About RainyMap
RainyMap is a free, independent weather site built around one idea: that most people do not want a forecast summary, they want to see what the sky is actually doing right now.
What We Do
RainyMap provides five live weather maps — rain radar, wind, lightning, temperature and air quality — alongside a 7-day forecast, live radar for more than 3,300 locations, and written coverage of the weather stories behind them.
Everything is free, works in any browser, and requires no account, app download or sign-up. There is no paywall and no registration wall.
Who Runs It
RainyMap is a small independent project, built and maintained from Latvia by Edgars, a developer who wanted a radar viewer that was fast, uncluttered and global. It is not operated by a national meteorological service, a government agency or a media group. That independence is why the site can stay free and free of clutter — and it is also why the disclaimer below matters.
For anything at all — corrections, questions, data problems, press — you can reach us directly at [email protected] or through the contact page. Messages are read by a person, not a ticket queue.
Where Our Data Comes From
RainyMap does not generate its own weather observations. It aggregates specialised, established sources rather than one opaque feed, and we name them openly:
- Rain radar imagery — RainViewer, using participating weather radar networks. Radar coverage is incomplete and data can be delayed.
- Wind and temperature fields — the ECMWF global model, via Windy.
- Lightning strikes — the community-run Blitzortung detection network.
- Air quality — the World Air Quality Index Project (waqi.info), drawing on government monitoring stations in over 100 countries.
- Forecasts — Open-Meteo, which blends ECMWF, NOAA GFS, DWD ICON and other national models rather than relying on a single one.
- Base maps — OpenStreetMap and CARTO.
Data layers update on different schedules depending on the provider. Check each map’s timestamp for the age of the displayed data. Where a source has limitations — and every source does — we try to say so rather than paper over it.
How We Write About Weather
Our weather news and explainers follow a few rules we hold ourselves to:
- Primary sources first. We cite meteorological agencies and scientific bodies — NOAA, the Met Office, Météo-France, Copernicus, the EU Joint Research Centre, KERAUNOS — in preference to rewriting other outlets.
- Every source is named and linked. Each article ends with the sources it was built from, so you can check the original.
- Figures carry dates. In a developing story, numbers change. We timestamp them rather than implying they are final.
- We do not overstate attribution. Where the link between an event and climate change is well supported, we say so; where meteorologists say it is unclear — as with tornado frequency — we say that instead.
- Corrections are made openly. If we get something wrong, tell us and we will fix it and note it.
Important Limitation
RainyMap is an information and general-interest site. It is not a warning service. For severe weather, flooding, storms or any decision affecting safety, always follow your official national weather service and local emergency authorities — their warnings take precedence over anything shown here. This is set out in full in our Terms of Use and Weather Disclaimer.
Privacy and Funding
RainyMap is funded by advertising, which is what keeps it free to use. We do not sell personal data. What is collected, and why, is explained plainly in our Privacy Policy.