# Penrith Storm Chasing

> Live storm radar, lightning, Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) and NSW SES warnings, NSW Rural Fire Service incidents, fire danger ratings and 48-hour forecasts for Penrith, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains in Western Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Run by the Penrith Storm Chasing crew, whose Facebook page has more than 60,000 followers.

Key facts:

- Penrith Storm Chasing (PSC) is a local storm chasing and weather group. Storm updates, photos and video go up first on its Facebook page; the website gathers the official warnings and live maps for the area in one place.
- Areas: Penrith, the Hawkesbury and the Blue Mountains, plus nearby councils for NSW RFS incidents (Blacktown, Fairfield and Liverpool).
- Update times: BOM and NSW SES warnings and RFS incidents every 2 minutes; forecasts and fire danger every 15 minutes; the latest Facebook posts every 1 to 2 minutes; lightning strikes within seconds.
- The site re-shows official information and community lightning data. In an emergency call Triple Zero (000); for storm and flood help call the NSW SES on 132 500. Always follow official warnings.

## The Website

- [Home page](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/): everything on one page, in the sections below
- [Warnings and incidents nearby](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#hazards): BOM and NSW SES storm and flood warnings, and NSW RFS fires and incidents, each with its level and status
- [Warnings and the next 48 hours](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#now): temperature, rain chance, wind and gusts now and for the next 48 hours, for Penrith, the Blue Mountains, the Hawkesbury and Blacktown
- [Our recent posts](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#facebook): the crew's latest Facebook posts
- [Radar map](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#map): live Windy map with radar, thunderstorm, wind, rain and CAPE layers
- [Lightning strikes](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#lightning): live Blitzortung strikes, coloured by age (white under 20 minutes ago, through yellow, orange and red, to dark red up to 2 hours ago)
- [Fire danger rating](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#fire-danger): today's and tomorrow's rating and Total Fire Ban status for the Greater Sydney Region
- [Storm check](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/#storm-check): a step-by-step checklist for reading a storm day

## Follow the Crew

- [Penrith Storm Chasing on Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/penrithstormchasing/): storm updates, photos and video
- [@PenrithStorms on X](https://x.com/PenrithStorms)

## Data Sources

- Bureau of Meteorology: NSW weather warnings
- NSW SES, through HazardWatch: storm and flood warnings
- NSW Rural Fire Service: major incidents, fire danger ratings and Total Fire Bans (© State of New South Wales, NSW RFS, CC BY 4.0)
- Open-Meteo: forecasts (CC BY 4.0)
- Windy: radar and weather map
- Blitzortung.org and contributors: lightning (community data, for interest only)

## Optional

- [PSC Wallboard](https://penrithstormchasing.com.au/wallboard.php): the same warnings, incidents, radar, lightning and fire danger on one screen for a monitor or TV