ScoutKit vs StormNet

Every photographer knows the frustration — you drove two hours, hiked to the overlook, and the light just… wasn't there. The conditions didn't cooperate. The moment didn't materialize. ScoutKit exists so that when you press the shutter, it matters. Built for photographers, ScoutKit delivers the planning intelligence you need to be in the right place at the right time — not by luck, but by design. Check cloud cover across multiple atmospheric layers, track golden hour and blue hour windows, monitor tide cycles, and evaluate sunrise or sunset conditions before you ever leave the house. When the sun goes down, keep planning — aurora forecasts, Milky Way windows, and transparency scoring tell you whether tonight is the night. Save the locations that matter to you. Monitor conditions throughout the day and hours leading up to your shoot. Show up knowing what the sky, the water, and the light are going to do. No account required. No login. Just open ScoutKit and start planning your next shoot. Key features include: • Multi-layer cloud analysis — See coverage across low, mid, and high atmospheric layers to judge whether a sunrise or sunset is worth the drive. • Regional cloud field visualization — Live satellite and forecast data showing how coverage moves and evolves hour by hour across your area. • Night Sky planning — Aurora forecasting, Milky Way shoot windows, and atmospheric transparency scoring for stargazing and astrophotography. • Marine & tide data for coastal shoots — Tides, significant wave height, swells, and currents. Time your sessions around water levels for tidal pools, sea stacks, reflections, and long exposures. • Golden hour, blue hour & astronomical timing — Know exactly when the light transitions happen at any location, any day of the year. • Location scouting & tagging — Save and organize the spots that matter to you for easy monitoring and future sessions. • Animated weather map overlays — Watch cloud banks, precipitation, and fronts move through your area so you know when conditions will clear or change. The best light isn't luck — it's planning. Payment for ScoutKit subscriptions will be charged to your Apple ID account upon purchase confirmation. All prices are exclusive of taxes. Subscription plans will automatically renew annually or monthly, depending on the selected plan, unless canceled at least 24 hours before the end of the current term. Cancel anytime in the App Store; your subscription will cease at the end of the current term. No refund will be issued for the time remaining on your current plan term when you cancel your subscription. By using ScoutKit, you certify that you understand and agree to the ScoutKit Terms of Use (https://www.scoutkit.app/terms-of-use) and Privacy Policy (https://www.scoutkit.app/privacy-policy).

StormNet is optimized to provide the most accurate severe weather forecast with NEXRAD, Super-Res Radar. StormNet is completely free, with no ads. Trained on decades of severe weather events, StormNet analyzes high-resolution radar, satellites, ground-based sensors, and weather forecast models in real-time to find complex patterns that lead to severe weather. The model updates every 2 minutes to provide 14-day forecasts for lightning, hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and tornadoes. Super-Res Radar is the highest-resolution NEXRAD radar data available from 159 stations across the continental United States. Each radar station updates every 3-4 minutes and measures the intensity of precipitation based on how much energy the radar signal receives back from objects in the atmosphere. Combined, StormNet + Super-Res Radar provides a first-of-its-kind, multiple-component severe weather forecast system for the United States. StormNet Map Overlays • Radar: The highest-resolution radar available for the United States from each radar station. • Radar + Risk: NEXRAD radar, alongside StormNet risk probabilities, for the next 4 hours. • Risk Forecast: The StormNet risk probabilities from real-time to 14 days into the future. StormNet Risk Forecasts • Lightning • Hail • Damaging Winds • Tornado Super-Res (NEXRAD) Radar • Radar Reflectivity • Radar Velocity • Spectrum Width National Weather Service Warnings • Tornado • Severe Thunderstorm • Snow Squall • Flash Flood StormNet vs. National Weather Service The National Weather Service, the Storm Prediction Center, and other government agencies are the official sources for watches, warnings, and severe weather information. StormNet should serve as a trusted and automated guide for severe weather risk, but StormNet should not be treated as an official source. StormNet vs. Traditional Weather Models Existing weather forecast models are incredible feats of engineering and predict the ingredients for severe weather, but they are not designed to excel at severe weather forecasting and are not real-time tools. StormNet was trained and optimized to provide severe weather forecasts. StormNet vs. Other Weather Apps Existing weather apps and companies usually pass along official government watches and warnings, and often communicate if lightning or hail is already close by. While these are valuable features, we are not aware of another weather app or company that matches StormNet’s ability to provide real-time updates for lightning, hail, damaging thunderstorm winds, and tornado risk. Powered by OpenSnow In 2011, OpenSnow began predicting snowfall for skiers and snowboarders. OpenSnow has since become a global leader in mountain weather forecasts and expanded to provide forecasts for every type of outdoor activity. Since lightning is a risk to outdoor activities, especially on longer mountain-based adventures, OpenSnow created a weather forecast system that would provide both lightning forecasts to support real-time decisions and multi-day outlooks to support trip planning. Meteorologist Andrew Brady built StormNet to predict the risk of severe weather. OpenSnow acquired his technology in 2024 to help people stay safe and enjoy the outdoors. — Terms & Conditions — StormNet is free and available in the United States. We'll never track you, sell ads, or collect data. We only ask for your location to show the most accurate radar and severe weather forecast. Full terms and conditions can be found here: https://support.opensnow.com/legal/terms | https://support.opensnow.com/legal/privacy