diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/README.md b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/README.md
index d70be0b..40df8d2 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/README.md
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/README.md
@@ -97,6 +97,7 @@ NODE_TLS_REJECT_UNAUTHORIZED=0 node radar.js
 | `mode` | `"on_warning"` | `"on_warning"` = show only during qualifying warnings; `"always"` = always on |
 | `lat`, `lon` | — | Map center **and** the NWS `?point=` used to detect warnings |
 | `zoom` | `8` | Leaflet zoom; ~8 ≈ a county/metro |
+| `max_counties` | `2` | How far the auto-framing may pull back from the centre, in county-widths. Warnings inside that box are framed; one entirely outside it is not chased, so a distant storm can't zoom your area down to nothing. |
 | `area_label` | — | Shown in the overlay header |
 | `states` | `[]` | 2-letter codes used to fetch warning polygons (`?area=ST`). Empty → `?point=` |
 | `events` | Tornado/Severe Tstorm/Flash Flood/Flood Warning | Which warnings qualify & are drawn |
diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/config.example.json b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/config.example.json
index c2e0259..8bfef5d 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/config.example.json
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/config.example.json
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@
   "lat": 43.0389,
   "lon": -87.9065,
   "zoom": 8,
+  "max_counties": 2,
   "states": ["WI"],
   "events": ["Tornado Warning", "Severe Thunderstorm Warning", "Flash Flood Warning", "Flood Warning"],
 
diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.html b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.html
index b2afed7..a36baec 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.html
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.html
@@ -51,6 +51,9 @@
   </div>
   <div class="legend" id="legend"></div>
   <script src="/leaflet.js"></script>
-  <script src="/radar-overlay.js"></script>
+  <!-- ?v= is a cache-buster, NOT decoration. These assets are served max-age=14400, so a
+       player that loaded the old file keeps it for four hours and silently ignores a
+       redeploy. Bump this AND `ASSET_V` in radar.js together whenever the JS changes. -->
+  <script src="/radar-overlay.js?v=2"></script>
 </body>
 </html>
diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.js b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.js
index 60391ef..f90244e 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.js
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar-overlay.js
@@ -13,6 +13,16 @@
   var events = (q.get('events') || '').split(',').map(function (s) { return s.trim(); }).filter(Boolean);
   if (!events.length) events = DEFAULT_EVENTS.slice();
 
+  // How far the auto-framing is ever allowed to pull back, expressed in county-widths from
+  // the configured centre. Without this, a warning several counties away drags the frame
+  // out to cover it and your own area shrinks to nothing — the map ends up showing half a
+  // state at a zoom where local weather is unreadable. 2 counties in every direction keeps
+  // "where I am" recognisable while still catching storms about to arrive.
+  var maxCounties = parseFloat(q.get('maxcounties'));
+  if (!isFinite(maxCounties) || maxCounties <= 0) maxCounties = 2;
+  var COUNTY_DEG = 0.35;                       // ~24 mi, a typical US county
+  var MIN_HALF_LAT = 0.18;                     // ~12 mi; a floor so one small cell can't over-zoom
+
   var EVENT_COLORS = {
     'Tornado Warning': '#FF2D2D',
     'Severe Thunderstorm Warning': '#FFD12E',
@@ -22,9 +32,37 @@
   var DEFAULT_COLOR = '#FF8A1F';
   function colorFor(ev) { return EVENT_COLORS[ev] || DEFAULT_COLOR; }
 
+  // Decide the frame for a set of warning polygons.
+  //
+  // The map NEVER PANS. Signage is watched at a glance from across a room, and a view that
+  // slides to wherever the weather is stops being "my area" — you lose the landmarks you
+  // orient by. So the centre is pinned to the configured point and only the ZOOM responds:
+  // the box we hand to fitBounds is always symmetric about home.
+  //
+  // Returns null to mean "nothing worth reframing for — hold the configured view", which is
+  // the case both when there are no warnings and when they are all outside the home frame.
+  function frameFor(b) {
+    if (!b || !b.isValid || !b.isValid()) return null;
+    if (!homeFrame.intersects(b)) return null;      // a storm three counties over is not chased
+    // How far from home the warning actually reaches, capped at the home frame. Taking the
+    // max of the two sides is what keeps the box symmetric, and therefore centred.
+    var halfLat = Math.min(Math.max(Math.abs(b.getNorth() - lat), Math.abs(lat - b.getSouth())), padLat);
+    var halfLon = Math.min(Math.max(Math.abs(b.getEast() - lon), Math.abs(lon - b.getWest())), padLon);
+    // Floor it so a single small cell overhead doesn't slam the map to street level.
+    halfLat = Math.max(halfLat, MIN_HALF_LAT);
+    halfLon = Math.max(halfLon, MIN_HALF_LAT / Math.max(0.2, Math.cos(lat * Math.PI / 180)));
+    return L.latLngBounds([lat - halfLat, lon - halfLon], [lat + halfLat, lon + halfLon]);
+  }
+
   document.getElementById('area').textContent = area;
 
   var map = L.map('map', { zoomControl: false, attributionControl: true, fadeAnimation: false }).setView([lat, lon], zoom);
+
+  // The widest frame the auto-fit may ever produce. Longitude degrees shrink toward the
+  // poles, so scale them by cos(lat) to keep the box square-ish on the ground.
+  var padLat = COUNTY_DEG * maxCounties;
+  var padLon = padLat / Math.max(0.2, Math.cos(lat * Math.PI / 180));
+  var homeFrame = L.latLngBounds([lat - padLat, lon - padLon], [lat + padLat, lon + padLon]);
   L.tileLayer('https://{s}.basemaps.cartocdn.com/dark_all/{z}/{x}/{y}.png', {
     subdomains: 'abcd', maxZoom: 19,
     attribution: '&copy; OpenStreetMap &copy; CARTO · Radar: RainViewer · Alerts: NWS/NOAA',
@@ -146,9 +184,18 @@
         var fitKey = feats.map(function (f) { return (f.properties || {}).id; }).sort().join('|');
         if (fitKey !== loadWarnings._fitKey) {
           loadWarnings._fitKey = fitKey;
-          try { map.fitBounds(warnLayer.getBounds(), { padding: [70, 70], maxZoom: 9 }); } catch (e) {}
+          // Padding is small on purpose: the frame is already the answer, and 70px of inset
+          // on a PiP-sized overlay throws away a third of the width on each side.
+          try {
+            var frame = frameFor(warnLayer.getBounds());
+            if (frame) map.fitBounds(frame, { padding: [24, 24], maxZoom: 9 });
+            else map.setView([lat, lon], zoom);
+          } catch (e) {}
         }
       } else {
+        // Warnings cleared: go back to the configured view instead of staying parked on
+        // wherever the last storm happened to be.
+        if (loadWarnings._fitKey) map.setView([lat, lon], zoom);
         loadWarnings._fitKey = null;
       }
       renderChips(counts);
diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar.js b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar.js
index 5b77d85..9a8d4e2 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar.js
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/radar.js
@@ -65,12 +65,18 @@ function qualifies(alert, opts = {}) {
   return true;
 }
 
+// Keep in lockstep with the ?v= on the <script> tag in radar-overlay.html. Both are
+// needed: this one re-fetches the page, that one re-fetches the script.
+const ASSET_V = 2;
+
 // Build the overlay iframe URL with the area/config encoded in the query string.
 function buildOverlayUri(base, o = {}) {
   const q = new URLSearchParams();
   if (o.lat != null) q.set('lat', String(o.lat));
   if (o.lon != null) q.set('lon', String(o.lon));
   if (o.zoom != null) q.set('zoom', String(o.zoom));
+  if (o.max_counties != null) q.set('maxcounties', String(o.max_counties));
+  q.set('v', String(ASSET_V));   // busts the cached overlay PAGE; the page busts its own JS
   if (o.area) q.set('area', o.area);
   if (Array.isArray(o.states) && o.states.length) q.set('states', o.states.join(','));
   if (Array.isArray(o.events) && o.events.length) q.set('events', o.events.join(','));
@@ -113,7 +119,8 @@ if (require.main === module) {
   }
 
   const overlayUri = buildOverlayUri(OVERLAY_BASE, {
-    lat: cfg.lat, lon: cfg.lon, zoom: cfg.zoom || 8, area: cfg.area_label, states: cfg.states, events: EVENTS,
+    lat: cfg.lat, lon: cfg.lon, zoom: cfg.zoom || 8, max_counties: cfg.max_counties,
+    area: cfg.area_label, states: cfg.states, events: EVENTS,
   });
 
   let active = null; // { pip_id }
diff --git a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/test.js b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/test.js
index 21f1dd4..ab2dd83 100644
--- a/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/test.js
+++ b/Examples/PIP-Weather-Radar/test.js
@@ -36,12 +36,55 @@ const url = r.frameTileUrl('https://tilecache.rainviewer.com', '/v2/radar/abc',
 ok('rainviewer tile url', url === 'https://tilecache.rainviewer.com/v2/radar/abc/256/5/8/12/4/1_1.png');
 
 const uri = r.buildOverlayUri('https://s/radar-overlay.html', {
-  lat: 43.0389, lon: -87.9065, zoom: 8, area: 'Milwaukee County, WI', states: ['WI'], events: EV,
+  lat: 43.0389, lon: -87.9065, zoom: 8, max_counties: 2, area: 'Milwaukee County, WI', states: ['WI'], events: EV,
 });
 const back = new URLSearchParams(uri.split('?')[1]);
 ok('overlay uri: lat/lon round-trip', back.get('lat') === '43.0389' && back.get('lon') === '-87.9065');
 ok('overlay uri: area round-trip', back.get('area') === 'Milwaukee County, WI');
 ok('overlay uri: states/events joined', back.get('states') === 'WI' && back.get('events') === EV.join(','));
+ok('overlay uri: framing clamp carried through', back.get('maxcounties') === '2');
+// Omitted means "let the overlay pick its own default" — not "unlimited zoom-out".
+const noClamp = new URLSearchParams(r.buildOverlayUri('https://s/x.html', { lat: 1, lon: 2 }).split('?')[1]);
+ok('overlay uri: clamp omitted when unset', noClamp.get('maxcounties') === null);
+
+
+// --- framing: the map may zoom, but it must never pan -------------------------------
+// frameFor lives in browser code, so lift the real source out and run it against a
+// stand-in for L.latLngBounds (pure math in Leaflet — no DOM involved). Testing the
+// shipped function beats testing a copy of it that can drift.
+{
+  const src = require('fs').readFileSync(__dirname + '/radar-overlay.js', 'utf8');
+  const B = (s2, w, n, e) => ({
+    getSouth: () => s2, getWest: () => w, getNorth: () => n, getEast: () => e,
+    isValid: () => true,
+    intersects(o) { return !(o.getSouth() > n || o.getNorth() < s2 || o.getWest() > e || o.getEast() < w); },
+  });
+  const L = { latLngBounds: (a, b) => B(a[0], a[1], b[0], b[1]) };
+  const lat = 42.6052, lon = -87.8299;
+  const COUNTY_DEG = 0.35, MIN_HALF_LAT = 0.18, maxCounties = 2;
+  const padLat = COUNTY_DEG * maxCounties;
+  const padLon = padLat / Math.max(0.2, Math.cos(lat * Math.PI / 180));
+  const homeFrame = L.latLngBounds([lat - padLat, lon - padLon], [lat + padLat, lon + padLon]);
+  const frameFor = eval('(' + src.match(/function frameFor\(b\) \{[\s\S]*?\n  \}/)[0] + ')');
+
+  const centred = (f) => Math.abs((f.getSouth() + f.getNorth()) / 2 - lat) < 1e-9 &&
+                         Math.abs((f.getWest() + f.getEast()) / 2 - lon) < 1e-9;
+
+  const near = frameFor(B(42.75, -87.70, 42.95, -87.45));   // storm 20 mi NE
+  ok('framing: a nearby storm still leaves the view centred on home', centred(near));
+  ok('framing: a nearby storm zooms in, not out', (near.getNorth() - near.getSouth()) < 2 * padLat);
+
+  const wide = frameFor(B(42.0, -90.5, 46.0, -87.0));       // statewide squall line
+  ok('framing: a statewide line is capped at the county budget', (wide.getNorth() - wide.getSouth()) <= 2 * padLat + 1e-9);
+  ok('framing: and is still centred on home', centred(wide));
+
+  const tiny = frameFor(B(42.60, -87.83, 42.61, -87.82));   // one small cell overhead
+  ok('framing: a single small cell does not slam to street level', (tiny.getNorth() - tiny.getSouth()) >= 2 * MIN_HALF_LAT - 1e-9);
+
+  ok('framing: a storm outside the frame is not chased (hold configured view)',
+     frameFor(B(44.0, -88.7, 44.6, -88.0)) === null);
+  ok('framing: no bounds at all holds the configured view', frameFor(null) === null);
+}
 
 console.log(`Weather-Radar checks (${checks.filter((c) => c[1]).length}/${checks.length}):`);
 for (const [name, good] of checks) console.log(`  ${good ? '✓' : '✗'} ${name}`);