Bayou Radar first
Every configured area uses the Bayou Radar backend as its primary weather-alert route, with direct NWS access used only when a request fails.
Powered by Bayou Radar
Weather intelligence for amateur radio.
Bayou Radar Skywarn helps Asterisk/app_rpt nodes automatically monitor official weather alerts, announce changing threats, and keep local radio communities informed before, during, and after hazardous weather.
Bayou Radar primary data
NWS automatic fallback
Free and open source
Bayou Radar APIPrimary weather-alert source
Your Radio NodeSpoken alerts and automation
AllStarLink 3Primary supported platform
HamVOIPCompatible pacman-based systems
Asterisk / app_rptMulti-node local playback
Local dashboardSource and alert health
The mission
Making severe-weather operations a little easier.
Bayou Radar Skywarn is powered by Bayou Radar with the goal of helping make SKYWARN operations and keeping people informed a little easier.
Bayou Radar is a nationwide live radar and weather-intelligence service that brings live radar, government-issued alerts, storm tracking, tropical weather, forecasts, lightning information, and storm-awareness tools together in one powerful platform.
This project extends Bayou Radar's mission—Weather Intelligence for Everyone—to amateur-radio operators, repeater owners, weather volunteers, and community communication networks.
Built for the radio community
01 / DATA
02 / RADIO
03 / RESILIENCE
04 / OPERATIONS
05 / SPEECH
06 / STATUS
Everything needed for automatic node alerts.
A modern service-based implementation designed to run continuously, recover safely from upstream problems, and fit real Asterisk/app_rpt operations.
Spoken node alerts
Announces new, updated, cleared, and all-clear events through one or more Asterisk/app_rpt nodes using local 8 kHz µ-law audio.
Safe fallback and cache
Fallback operates per monitored area. If both sources are unavailable, unexpired cached alerts remain active instead of producing a false all-clear.
Tail messages and node state
Generates active-alert tail messages and can switch courtesy tones, node IDs, DTMF actions, or administrator-approved shell actions.
Offline voice generation
Uses espeak/espeak-ng locally, supports optional Piper voices, and does not require a cloud text-to-speech service.
Local health dashboard
Shows active alerts, monitored areas, radio nodes, current source routing, fallback activity, and the last successful Bayou Radar poll.
Installation
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Install in one command.
Run the installer as root on the radio node. It downloads the current signed release from this site, verifies the SHA-256 checksum, installs dependencies, and creates the systemd service.
$ curl -fsSL https://ham.bayouradar.com/install | sudo sh
Manual download and installation
$ curl -fLO https://ham.bayouradar.com/downloads/BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0.tar.gz $ curl -fLO https://ham.bayouradar.com/downloads/BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0.sha256 $ grep 'BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0.tar.gz$' BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0.sha256 | sha256sum -c - $ tar -xzf BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0.tar.gz $ cd BayouRadar-Skywarn-v0.2.0 $ sudo ./install.sh
Install the service
Use the one-command installer or the verified manual archive.
Configure your area
Edit the UGC county code and Bayou Radar bounding box or repeater coordinates.
Add your node number
Enter one or more app_rpt node numbers under asterisk.nodes.
Validate and start
Run the configuration check, restart the service, and verify its status.
Configuration and service commands
$ sudo nano /etc/bayouradar-skywarn/config.yaml $ sudo /opt/bayouradar-skywarn/bin/br-skywarn config-check $ sudo systemctl restart bayouradar-skywarn $ sudo systemctl status bayouradar-skywarn
Current release
Bayou Radar Skywarn v0.2.0
Choose the archive format for your node, verify it with the published checksum, or review the configuration and documentation before installation.
FileReleaseAction
System requirements
Lightweight enough for a radio node.
The software runs locally on the Asterisk/app_rpt system. The ham.bayouradar.com server only hosts the public website, installer, documentation, and release files.
Operating systemAllStarLink 3 / Debian 12+ recommended. Compatible HamVOIP and pacman-family systems are also supported; older images may need manual dependencies.
RuntimePython 3, PyYAML, ffmpeg, and espeak or espeak-ng.
Radio softwareAsterisk with app_rpt and permission to execute local playback commands.
NetworkOutbound HTTPS access to the Bayou Radar backend and NWS fallback service.
Need help with installation or configuration?
Contact Bayou Radar support at info@bayouradar.com. Include your operating system, node type, and the relevant service log when possible.