Here is a look at the 10 best weather forecast apps and widgets for iPhones
In earlier days, weather forecasting was little more than fortune-telling. However, now with Doppler radar, satellite imaging and various advances in meteorology, weather forecasts are more dependable than ever. With the arrival of mobile computing, you can get updated on the weather forecast anywhere you have a wireless or cellular signal. Apple’s built-in weather forecast app is a great option with nice graphics and animations and useful hourly forecasting.
In this article, we bring to you the best weather forecast apps and widgets that are currently available in the App Store for iPhones.
Yahoo! Weather
Yahoo Weather features beautiful design and graphics and provides tons of essential information, alerts, radars, heat, satellite maps and more without ever feeling cluttered. The app displays images of your location with matching time of day and weather conditions, with the option to view detailed five-day forecasts. It also features ever-changing backgrounds from Flickr, which always makes it feels fresh. You can track up to 20 cities and even submit your photos by posting them on Flickr with the hashtag #projectweather. There are many sizes and types of widget for your home screen, and you’ll often get notifications in your status bar. Yahoo Weather’s clean, concise presentation makes it an eminently user-friendly, everyday app.
AccuWeather
AccuWeather is one of the more established weather sites that is available that provides hourly, daily and 15-day weather forecasts, which can be integrated with your calendar. The MinuteCast feature even provides hyper-local, minute-by-minute forecasts for the next 2 hours. It’s usually precise with great information, including the awesome RealFeel index (which suggests what the outdoor temperature feels like, rather than where the mercury stops). It pretty much includes all of the information you need, including severe weather events such as snow, thunderstorms, high winds or tornadoes. Other features include radar, Android Wear support, etc. While it is a complete app, some might be put off by its layout, as it is not the easiest app to navigate.
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel’s free, ad-supported weather app that provides you with a wealth of meteorological data such as temperature, wind and visibility on an hourly or daily basis or 36-hour, with an extended 10 day forecast available, as well as alerts, current weather, radar, and smaller stuff like wind forecast, pollen, and even Weather Channel videos so you can keep up on the latest weather news. Interactive maps can display the latest Doppler radar data to show rainfall and weather events and severe weather alerts. The app also includes social sharing features for users to upload images, tweets, videos and photos.
Dark Sky ($3.99)
Dark Sky offers some of the best up-to-the-minute weather forecasts available, pretty much anywhere. The latest version of Dark Sky now includes a 24-hour and next week forecasting. Dark Sky can tell you at a glance exactly when it will rain (or snow) up to an hour in advance using radar mapping. Now, it offers longer term forecasting as well. In addition to an iOS interface update, new light backgrounds make the radar maps easier to read.
WeatherBug
WeatherBug is a free app that provides users with a wealth of weather information, boasting fast, targeted alerts of dangerous weather, accurate forecast data, and Lifestyle Forecasts, all localized through GPS. Packed to the brim with features such as interactive maps, visual forecasts, live cameras across selected locations and social media integration for sharing weather alerts, WeatherBug is a great free weather app. Additionally, features such as Spark lightning proximity alerts are continuously being added.
Radarscope ($9.99)
Radarscope is incredibly feature-packed and powerful weather radar app for serious weather enthusiasts. It provides native data rendering of reflective, velocity, dual-polarization, echo tops, accumulation, and more from any NEXRAD or TDWR radar in the U.S., Guam, and Puerto Rico. It also provides options for fine tuning the view with settings for displaying reflectivity, velocity and more. Radar layers include severe weather warnings for tornadoes, flash floods and thunderstorms, lightning alerts, and a variety of storm trackers. The monthly Pro level includes additional data sets, like real-time lightning alerts, extended loops, and more. Members of the Spotter Network and AllisonHouse can log in with their membership for additional exclusive information.
Weather Underground
Weather Underground is one of the most comprehensive and trusted weather apps. The app depends upon a network of more than 30,000 personal and amateur weather stations to deliver truly local weather forecasts. You can also report your local sky conditions as well as hazards like power outages or flash floods from within the app. The detail cards are customizable — you live in an area that rarely sees hurricanes or tropical storms, you can remove that card from your list, for example. A detailed weather map allows you to apply a variety of information overlays. You can receive severe weather alerts, meteorological data in your notification tray and receive hourly up to 10 day forecasts.
Weather Line ($2.99)
Weather Line keeps things simple and informative with an infographic that neatly sums up the weather forecast for hourly, daily or even monthly averages. Line graphs show expected temperature highs and lows, as well as a range of weather data and a quick text summary of expected weather. Powered by Forecast.io’s weather data, WeatherLine boasts the same hyper-local rainfall predictions as Dark Sky.
Poncho
Poncho is a cat in a yellow raincoat, and it’s also a new app for iOS that promises to wake you up with music that tells you what the weather is like outside. The app delivers daily and five-day weather forecasts based on your zip code, as well as real-time alerts, daily public transport alerts and hourly forecasts. Additionally, Poncho also provides a variety of lifestyle notifications, prompting you to bring an umbrella or dress in warm layers when appropriate, as well as alerts for high pollen count, humidity, and when the weather is conspiring to give you a bad hair day.
Carrot Weather ($3.99)
Carrot Weather is the latest addition to the Carrot family of apps but with a deliciously sarcastic twist. Cast as a human-hating artificial intelligence (AI), with comments such as “I hope you get a sunburn,” and “Your heating bill is going to bankrupt you,” you’ll always get a laugh out of your Carrot weather report. Further, the more you use Carrot Weather, the more you will unlock secret locations, like Mount Doom and a certain Outer Rim Moisture Farm. The app features short-term, 24-hour, and 7-day forecasts local, with the main screen showing quick summaries, while more detailed information are just a swipe away. The app takes data from Forecast.io and leavens it with sarcasm and humorous animations, because after a depressing weather report, you need something to smile about.
Also read:Â 10 Best Weather Forecast Apps And Widgets For Android Smartphones
