Visualization mode on the Weather screen. Switching to Text List takes you back to the readable lists and hides the timeline.
- Map layers. The layers you animate here are the same kind of weather overlays available on the main map screens — see Map Style Options and Reference Map.
- Weather alerts. The timeline shows you the system; an official declaration over an area is separate. Read the warning itself on Zone Alert Detail for the zones you follow.
- Point forecasts. For numbers at one specific place rather than a picture across an area, use a saved forecast location and Weather Tabs or Weather Details.
- Incidents. When you are working an incident, the command screens carry their own weather popup based on the same forecast data — see Command Weather Forecast.
- Offline and reconnect. Animation resumes as soon as the connection returns; there is nothing to queue or sync, because the timeline only reads.
Troubleshooting
| If this happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| The spinner never clears | Frames are not arriving. Check your connection, or narrow the range so fewer frames are needed. |
| Playback stutters or pauses | The map is still fetching frames. Let it run once through, then play again — or lower the speed. |
| Nothing changes as the timeline plays | The layer you picked changes slowly over the range. Try a radar or satellite layer instead. |
| The time and date labels do not move | Playback is paused. Tap Play. |
| Playback stopped by itself | Changing the speed stops playback. Tap Play again. |
| You cannot find a reset for the range | There is none. Leave Visualization mode and come back for the default last-24-hours range. |
| The Add (+) button opens the wrong list | You are in Text List mode, where it adds locations or zones. Tap Visualization first. |
| A layer you want is missing | The available layers come from your agency's weather map service. Ask your administrator. |
| The timeline bar covers the area you want to see | On a tablet the bar floats in the corner; on a phone try rotating to landscape, or pan the map upward. |
| Nothing works with no signal | The timeline needs a connection. Use Text List for cached readings. |
Related Pages
⬅️ Previous: Weather Tabs | Next: Weather ➡️