Real Data. Real Reliable.

You Have Needs.
We Have Solutions.

PlacefileNation — run by and for meteorologists & enthusiasts for your GRLevelX, WSV3, and Supercell WX applications.

Lightning Data

Total Lightning
Near Realtime

Plot intra-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strikes updated every 4 minutes.

Crowd-Sourced Reports

mPING Data
at Your Fingertips

See what spotters and weather enthusiasts are reporting — sampled every 4 minutes.

SPC Products

Outlooks &
Watches

Plot convective outlooks and discussions for significant weather impacts.

Observations

10,000+ METAR
Observations

Surface observations across the US, Canada, and Mexico updated every 5 minutes.

NWS Products

Warnings &
Advisories

Real-time county watches, advisories, and alerts — color-coded to NWS standards.

GRLevelX Compatible
WSV3 Compatible
Supercell Wx Compatible
--:-- UTC

Welcome to PlacefileNation

PlacefileNation was created and is maintained by a team of seasoned meteorologists and weather enthusiasts to provide weather data placefiles for GRLevelX, GR2, GR3, WSV3, and Supercell Wx applications across the United States.

Analyzing radar with reliable data overlays provides a more seamless, worry-free experience. We know this, which is why we manage and monitor our own data feeds. All placefile URLs are permanent — we never break your setup.

Questions or feedback? Reach us at info@placefilenation.com

All Systems Operational
No severe thunderstorm areas forecast through tonight.
50+
Placefiles
5min
Update Cycle
10K+
METAR Sites
Free
Always

Range Ring Generator

Generate a custom placefile with range rings centered on any coordinate. Generates and downloads directly to your computer.

Quick Color Reference

White 255 255 255
Black 0 0 0
Red 255 0 0
Orange 255 102 0
Yellow 255 255 0
Green 0 255 0
Cyan 0 255 255
Blue 0 0 255
Magenta 255 0 255

Label: Name of your center point — also used as the filename.

Coordinates: Center of the rings (Lat, Lon with comma).

Ring Size: Distance in miles. Enter 0 to disable that ring.

RGB Color: Three numbers 0–255 separated by spaces.

Line Width: Thickness of the ring line in pixels.

Free & Always Updated

Placefile Catalog

Click any category, then copy a URL directly into your placefile manager.

🌡️
Surface Observations
Color-coded METAR observations sampled every 5 minutes — 10,000+ sites across US, Canada & Mexico.
Live
📡
METARs
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/metars.php
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💨
Wind + Gusts
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/wind_gusts.php
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🌤️
Conditions
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/conditions.php
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🌡️
Temperatures
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/temps.php
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💧
Dew Points
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/dp.php
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👁️
Visibilities
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/vis.php
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💨
Wind Gusts
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/gusts.php
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🥶
Wind Chill
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/wc.php
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🥵
Heat Index
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/hi.php
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Buoys
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/buoys.php
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🏕️
RAWS
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/RAWS.php
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GLM and Near Real-Time Lightning
GLM Lightning Every Minute! PERFECT for DSS! You're welcome! 20/40/60 Lightning sampled every 4 minutes.
Live
GLM Lightning
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/glm_lightning.php
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Last 20 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/20lightning.php
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Last 40 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/40lightning.php
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Last 60 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/60lightning.php
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👥
Crowd-Sourced mPING Data
Spotter and enthusiast surface reports sampled every 4 minutes.
Live
👥
Last 15 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mping_15min.php
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👥
Last 30 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mping_30min.php
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👥
Last 60 Minutes
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mping_60min.php
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👥
Last 5 Hours
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mping_300min.php
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👥
Last 24 Hours (12Z–12Z)
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mping_1440min.php
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🌧️
CoCoRaHS Precipitation
Volunteer observer 24-hour precip reports sampled every 30 min from 11Z–20Z. Zeros removed.
Live
🌧️
Rain Reports
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/cocorahs_rain.php
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❄️
Snow Reports
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/cocorahs_snow.php
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🚨
Alerts, Watches & Warnings
Real-time county watches, advisories, and special statements color-coded to NWS standards.
Live
🚨
NWS Alert Areas
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/alert-areas.php
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🔕
Alert Areas (No Icons)
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/alert-areas_noicons.php
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Marine Alert Areas
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/alert-marine-areas.php
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👁️
Severe Watches
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/severeWatch.php
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🔲
Polygons (Unshaded)
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nws_polygons.php
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🌊
Marine Polygons
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nws_marine_polygons.php
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🗺️
Convective Outlooks & Probabilities
SPC daily outlooks, mesoscale discussions, and Day 1 probability fields for tornadoes, hail & wind.
Live
1️⃣
Day 1 Outlook
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/spcday1.php
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🎨
Day 1 Shaded
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/day1_shaded.php
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2️⃣
Day 2 Outlook
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/spcday2.php
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3️⃣
Day 3 Outlook
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/spcday3.php
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🔬
Mesoscale Discussions
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/mcd.php
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🌪️
Tornado Probability
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/tornado.php
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🧊
Hail Probability
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/hail.php
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💨
Wind Probability
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/wind.php
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🔥
Fire Weather & Spot Forecast
InciWeb wildfire reports plus spot forecast monitoring at all request stages.
Live
🔥
InciWeb Wildfire Reports
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/wildfile_placefile.php
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📋
Spot Forecast Monitor
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/spot-placefile.php
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Pending Spot Forecasts
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/spot-placefile-pending.php
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🌅
Day 1 Fire Wx Outlook
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/day1firewx.php
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🌄
Day 2 Fire Wx Outlook
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/day2firewx.php
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💧
NWPS River Gauges
National Water Prediction Service (formerly AHPS) river gauge data. Filter to action stage or higher.
Live
🚨
Filtered (Action Stage+)
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/ahps-placefile-alerts.php
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💧
All River Gauges
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/ahps-placefile.php
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📍
Misc NWS Plots
CWA boundaries, radar site status, and NOAA Weather Radio transmitter locations.
Live
🗺️
CWA Boundaries
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nws_cwa_boundaries.php
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📡
Radar Site Status
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/radar_status.php
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📻
NWR Transmitter Sites
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/noaaradio.php
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🌎
Earthquake Activity
USGS earthquake data plotted in near real-time by hour and 24-hour window.
Live
⏱️
Last Hour
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/earthquakes_last_hour.php
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📅
Last 24 Hours
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/earthquakes_last_day.php
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🌀
Atlantic & Eastern Pacific Hurricane Tracks
NHC forecast tracks for tropical storms and hurricanes. Only visible near radar-covered landmasses.
Live
🌀
Atlantic Tracks
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nhc.php
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🌀
Eastern Pacific Tracks
placefilenation.com/Placefiles/epnhc.php
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💧

NWPS River Gauges

National Water Prediction Service (formerly AHPS) river gauge data. Filter to action stage or higher.

Live
Filteredhttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/ahps-placefile-alerts.php
All Gaugeshttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/ahps-placefile.php
📍

Misc NWS Plots

CWA boundaries, radar site status, and NOAA Weather Radio transmitter locations.

Live
CWAhttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nws_cwa_boundaries.php
Radar Statushttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/radar_status.php
NWR Siteshttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/noaaradio.php
🌎

Earthquake Activity

USGS earthquake data plotted in near real-time by hour and day.

Live
Last Hourhttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/earthquakes_last_hour.php
Last 24 hrshttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/earthquakes_last_day.php
🌀

Atlantic & Eastern Pacific Hurricane Tracks

NHC forecast tracks for tropical storms and hurricanes. Only visible near radar-covered landmasses.

Live
Atlantichttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/nhc.php
E. Pacifichttps://placefilenation.com/Placefiles/epnhc.php
Enhanced Radar Analysis

PlacefileNation Color Curves

Download and replace your color table settings for a more refined radar analysis experience.

📡

Base Reflectivity (BR/Z)

Enhanced reflectivity palette for improved storm structure analysis.

Download .pal
💨

Base Velocity (BV/V)

Velocity color curve tuned for rotation and wind shear detection.

Download .pal
🌀

Storm-Relative Velocity (SRV/SRM)

SRM palette optimized for mesocyclone and tornado vortex signature analysis.

Download .pal

Disclaimer

PlacefileNation is a conceptual method to provide weather data for GR2, GR3, GRLevelX, WSV3, and Supercell Wx applications. PlacefileNation is in no way affiliated or associated with the National Weather Service. No warranties of this system or data quality assurances are implied. There is no guarantee that the placefiles will always be available or that the data displayed will always be up-to-date and/or correct. These placefiles are in continual development and thus are subject to change at any time.