What are satellite maps and how do you use them?
Satellite images are measurements of the Earth (some are "photos" in the classic sense) taken from high in space by governmental satellites, and used to show clouds and cloud movement. AccuWeather receives satellite data from several satellites, via large satellite dishes and the Internet, and then converts this data into maps for AccuWeather.com.
What different types of satellite maps does AccuWeather.com offer?
AccuWeather.com offers Infrared satellite images for the entire world, including the United States. The term "Infrared" means that the satellite is detecting the temperature of the clouds. Normal Infrared satellites are grayscale; brighter clouds are colder, meaning higher and hence stronger storms.
An issue with this type of satellite is that it is difficult to see the small differences in the temperature of the clouds near the edge of the scale, and turning grey to white is sometimes not visible enough to the naked eye. AccuWeather’s exclusive Enhanced Infrared Satellite takes the last several dozen levels of white and translates them to eye-catching colors so the strongest storms easily stand out. This “raw” satellite image also allows the user to see more detail than the standard Infrared, as well as land and sea surface temperatures.
