The top weather apps provide the most up-to-date forecast and severe weather warnings. Even though your phone already has a built-in app for monitoring the Weather, one of the finest things you can do is install one of the top weather apps. The default weather app on your phone may be adequate for the essentials. Still, if you want to delve into more in-depth information, a specialized weather app may provide information on everything from extended predictions to severe weather alerts.
The most significant weather applications typically focus on a single component of forecasts, such as radar imagery, severe weather warnings, highly comprehensive forecasts at the hyper-local level, or data on air quality.
Some apps even let you track the moon’s phases or look up weather predictions for prospective trip destinations.
Check out some of the top weather app options because climate change makes forecasting the Weather more difficult. However, if you believe that the built-in weather app on your phone provides all the information you need, you should look at the iPhone‘s secret interactive weather map to get more use out of that feature.
Features:
- warnings for dangerous weather
- current weather prediction for your location and other locations
- complete descriptions of the ten-day and hourly Weather forecasts
- statistics on local and statewide pollen counts
- Precipitation information from real-time Doppler radar
- With your smartphone, you can receive notifications about the current weather situation.
- Detailed information on the Weather, including wind speed, UV index, weather observation, and many others
- Hurricane forecast tracking option utilizing satellite and radar
- Forecast snowfall for the next ten days and actual snowstorm warnings for a harsh winter climate
Pros:
- Neat design and presentation
- Easily navigable
- Smooth, quick, and lag-free
- accurate weather information obtained from weather stations, airports, and places of education
- flawlessly incorporates into any notification bar
- Compared to rival weather applications, this one has more information available.
- Each weather station has a video of the Weather.
Cons:
- iOS’s home screen is less functional than Android’s.
- Instead of returning to the previous screen upon pressing the phone’s back button, the app is closed.
- Video predictions are not location-specific.
Best Weather App
1. Carrot Weather (Android, iOS: Free)
The evil AI ruler Carrot can now provide Android users with the weather forecast and a heaping side helping of snark and sarcasm. Formerly an iOS exclusive you couldn’t obtain on Android, Carrot Weather has long since bridged the platform gap.
iOS users can still take advantage of features like the support for Live Activities in iOS 16.1 and the ability to add a Carrot Weather widget to their lock screens. For premium users, however, regular upgrades also provide new features and extras like tide information or forecasts for up to five places.
The app offers daily, hourly, and seven-day forecasts that are tempered with irony to lighten even the darkest outlook. With the help of infographics, the relevant information is easily accessible, and as you tap and swipe, more precise meteorological data becomes available. Carrot’s humor can even be configured to be friendly, caustic, or deadly, and you can control how political the AI can make jokes. (Recent updates even allow you to engage in “bonding activities” with the psychotic AI.)
Carrot Weather offers various membership packages if you’re unhappy with the free app’s essentials. The Premium tier adds weather data sources, notifications, customizability options, and widgets, costing $4.99 per month.
2. Emergency Alerts: (Android; iOS)
Although you hope you never need it, having Emergency: Notifications from the American Red Cross on your iPhone or Android device will come in handy when a crisis occurs.
Emergency: Alert is a useful app to have installed on your phone permanently, not just during hurricane season, as it monitors everything from hurricanes and floods to extreme heat and winter storms. Not only will Emergency keep an eye on your home, but you may also enter significant cities and individuals in your life. The app has been updated to incorporate 40 types of personalized warnings and step-by-step instructions to ensure you’re ready for any potential weather-related catastrophes to reflect the realities of climate change.
3. RadarScope ($9.99; Android, iOS)
RadarScope offers detailed satellite views with NEXRAD Level 3 and Super-Resolution radar data for serious weather observers. You can track anything from tornadoes and severe thunderstorms to flash floods and maritime warnings if you have RadarScope installed. The app uses information from the U.S. National Weather Service to assist you in tracking storm trajectories.
The imagery in this program, according to the creators of RadarScope, is derived from native radar data and is displayed in radial form. This gives RadarScope much more information than standard weather apps.
RadarScope offers membership options that offer extra data and the $9.99 download. You can obtain real-time animated lighting data and up to 30 frames of radar data at Tier One (?$9.99/year), among other capabilities. 50-frame loops, SPC outlooks, unique weather statements, hail size, and more sophisticated capabilities are included in the $14.99/year Tier Two subscription.
4. WeatherBug (Android, iOS: Free)
WeatherBug can help keep track of a changing weather situation. Along with Doppler radar for North America, the free download includes an updated hurricane tracker that can forecast hurricanes. Spark lightning notifications, which use GPS data to notify you of how close lightning strikes are hitting, are among the other features. Along with the standard assortment of meteorological data, the app provides information on air quality and pollen counts.
WeatherBug can deliver hyperlocal real-time conditions with current, hourly, and 10-day forecasts since it gathers information from weather services, satellites, and tracking stations. Ads can be removed from the app for 99 cents per month or $9.99 annually; the paid version is available for a free 24-hour trial.
Take note that the iOS App Store only lists the app as WeatherBug. (If they are on iOS 16, iOS users can also add WeatherBug widgets to their lock screen.) The app is named Weather by WeatherBug in the Google Play Store.
5. Windy (Android, iOS: Free)
Visualizing the local Weather on your phone screen is sometimes the most helpful. Windy provides detailed maps that enable you to see the weather forecast develop in front of you.
Of course, Windy shines at wind patterns, but the program also offers more than 40 maps that display temperature, humidity, and other information. Also, you can access satellite and Doppler data and a helpful hurricane monitoring capability throughout the storm season.
Although Windy’s free app has many features, you can get more regular prediction updates with an annual subscription of $18.99.
6. IQAir AirVisual (Android, iOS: Free)
Knowing the air quality is more crucial than knowing if it will rain in this age of escalating pollution and destructive wildfires. We appreciate how the IQAir AirVisual Air Quality Forecast app visually conveys crucial information on the air quality wherever you are and globally.
The app guarantees comprehensive contaminant information and the air quality index for over 10,000 places across more than 100 nations. You can choose between a color-coded 2D map and a 3D map that resembles Google Earth to view the air quality. To ensure that you engage in outdoor activities in a healthy environment, AirVisual also offers 7-day predictions. You can also receive a mobile reading on your indoor air quality if you have one of iQAir’s air quality sensors in your house by syncing it with the app.
7. Weather (Android, iOS: Free)
A 10-day prediction, real-time radar maps, severe weather warnings, and more are all included in 1Weather, making it one of the most incredible weather apps. Nevertheless, it also makes excellent use of widgets so that, whether you’re using Android or iOS, the critical weather day may be shown on your phone’s home screen.
We also appreciate 1Weather’s hourly and minute-by-minute forecasts for temperature and precipitation. You can use the app to make advance plans because these forecasts last up to 48 hours.
The software is available for free download, but you can unlock additional features like an AQI card and ten days of daily forecasts by subscribing for $1.99 per month.
8. Weather on the Way (iOS: Free)
The app’s name has varied between Weather on the Way and just On the Way. Still, the fundamental idea is the same regardless of what you call it: since the Weather might vary significantly while you’re on the road, having that information at your disposal can assist in ensuring a safe trip.
To know whether to expect rain, snow, or other potentially hazardous circumstances during your trip from Point A to Point B, download Weather on the Way for free. This app combines navigation capabilities with severe weather notifications.
The paid edition of Weather on the Way ($4.99 per month or $24.99 annually) is superior to the free version, which performs admirably. Those that upgrade to pro status gain access to more advanced features like suggested alternate routes, improved road visibility, and additional weather information like precipitation and wind speed. In addition, pro users may access Weather on the Way on CarPlay screens, bringing that information inside their cars for risk-free travel.
9. Clime: NOAA Weather Radar Live (Android, iOS: Free)
The software, now called Clime but once known as NOAA Radar Pro, continues to stand out from the competition because its real-time radar is supplied directly to your phone and displays the changing weather conditions nearby. Widgets for the lock screen are now also available for iOS users.
The standard 24-hour and 7-day forecasts are provided, along with severe weather alerts. But, Clime’s satellite weather imaging, which provides you with a complete view of precipitation, temperature, and other weather characteristics, is the reason to use it.
The best features of Clime, such as severe weather alerts for all saved locations, trackers for hurricanes, lightning, and wildfires, and a temperature map, are only accessible with a paid subscription. Ads are also removed for subscribers.
10. The Weather Channel (Android; iOS: Free)
Android and iOS users can download the Weather Channel app for free, including advertisements. With a long 10-day forecast available, the TWC app offers a variety of meteorological information. The most recent Doppler radar data can be shown on interactive maps highlighting rainfall, weather events, and severe weather alerts.
Users can post photographs, videos, tweets, and other social media content to The Weather Channel using its social sharing tools. Ads are removed, and services like 15-minute predictions and 72-hour radar information are unlocked with the Premium Pro subscription, which costs $4.99/month.
How do We Choose the Best Weather Apps?
As we look at the top weather apps, we search for features that go above and beyond what the built-in Android and iPhone phone apps offer. Some are extended forecasts, radar, position monitoring, alarms, and other gathered weather data. We offer a wide range of alternatives so you can choose the app that best meets your needs.
Although we test out some of the free services offered by the various weather apps, we mainly base our decisions on user reviews.
The majority of weather applications provide some free tier. When feasible, we disclose the price of paid choices and the benefits they offer in exchange for a one-time or recurring fee. Please be aware that prices can vary and that this story may not represent the most current pricing, even though we have updated it to do so.
Although there are times when we’ll provide platform-specific recommendations, we often promote apps that are compatible with both Android and iOS.
