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Regularly Used App Review

    The app I chose to talk about is Radarscope by DTN. Radarscope is an all-in-one weather app that I have been using for over five years now. I heavily rely on this app to provide me with up-to-date weather radar images while storm chasing when I’m not running radar on my laptop. The app features numerous types of weather data from reflectivity, velocity, digital accumulation, enhanced echo tops and many more. Along with the data filters it allows the user to view data at different tilt angles from the doppler radar which provides a better overall picture of how the storm is developing. The app also allows you to connect to the Spotter Network which tracks other storm chasers and provides you with their contact information. Live storm warnings and weather reports provide a ton of information such as when the report was made, location, speed and direction of storm travel, impacted areas, and much more. 

    The app costs $9.99 and there are two paid plans available for more features. Pro Tier One is priced at $9.99 a year and provides access to lightening data, dual-pane display, longer loops of super-res data, and the data inspector tool. Pro Tier Two is priced at $99.99 a year or $14.99 a month and includes everything in Pro Tier One along with Storm Prediction Center outlooks, watches, and mesoscale discussions. It also includes special weather statements, local storm reports, a 30-day archive of radar data, shear and hail contours, detailed road maps, custom color tables, and cross-platform subscription sharing. 

    One way the app can be improved is by allowing all the radar sites to merge their imagery. Right now, you are only able to view one radar site at a time which can be a problem. If the weather data you are trying to view happens to be over the top of the radar site, you will not be able to view the data as it is too close to the instruments. If another weather station is within range of that radar site, then you will still have coverage, but if one is too far away you will have available data to read. Another way the app can be improved is by allowing chasers that are using Spotter Network to direct message each other. Doing so eliminates the need to find a user’s location, find their phone number, and message them. Direct messaging would allow for faster dissemination of information in situations where seconds could mean the difference between life and death. The final way I would recommend improving the app is to integrate it with Google Maps to allow for satellite imagery with a “paved roads only” mode for directions. The Google Maps overlay would be beneficial to reduce the number of running apps on the phone and having everything in one convenient place. A “paved roads only” option for directions would be a game changer. The majority of chases are on rural roads in the middle of nowhere that are often washed out or impassable. 



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