Radar reliability update. Radar imagery now comes from a more dependable source, so it stays current even when the upstream government map service has problems. If radar data is ever delayed, the app now tells you and shows the time of the last update.

Radar Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, Flash Flood and other short-fuse warnings now draw directly on the radar, with NWS/SPC watches as a separate layer. Free for everyone — life-safety information isn't gated. Tap any warning or watch polygon for the details: type, expiration, and what the NWS says. New streamlined controls: a compact side rail for products and layers, a single time cluster for Observed/Forecast, and a collapsible legend that stays out of the way of the map. Faster radar loading and smoother frame scrubbing. Forecast 1991–2020 climate normals alongside each day, so you can see how the forecast compares to typical conditions for the date. New Forecast vs. Normal graph showing where the coming days run warmer or cooler than average. Tropical Hurricane forecast and tracking improvements: cones, wind-speed probabilities, and genesis areas now come straight from NHC's own products.

Release notes Hurricane season, done properly. VortiCast now draws its tropical products straight from the National Hurricane Center — the same files NHC publishes, not a third-party copy. Wind speed probabilities — the odds of 34, 50 or 64 kt winds reaching any point, cumulative through 120 hours Tropical Weather Outlook — NHC's 2-day and 7-day formation chances, including areas they're monitoring at 0% A redrawn forecast cone — a proper edge that reads clearly against the map instead of washing out over water Watches and warnings, forecast track, and arrival times for tropical-storm-force winds All of it free. Life-safety information shouldn't sit behind a paywall. Also fixed: the app could get stuck on "Locating…" and stop responding if location services were unavailable or permission was declined. It now loads normally and falls back to your saved locations.

Radar improvements: - Live radar now updates within about a minute of the newest scan, instead of running several minutes behind. - The forecast timeline no longer jumps back to now while you're scrubbing. - Forecast frame times are now exact, and the timeline reflects the true forecast horizon. - Cleaned up the radar controls in forecast mode. Behind the scenes, the radar forecast now blends model data that's properly time-matched to live radar — the forecast loop should track storms more faithfully. Questions or ideas: support@vorticast.com

New in 1.1 LightningCast — see where lightning is headed next. VortiCast now shows NOAA LightningCast: forecast-probability contours that estimate the chance of a lightning flash in the next 60 minutes, drawn from NOAA GOES satellite imagery. Because it reads the developing cloud rather than the strikes, it often lights up 20–45 minutes before the first flash. It sits right alongside the existing observed-lightning layer, so you can see what's happening now next to what's expected next. Tap the legend to learn how to read the contours and how the two differ. NOAA LightningCast is a research product, included for informational use. (Pro) Plus surface-observation accuracy improvements and under-the-hood reliability fixes.