Imagery Date/Time

On the prediction page, the Show imagery for widget set controls what date/time to try to show imagery for. Clicking on the date/time button will pop up a calendar/time dialog, and the date and time can be selected. In that dialog, clicking a day selects that day, but does not yet apply it; clicking a time selects that time and also applies it (closing the dialog). Closing the dialog (by pressing Esc or clicking a time) applies the selected date/time, which now becomes the (approximate) center of the desired imagery range (see below). On the calendar, the current date is indicated with a small now  icon, and the event date (if defined) with a small event time  icon.

The now button (or pressing n) sets "now" as the desired date/time, and will also automatically track it -- indicated by the button turning blue (selected). (To pick the current date/time but not track it, select it via the calendar/time widget: press the now button, then date/time button, then highlighted time.)

Selecting the now button also makes "now" the (approximate) start of the desired imagery time range for forecast providers, and the end time for satellite providers. This is because forecasts are useful for the future, while satellite imagery is available only for the past.

The event time button (or pressing e) sets event time as the desired date/time, and (roughly) centers the imagery range on it. It will also continue to track event time, as indicated by the event time button turning blue (selected). Event time is generally the default date/time set, if it is defined. If the current map does not have an event time defined, this button is disabled.

Duration selects how long to show imagery for. The available options are determined by the provider and model selected; different ones have different maximum durations.

Desired vs. displayed time range

Note that while Show imagery for and Duration together select the desired date/time range, the actual displayed range may differ, depending on the current data available for the selected provider and model. If the selected range is partially or wholly beyond available data, the displayed range will be altered to fit. Looking at where the now/event time (  /  ) ticks are can quickly indicate whether the displayed range matches the desired range. (See details on the Imagery Animation help page.)