Nexrad 3D

Problem Statement: I wanted to create a modern, web-native 3D globe experience for visualizing volumetric weather radar data. Existing radar visualization tools are often desktop-only or lack true 3D volumetric rendering in the browser with near-real-time updates.

Solution: I developed Nexrad 3D, a monorepo web platform that provides a 3D globe experience, near-real-time radar updates, and radar-source switching. It features a Next.js frontend with custom MapLibre globe and local volume ray-march renderers, accompanied by a backend ingest worker that polls upstream radar manifests. I also built specialized TypeScript packages to parse NEXRAD Level 2 and ODIM H5 radar formats directly.

Skills Used:

  • TypeScript
  • Next.js
  • React
  • MapLibre
  • WebGL
  • Docker
  • Redis
  • MinIO
  • Turborepo
  • Full Stack Development
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Development Process

Architecture & Prototyping

Step image 1

I started by designing a monorepo architecture using Turborepo to split the platform into specialized packages: a frontend app, an ingest worker, and shared contract/parser libraries.

Radar Parsing

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Developed portable parser interfaces for NEXRAD Level 2 and ODIM H5 formats to correctly read and process volumetric radar data.

MapLibre & 3D Rendering

Step image 1

Created custom MapLibre layers and local volume ray-march renderers to display the processed radar data in a real-time, interactive 3D globe view.

Ingestion & Infrastructure

Set up a backend ingest worker to poll upstream radar manifests and publish readiness events using Redis, with MinIO for local object storage emulation. Everything was tied together using Docker Compose for easy local development and full-stack deployment.