News

You Can Watch Winter Storm Stella From Anywhere

by Noor Al-Sibai
John Moore/Getty Images News/Getty Images

Spring may technically only be a week away, but winter storm Stella is hitting the Northeast and Midwest hard despite the equinox on Mar. 20. Whether you live in an area that's already gotten snow, want to see if your city will be affected, or are a curious Californian, knowing how to watch winter storm Stella online is a good way to keep up with this latest massive storm.

Many sites give users access to live weather cams from around the country. WeatherBug populates local weather cams based on your location, and Weather Underground has a directory of weather cams nationwide, plus a handy interactive map that allows you to click on a region and see weather cams from that area. Rather than publishing live footage from weather cams, these sites and others like them typically publish video as its uploaded, and the quality of these cams vary depending on where they are positioned, who maintains them, etc. Nevertheless, they're an interesting resource, especially because you can watch time-lapse footage of snowfall. Some, like this one from Mar. 9 in Cranberry Township, PA, show how quickly the weather can change from a normal late winter day to heavy snowfall in a matter of hours.

If you're more interested in looking where Stella is headed rather than the damage she's doing right now, look no further than the live-updated radar maps operated by WeatherBug, Wunderground, and Accuweather. Accuweather's interactive radar map lets you check radar in real time and for the hours prior so you can track Stella's progress, and WeatherBug's powerful nationwide radar map offers similarly interactive functionality.

If you're looking for more local cam or radar footage, you can either enter your city or zip code in the search bar of any of the sites mentioned above, or Google "local weather" plus your area's name for more local coverage of Stella in your region. Many local news stations will include weather cam footage from their cams (usually located at airports) alongside written forecasts that will caution you on what's to come with this massive winter storm that's causing blizzard warnings in the Northeast.

As with all other massive storms, it's important to remember when watching footage or radar of Stella's progress that these resources are to be used to inform rather than incite fear or panic. Knowing what to do in a blizzard or any other big storm is just as important as knowing where it's going and what damage it has done, if not more so. Stay safe if you're in an area affected by Stella, call your friends and family who are, but remember to remain calm.