By StationClosed · Updated · Sources and corrections
A radar image answers a narrower question than “is my delivery route safe?” It shows weather echoes over an area at a particular time. A station status answers a different question: what the tracker estimates around one pickup location. Use both as context, not as permission to drive through hazardous weather.
Five checks before leaving
- Read the timestamp, not just the colour. Compare the displayed frame time with your current time. An old frame can look reassuring after a storm has developed elsewhere. If the layer does not load or its time stops advancing, treat it as unavailable, not as a clear sky.
- Separate observations from forecasts. A frame before “now” shows an observation or an estimate of past conditions. A frame after “now” is a prediction. Advance through both: a smooth animation does not make future frames observations.
- Look beyond the station pin. Include the drive to pickup, the area you expect to deliver in, and the trip home. The station may be outside a warning while a road on your route is inside it. You might not know the delivery area until assignment; recheck when you do.
- Read the legend for that layer. Colour scales differ between products. Do not assume a red radar patch means the same thing as a red station dot. Radar precipitation, a weather warning and a modelled station status are different information.
- Check official warnings separately. Open the warning text for its location, validity period and instructions. Do not wait for a station status to change before following an official warning or evacuation instruction.
A worked planning example
This is an illustrative situation, not a live forecast. Your pickup is at 4:00 PM. At 3:10 PM, the newest observed frame is stamped 3:05 PM. Rain is west of the station, and the forecast animation moves it toward the area over the next hour. The station currently has no local weather advisory.
The useful conclusion is not “the block will be cancelled.” Instead, there are three separate checks:
- Freshness: you know the observation is five minutes old, rather than mistaking the current clock for the radar time.
- Exposure: your drive and loading period overlap the forecast change, so conditions at departure may not match conditions at pickup.
- Confirmation: you check the official warning and the Flex app for operational instructions. The moving rain patch alone confirms neither lightning nor a cancellation.
After pickup, reassess the actual delivery area. A forecast centred on the station cannot describe every stop, bridge or low-lying road on a route.
What a 40% chance of rain means
The US National Weather Service describes precipitation probability as the chance of a measurable amount at a given point during a stated period. A 40% forecast does not mean rain for 40% of your block, or that a particular street will stay dry. It is also not a 40% chance that a station will close. Check the forecast period before comparing it with your block time.
A practical note for your own planning might read: “Pickup 4 PM; afternoon rain possible; check the latest observation and warnings again before departure.” That records uncertainty without inventing an exact storm-arrival time.
When the map is not enough
Radar is not a road inspection. Its beam samples the atmosphere, and terrain, distance and conditions aloft can affect rainfall estimates. An empty-looking patch is not proof that a road is dry or that lightning is absent. Never infer water depth or a passable road from a radar colour.
For flooding, the National Weather Service advises against entering flooded roads or driving around barricades. If a route is affected, follow local authorities and contact Driver Support from a safe location. A pickup status cannot override a road closure.
Keep a useful weather note
Record the station code, your block time and time zone, the weather layer and its frame time, and the official warning you checked. Keep any screenshot separate from a claim that staff confirmed a closure. That distinction helps when you later ask support to understand what happened.
Sources and further reading
- National Weather Service: precipitation probability explained
- National Weather Service: radar rainfall estimation and its limitations
- National Weather Service: during a flood
Source summaries above are limited to those topics. The route checklist and example are StationClosed's explanation, not an Amazon operating policy.
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