Next-Gen Feature Request: Volumetric 3D Weather Radar is now possible in Mobile Browsers! (See Meteopool Beta)
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Hi dear community and Windy developers,
Windy has always been the global pioneer in weather visualization. Today, I want to pitch a feature that represents the next logical evolutionary step for this platform: True Volumetric 3D Weather Radar.
For years, analyzing the vertical structure of severe convective storms (like looking for hail cores, bounded weak echo regions, or echo tops) required heavy, specialized desktop software like GRLevelX or RadarOmega.
However, web technology has officially changed. The platform Meteopool is currently running an early-access Beta of a brand- new 3D Radar tool. It is not even fully released yet, but the testing phase proves something incredible: It renders full volumetric data flawlessly and smoothly directly inside a standard smartphone web browser.
As you can see from my mobile screenshots of a storm cell near Frankfurt, you can seamlessly pan, tilt, zoom, and slice through the core of the thunderstorm in real-time right on a phone screen.
Why this is a highly realistic and essential feature for Windy:
Proven Technical Feasibility: Meteopool's beta shows that modern web frameworks (like WebGL) are now powerful enough to handle volumetric rendering on mobile hardware without lagging.
Perfect Synergies: Windy already possesses a world-class 3D Globe infrastructure. Integrating volumetric radar arrays into this existing environment is the ultimate use case for a 3D engine.
Unmatched Value for Users: For storm chasers, pilots, meteorologists, and general safety, seeing a storm's vertical development is an absolute game-changer compared to traditional 2D top-down loops.
If an independent platform can achieve this level of performance in a mobile smartphone browser during their beta tests, imagine the masterpiece the Windy team could build with their resources.
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@Kim-Gebhardt I good idea but most of the smartphone could not handle this kind of rendering
In the future this is a possibility and don't beg for upvote please -
@HardikP I know this is a feature for the future - that's why I called it a "Next-Gen Feature Request".
However, mobile hardware is already capable. I tested this exact Meteopool beta on a Samsung Galaxy S23 FE, and the volumetric 3D rendering runs surprisingly smooth without any lag. If an independent beta can do this today, an optimized version by Windy will easily run on mainstream devices in the near future.
P.S. Asking for upvotes on a feature request is standard forum practice to show developer interest. Everyone is free to decide for themselves whether they want to vote for it or not.
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@Kim-Gebhardt you know that most of the world don't use Samsung or apple most of them use budget phones that are not meant for this kind of rendering
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@HardikP As a developer, you surely know that software features can be scaled. Nobody is asking to force 3D rendering on a budget phone. A simple hardware detection or an optional 3D switch completely resolves the performance issue. Budget devices stay on 2D, and users with capable hardware get next-gen tech. It’s entirely a matter of choice, not a hardware limitation.
