Real-Time Visualization & Analytics

Putting the "Live" in Living Atlas of the World

Updated July 2022: Additional days added to MODIS thermal hotspots and wildfires and “hours old” field added (along with VIIRS)

Updated April 2022: New USA temperature forecast layers, New “Mercali color” version of Recent Earthquakes, improved USA Storm Reports

Updated June 2021: New Live Feed Status Page and updated USA Drought layers

Updated January 2021: New Live Stream Gauges layer is available

Updated May 2020: New USA Wildfire layer is available

Updated April 2020: New information on VIIRS thermal detections, GEOGLOWS Global Flood Forecast, and retirement of GeoMAC USA Wildfires

Updated July 2019: Many of the Weather and Disaster Live Feeds links below have been updated with improved versions of the map layers that leverage hosted feature services. More information is available here. Updated layers are indicated by an asterisk (*) in the charts below. Please update any of your maps with these new services.

ArcGIS Living Atlas derives its name from the idea that it is an ever-changing collection of resources from around the world. While some layers update more than others, one collection is updated in an automated manner as soon as the source data is available. We call these the “Live Feeds.” They are not only some of the most popular resources in Living Atlas, but are also relied upon by millions of users to provide reliable information for weather, natural disaster, and environmental applications.  

Here’s a quick breakdown of some of the Live Feeds services, along with other near real-time data available in Living Atlas from Esri and its partners.

Track Live Feed Updates

In June 2020, Esri released the Live Feeds Status Page, which provides a summarized view of each service showing the current update status and usage trend, along with an RSS link to subscribe to notifications. Read more about it in this blog.

weather feeds

Weather Feeds

Weather events evolve rapidly, and decision support tools require reliable, authoritative data. We generate our weather-related Live Feeds from the official U.S. and global analyses from the NOAA National Weather Service. These feeds are scripted to update as soon as the NWS issues a new alert, guidance or data product.

Item Name Source Update Frequency
USA Weather Watches and Warnings* NOAA National Weather Service 5 minute
USA Short-Term Weather Warnings* NOAA National Weather Service 15 minutes
USA Storm Reports* NOAA National Weather Service 15 minutes
Current Weather and Wind Station Data* NOAA National Weather Service 1 hour
National forecast models* NOAA National Weather Service 6 hours
National Weather Service Smoke Forecast* NOAA National Weather Service 6 hours
National Water Model NOAA National Weather Service 6 hours
Global River and Stream Flood Forecast ECMWF, BYU, Esri, et al 24 hours

While not generated by the Esri Live Feeds methods, NOAA also contributes real-time GOES satellite imagery and NEXRAD radar mosaics that can be merged with any of these layers.

disaster feeds

Disaster Feeds

Like the weather feeds, disaster-related services are aggregated from official sources. Earthquake data from the U.S. Geological Survey PAGER program updates in real-time, and has a rolling archive based on intensity (i.e., more intense events are kept longer in the service). Hurricane forecasts, issued by the National Hurricane Center and the Joint Typhoon Warning Center, are typically updated every 6 hours. However, under special circumstances, more frequent advisories may be issued. The 15 minute update frequency will catch any of these updates. The Flooding Map is a query of the Live Stream Gauges layer (see Earth Observations Feeds below), displaying only the stream gauges undergoing flooding conditions. Wildfire mapping has a few caveats that are described in this blog.

Item Name Source Update Frequency
Recent Earthquakes* USGS 5 minutes
Active Hurricanes* NOAA National Weather Service 15 minutes
Recent Hurricanes* NOAA National Weather Service 15 minutes
USA Current Wildfires* IRWIN and NIFC 15 minutes

Earth Observation Feeds

A variety of Earth systems variables are available in the Living Atlas in near real-time. Some of these are feature services, while others are time enabled image services that include raster functions and templates for use online or in ArcGIS Pro.

Item Name Source Update Frequency
Satellite (VIIRS) Thermal Hotspots and Fire Activity* NASA 15 minutes
Satellite (MODIS) Thermal Hotspots and Fire Activity* NASA 15 minutes
Stream Gauges* Esri 1 hour
HYCOM ocean model  HYCOM 1 day
Sea Surface Temperature NOAA 1 day
Current Drought Conditions NOAA 1 week
Global hydrology analysis NASA, NOAA 1 month
satellite

Multispectral Imagery Feeds

While not technically associated with the Esri Live Feeds, these satellite imagery products can provide near real-time situational awareness. The multispectral band combinations and raster functions can be used for a variety of applications.

Item Name Source Update Frequency
Sentinel-2 ESA, Amazon Web Services 1 day; 5 day revisit
Landsat USGS, Amazon Web Services 1 day; 16 day revisit

Additional Resources

One of the great values of Living Atlas is that it’s more than just data layers – it includes web maps, apps, Story Maps, and resources such as this blog. Here’s a few that relate to the Live Feeds. I’ll try to update this as more resources become available (or people tell me about them).

Apps

USA Severe Weather Reports Dashboard

Stream Gauge Dashboard

Global Active Fires and Hotspots Dashboard

Severe Weather Public Information Map

Hurricanes Public Information Map

Wildfire Public Information Map

Flooding Public Information Map

Earthquakes Public Information Map

Esri Drought Tracker

Stylized fire and smoke app

Blogs and How-To

Blog on wildfire: Mapping the Inferno

Blog on weather: Weather Just the Way You Want It

Blog: Mapping earthquakes

Blog: Using Arcade expressions to calculate new fields

Story Map: Configuring Hurricane Apps

Story Map: Configuring Wildfire Apps

Webinars

Webinars on using Living Atlas for disaster management

Webinar on using weather and climate data in ArcGIS

About the authors

Ken Baloun

Ken is a Principal Project Manager at Esri and works with both the ArcGIS Living Atlas Website Development Team and Live Feeds Team. Email kbaloun@esri.com.

Jeff Baranyi currently serves as Lead Solution Engineer on the Public Safety Team for Emergency Management and Disaster Response. He is responsible for working closely with the community to discover, develop, and promote best practices in the use of ArcGIS to support the emergency management mission. Jeff also helps lead our Esri Disaster Response Program (DRP) which provides GIS support to organizations during disasters and crisis. He has been with Esri since 2000 and started as a consultant in the Professional Services Group. Outside of work he enjoys skiing, swimming, hiking, camping, and spending time with family.

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Dan leads development of ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World environmental content, which includes information about Earth's land, ocean, atmosphere, and ecosystems. Prior to Esri, Dan worked at NOAA for two decades, leading data visualization efforts for research, communications, and education.

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