You can click on any part of the timeline to pause it, and if you hold down the mouse button as you click, then you can drag the position box along the timeline at any speed you wish.

Radar maps show the actual rain that has fallen at a particular time, depicted by coloured dots. The colour of the dots gives an indication as to how heavy the rain is falling. WillyWeather loops over these images up to the current time (usually one image every 10 mins), to give users an idea as to when the rain will reach a given point on the map.

All radar information is provided by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).

Cairns is the default radar that covers Cairns, which is 15.5 km's away. If the radar is not functioning for whatever reason, the closest functioning radar that covers Cairns will be displayed, otherwise you will see a list of the nearest radars available.

Satellite maps provide an excellent view of clouds in the sky, and also give an idea of wind speed. By viewing satellite images with synoptic charts (see below) you can see how the pressure systems and fronts are behaving, and the exact cloud cover that moves with them.

Satellite images are originally processed by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) from the geostationary satellite MTSAT-1R operated by the Japan Meteorological Agency

The most important feature of a Synoptic chart are the fine black lines called isobars. Isobars connect points that share the same air pressure. The distance of the isobars gives a good indication of wind strength, the closer the isobars are together the stronger the winds will be.

A high pressure system usually brings fine weather, and a low pressure system usually brings unsettled weather with more clouds and a greater chance of rain/storms.

Fronts occur where warm and cold masses of air collide with one another, and are characterised by winds that usually bring an increase in cloud cover. Winds that shift with fronts can actually be greater than the fronts themselves, and the weather usually clears quickly following a front. On the Synoptic Chart fronts travel in the direction of the arrows, and the numbers next to the black arrows show their speed in knots.

Warm fronts bring warmer temperatures and sometimes gradual rainfall. Cold fronts bring colder temperatures and usually heavier rain and more unstable weather, they can also travel up to twice the speed of a warm front and usually produce gustier winds. Occluded fronts form when a cold front overtakes a warm front, and usually brings dryer air. Stationary fronts are characterised by continuous rainy periods that linger for extended periods of time in one area and move in waves.

Synoptic images are provided by the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM).