Data sources
Opportunity Radar uses only free, public data. We do not buy data from brokers, and we do not collect personal information about property owners. Here is everything we use.
Hazard and business signals
| Source | Published by | Used for | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Storm Prediction Center storm reports | NOAA | Hail and wind reports | Hourly |
| Local Storm Reports | National Weather Service, via the Iowa Environmental Mesonet | Hail, wind and flood reports | Hourly |
| Weather alerts | National Weather Service (api.weather.gov) | Freeze and hard-freeze warnings; severe warnings as a heads-up only | Every 15 minutes |
| Damage Assessment Toolkit | National Weather Service | Surveyed tornado paths and EF ratings | Every 6 hours |
| Wildland fire perimeters | National Interagency Fire Center (WFIGS) | Wildfire perimeters | Every 6 hours |
| Disaster declarations | OpenFEMA | County disaster declarations (raise priority only) | Daily |
| Places | Overture Maps Foundation | Newly listed businesses | Each monthly release |
Building permits
Checked daily. We keep the permit type and date only. Owner, applicant and contractor names are never stored, and explanations describe the permit by category, never by its own text.
| Jurisdiction | Source |
|---|---|
| City of Orlando, FL | Open data portal |
| City of Miami, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| Miami-Dade County, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| Alachua County, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| City of Port St. Lucie, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| City of Lakeland, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| Charlotte County, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| City of Cape Coral, FL | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| City of Austin, TX | Open data portal |
| City of Fort Worth, TX | Open data (ArcGIS) |
| City of San Antonio, TX | Open data portal |
| City of College Station, TX | Open data portal |
Buildings, places and maps
| Source | Published by | Used for |
|---|---|---|
| USA Structures | FEMA and Oak Ridge National Laboratory | Building footprints, occupancy type and size (public domain) |
| Addresses and places | Overture Maps Foundation | Missing addresses and public business listings |
| County boundaries | U.S. Census Bureau | Counties for territories and zones (public domain) |
| Parcels | Florida statewide parcel layer; Miami-Dade County property points | Placing permits that are published without coordinates |
| Basemap | OpenStreetMap contributors, via Protomaps | Map background (ODbL) |
Public data can be late, incomplete or wrong. A signal near a building is a reason to look into it, never a finding about the property itself.