Your first session.

Thunder is an experimental desktop weather application. Keep official warnings available independently, and do not interact with it while driving.

1. Install the preview

Download the ZIP for your operating system and extract the entire folder somewhere you can write to. Do not run directly from inside the ZIP. Both Thunder and Bulletin Studio are included.

• Linux: x86-64, glibc 2.39 or newer, Vulkan driver and X11/Wayland desktop. Run bash ./run-thunder.sh
• Windows: Windows 10/11 x64 with a suitable Direct3D 12 or Vulkan graphics driver. Open Start Thunder.cmd. This preview is unsigned; check the source and SHA-256 before deciding whether to run it.

2. Pick a basemap

Use OpenStreetMap without a Mapbox account, or configure your own authorized Mapbox token in the map settings. No personal tokens are included in downloads. New tiles and live weather feeds require internet access.

3. Keep it updated

Open Application → Settings → Application updates. New downloads have the update URL configured. For an older updater-capable installation, paste the appropriate URL and save:

Choose Check for updates → Download and verify → Install update and restart. Close Bulletin Studio before installing. Installation restarts Thunder; do it between sessions, not while depending on the display. Checks and installation are manual.

The updater retains previous executables for rollback and preserves settings, sounds and local data. Matching executable hashes report “Up to date.” Very old builds without the updater need a fresh ZIP once.

Trust and verification

Update only from a server you trust. HTTPS and SHA-256 protect transport and detect mismatched files, but updates do not yet have independent publisher signatures. Downloads contain no bundled personal credentials, tones or databases. There are no accounts or tracking scripts on this site.

If something goes wrong

Look beside the Thunder executable for thunder-errors.log and thunder-machine.json. These include errors, panic backtraces and machine/GPU specifications. Review them before sharing; error messages can contain local paths. Logs are not automatically uploaded.

For rollback, close both apps and restore their .previous executables to the original names. If an update cannot launch, keep the old backups and use the previous working release.

Preview limitations

Volume Sweep can lag behind Sweep. GPU device loss during desktop-session switching remains a known issue. Routing, storm research and field workflows are experimental, and data availability depends on upstream sources. Neither this website nor its screenshot provides live warnings.