Ticker Alert System

StormsAlert Ticker

A reliable live NWS weather alert ticker for live streams, digital signage, and video productions. Zero backend, no API keys — just embed with a simple URL. This ticker is meant to be used on live streams, digital signage, and on video platforms. Use in broadcast is also permitted. No user is permitted to use the ticker on a traditional website. The ticker isn't mobile ready. Use of this ticker is only permitted for the URL provided. The user is not permitted to connect directly to our api or custom feeds for other uses. The ticker updates automatically with the latest alerts without needing any additional refreshes.

Attribution is required for all use cases for this ticker. You must link to and credit StormsAlert.com in order to use this service.

Our ticker was used and is currently in use on several live streams and weather formats. This service is many years old and we can provide live video examples back for many years.

Live Ticker Example

Real-time demonstration of the StormsAlert.com ticker in action.

LIVE DEMO — Default Configuration

Base URL

All embeds begin with this base URL. Customize behavior by adding query parameters. This URL will show all current NWS alerts that are issued.

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php

Parameters

alerts

Comma-separated list of specific NWS alert types to display. Leave empty to show all supported alerts.

Example

alerts=Tornado Warning,Severe Thunderstorm Warning,Flash Flood Warning

state

Filter alerts to one or more U.S. states. Accepts two-letter state codes separated by commas.

Examples

state=PA

state=PA,MD,VA,NJ

excludealerts

Don't show specific alert types on the ticker. If you accidentally filter alerts and exclude the same alert type in this parameter the ?alerts parameter will override and exclusions.

Examples

excludealerts=Small Craft Advisory

excludealerts=Small Craft Advisory,Flood Watch

URL Examples

All Alerts (Default)

URL

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php

Filtered by Alert Type

URL

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php?alerts=Tornado Warning,Severe Thunderstorm Warning

State Filtered

URL

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php?state=PA

Exclude Alerts

URL

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php?excludealerts=Special Weather Statement

Combined Filters

URL

https://www.stormsalert.com/topomaptry/alertbar.php?state=PA,MD&alerts=Tornado Warning,Flash Flood Warning&excludealerts=Special Weather Statement

OBS Studio Setup

Follow these steps to add the ticker as a professional overlay in OBS Studio:

Create or open a scene where you want the ticker to appear.
Add a Browser Source: Click the "+" icon in Sources → select "Browser".
Paste your customized URL into the URL field.
Set dimensions: Width = 1920, Height = 1080 (or match your canvas resolution).
Enable these options:
- Shutdown source when not visible
- Refresh browser when scene becomes active
The ticker will automatically position at the bottom of the screen and hide when no alerts are active. The ticker becomes fully transparent so some broadcasters will add promotional banners or other information behind the ticker so if there are no alerts other information will show. Click Here for official alert names.

Alert Types

Use official NWS alert names in the alerts= parameter. A complete list is available in the official documentation or by testing the ticker. Click Here for official NWS alert colors and alert types.

Display Behavior

If your parameters don't produce any alerts the ticker will disappear. This is by design. It's always recommened to add other promotional information or graphics behind the ticker. The ticker background is transparent. It will continue to update and when new alerts meet your parameters then it will appear again on the page and update with new alerts.

In severe weather outbreaks some alert types may show more often like tornado warnings or more severe weather like PDS tornado warnings or tornado emergencies. This is also by design. These warning types are treated differently by our API as they are more severe. Smart filtering is used to assess the most pressing weather. For example, if there are only severe alerts it will show considerable and destructive alerts if issued as an immediate alert. There are built in features that show the most severe alerts.

Behavior	Description
No active alerts	Ticker automatically hides itself completely. No worries it will be transparent.
Multiple alerts	Alerts rotate smoothly every 8 seconds.
Alert colors	Automatic NWS-standard colors for each alert type.
Expiration	Actual expiration times based on the alerts local time.

Parameter Reference

Parameter	Example	Description
`alerts`	`alerts=Tornado Warning,Severe Thunderstorm Warning`	Filter to specific alert types only.
`state`	`state=PA` `state=PA,MD,VA`	Filter alerts by one or more U.S. states using two-letter codes. Cover the weather in a specific state.
`excludealerts`	`excludealerts=Special Weather Statement` `excludealerts=Special Weather Statement,Severe Thunderstorm Watch`	Excludes certain alert types from the ticker. Best used for coastal alerts or other alert types you don't want to show in the ticker.