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Whether you’re planning a trip to the beach or a summer picnic, checking the weather report can be vital to your holiday plans. You may see a prediction of scattered thunderstorms, but how can you tell whether those storms will affect you?
Tech the answer. Websites and apps can help you quickly see what the weather conditions are now and will be soon. Smartphone apps can instantly determine your location and show you local weather to see how you will be affected. On both apps and websites you can enter location information to be shown the current weather conditions and forecasts for areas around the globe.
Here are the best weather apps and websites to help you find out the weather near or far. Be sure to check out the handy chart at the end of the article highlighting the best features of each weather service.
The Weather Channel
This free app harnesses the power of The Weather Channel for worldwide weather data. The app shows you weather in multiple formats, including text, radar maps and embedded videos from The Weather Channel TV network. You can view videos for local/US, World, and on other weather-related topics.
On the radar map you can see moving animation of weather conditions, both future and past. You can save multiple favorite locations and set notifications for pollen, severe weather and other events.
You can see layers of information on your weather app, including clouds, radar, rainfall and other information. You can also see the predicted times for the start and finish of precipitation.
The app provides detailed information, such as sunrise and sunset times, wind speed and direction, humidity, visibility and more. You can save travel routes to see the weather conditions on your journey.
The Weather Channel is available free on its website and as an app for:
Accuweather
AccuWeather gives you current weather conditions as well as the forecast for the next 15 days in 2.7 million locations around the world. You can see hourly and forecasts in text and graphics as well as in a graph format. You can share weather information in social media from within the app.
AccuWeather provides detailed information about humidity, air pressure, UV index and the times of sunrise and sunset in addition to loads of other information. The app also has weather video and news that are updated every 15 minutes.
The app will also notify you of severe weather alerts in your area. Check out the Lifestyle section which will tell you whether the weather is ideal for activities such as a barbeque, walking the dog, flying a kite or having a good hair day.
Accuweather also has health forecasts with alerts for allergies, pollen, migraines, asthma and more.
Accuweather is available at the website and as an app for:
Weather Underground
Weather Underground gives you detailed weather information in many formats, including maps, photos, and climate change indicators. Join the Community discussion and check out blogs from leading meteorologists on the Weather Underground website. Weather Underground will even help you start your own weather blog.
The app can show you the weather in your area with a grid map. You can add layers, such as satellite images and radar. You can also view local webcams to see the weather conditions in real time. The app can also alert you to severe weather conditions in your area.
Weather Underground is available as a website and as a free app for:
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Android
SkyMotion
SkyMotion is a hyperlocal app that gives you weather conditions and forecasts for precise locations. When you need to know what the weather is for a specific area, SkyMotion is where you should turn.
I first reviewed SkyMotion in October, (see, SkyMotion – Never Get Caught in the Rain Again!) and since then the developer has been busy improving the service. With a recent update you can see Nowcasts that show you exact weather conditions within an 0.6 square mile radius, with over 16 million locations monitored. Nowcasts are currently available for North America and European Nowcasts are due to be available soon.
You can see the weather where you are and save an unlimited number of locations to SkyMotion. You can also share Nowcasts with others on social media directly from the app.
SkyMotion also now collects user observations to help refine the accuracy of reported conditions. You can report weather conditions for your area directly from the app to contribute to worldwide crowd-sourced weather data.
SkyMotion can also alert you to extreme weather, including smoke conditions from forest fires.
SkyMotion is free on its website and as an app for:
iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch
Android
Weather Bug
Weather Bug gives you a lot of information on its website and from within the apps. You can see current, hourly and seven day forecasts as well as weather news. What makes Weather Bug especially helpful is its Live Camera feature, showing you real-time and time lapse photos of weather conditions.
If a thunderstorm is in your area, check out Spark, a new feature of the WeatherBug app that tells you how far you are from a lightning strike. The app advises that if the closest strike is less than 10 miles away, you should remain indoors.
WeatherBug also has radar maps with moving animation, showing you the predicted path of storms. You can add layers to the map with radar and satellite images, as well as additional information such as temperature, heat index, etc.
WeatherBug is available free as a website and as an app for:
Kindle Fire and other Android devices
An ad-free app, WeatherBug Elite is available for $2.99 for
iPhone, iPad,and iPod Touch
Kindle Fire and other Android devices
Outside
Want a simple way to see the weather conditions and forecast? Check out Outside, a weather app that’s easy to use. This app is simple. When you open the app it shows you the current weather in lovely animation as if you were looking out your window. You don’t need to add your location, it figures out where you are. Swipe to the left to see the weather ahead. Information on the home screen is large and colorful so you may not need your glasses to see the weather forecast.
Swipe down to see more information about current weather conditions, such as the wind speed and direction, humidity, UV index and more. You can add locations to find out weather conditions in other areas.
You can set up notifications for very cold and/or warm weather as well as when the UV index is above 6. You can set the temperature and time of day when you want to be notified.
Outside is available for $2.99 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.
Apps and Websites at a Glance
Here’s a chart to help you see which weather apps and websites are best for you:
Your Thoughts
What tech do you use to find out the weather forecasts? Do you use apps or websites more? Have you ever been alerted to severe weather conditions by an app? Let us know in the Comments section below!
* Lightning image by Southern Hearts
Hi Carolyn,
Yet another wonderful and informative post from you 🙂
Oh…honestly speaking I don’t really use my mobile for anything other than talking to my folks – just not too used to it though my kids keep trying ways to teach me..lol! But yes, I do use websites instead for checking out the weather forecast and report as such, but that too isn’t too often.
I guess as we get our daily newspaper early in the morning, and as it’s the local one we get to see the days forecast right there and then. However, wherever and whatever might be the weather report, it sometimes isn’t all that accurate and what’s forecasted for the day actually shows up the next day at times.
Nevertheless, I know of friends who do swear by these apps as they are using it, so I’d be sharing it with them or perhaps I’ve not checked out these and they might be accurate ones.
Thanks for sharing. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
Hi Harleena, Yes, the newspapers can give you useful weather information. The reason people enjoy using apps so much for weather is because the apps can figure out where you are and give you up-to-minute weather info. If you’re in an area with severe weather conditions, apps can be extremely valuable.
I also included websites for those who don’t have smartphones. It was interesting though, in some cases the apps had more features than the websites.
People can try these different apps and websites out to see which ones they want to keep as bookmarks and on their phones. Some people will value some features more than others, but each one of these services has plenty to offer!
Tried most of these already but the one I am using is not listed here. Really recommend you to try out “Snowstorm”. It is the best according to me.
Hi Johan, I hadn’t heard of Snowstorm before. I did a lot of research for this article but didn’t come across that one. What features of Snowstorm make it your favorite?
Hi Carolyn, I think it has the most accurate results and also looks the best 🙂
You can find more about it here
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=se.f1nally.snowstorm&hl=en
Wow, thanks, Johan. I appreciate not only the recommendation, but the link as well.
You bring up an excellent point. The features don’t matter very much if the forecasts aren’t accurate. That’s why experimenting with different weather apps and websites is very important!
I’ve been using WeatherBug for years, first on my Blackberry and now on my iPhone and tablet. The App had been, in my opinion, fairly stagnant in terms of developement. But recently Earth Networks acquired the WeatherBug app and I see some improvements appearing.
I am going to have to give SkyMotion a try. Judging by your screen shot, I really like the looks of the app.
Hi Robert, The WeatherBug app was updated last week with some minor improvements. I use the app when I want to see the live webcams showing current conditions and also the moving radar map to show if a storm is headed my way.
I think you’ll really like SkyMotion, Robert. The local forecast shows the precise time and location for your weather.
The good thing about these apps is that all are free, other than Outside, so you can try them all to see which ones you like best.
Hi Carolyn and thanks for sharing those great apps!
I’m a huge fan of the Weather.com app and find it to be most accurate for my area. I love the extended forecast as well as the weather in motion on it. Very cool stuff!
Hi Bren, It’s great to hear you’re a fan of The Weather Channel app. When people find a weather app that’s a good fit, they generally keep it on the home screen of their phones.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Bren!
I think every smartphone should have a weather app as you may never know when you can need it.Out all the services you’ve mentioned in you list .. Accuweather is my favorite app and its been installed on my Android smartphone and i don’t wanna try out other apps as i am quite satisfied by it.
Regards,
Pramod
Hi Pramod, Hey, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right? I’m glad you found a weather app that works well for you. May as well stick with that one.
The iPhone does come with a stock weather app, but it isn’t very good. Part of iOS 7 is an improved weather app with data from Yahoo, but it will have to go a long way before it competes with the weather apps in this article.
Now here is rainy days in India and now more people using weather app for latest weather update. Me also using Weather Underground its very good and fast app. Above all app is best but The Weather Channel very famous in India. Thanks for share informative knowledge with us. Keep it
Hi Mahendra, Yes, when you have rain a lot the best weather app will be the one that accurately predicts the sunshine first!
Good point, no matter which app is the most popular, you need to find the one that’s best for you. Since most of these are free, people can load a bunch and then see which one(s) they like best.
Thanks for stopping by and sharing your opinion with us, Mahendra!
Hey Carolyn,
Nice compilation….though I have used most of them , still I’ve found a few new ones like Accuweather and Outside….I’ll be going to use them soon enough…..Thanks for sharing….By the way have you used them all??? What is your personal favorite??
Hi Aditya, Yes, since these apps are free, mostly, I have them all on my iPhone. I keep them there because each one serves a purpose for me. I live in an area that has unique weather so SkyMotion is incredibly helpful for showing me my exact weather forecast and for showing how close lightning is to me. I use Outside when I want a quick glance at the weather. I use WeatherBug when a storm is approaching and I want to see the moving radar.
I use the other weather apps when I need more weather information or want to see news about the weather.
I hope you find your favorite(s), Aditya! 🙂
i use accuweather app. and i am totally satisfied. But weather underground seems interestimng. would try it out! 🙂
Hi Aashish, That’s great you’re going to try out another new weather app. Who knows? Weather Underground may have features that you find valuable. Many people have more than one weather app on their phones. I love that most of them are free so you can try them to see if they work well for you!
yea i’ll surely try Carolyn 🙂 Thanx!! I like ur site very much! Its really informative and interesting keep posting 🙂
Thank you so very much, Aashish! I will definitely keep at this. Your warm words mean a lot to me.
Wow! I didn’t know there are so many weather apps. Thanks very much for this insightful article. Although I am mainly into gaming apps, I will download some of those weather apps to stay posted about the weather situation. Thanks a lot again
Hi Supriyo, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, everyone needs a good weather app on their phone. You can still enjoy your gaming apps right after you check the weather! 🙂
Hi Carolyn,
For people in the UK weather-wherever is one of the best. I get an email with a forecast every morning and theya re quite accurate. Other stuff in the email is also the daily horoscope. We have decent weather in the UK for a change. After a rain drenched summer last year and a prolonged winter, we now have high temperatures and sunshine. I have to get used to a new camera and more light than I know what to do with!
My blogs today are on WordPress and a Zillion Ideas. The more arty edits on the latter. I think my next step in art and photography might be to get my eyes tested! I’m hoping to photograph the carnival with my new Nikon on Saturday and so there might be different images next week. On Sunday, I photographed pubs and the canal.
Hi Mike, Thanks for letting us know about the Weather Wherever website: http://www.weather-wherever.co.uk/ I just visited the site and love the pictures of Britain on the home page.
You’re right, British weather has been extreme, I’m glad you’re having some beautiful days now.
I will be over to check out my weekly photography lesson at your place very soon! 🙂
I have a question for you Carolyn…
Since some apps come with our iPhones can you delete them if you’re rather have a different app and don’t really want two of them on your phone? Like with the iPhone you know it has a weather app. It’s not bad, it gives me what I want but if I were to install another weather map then I wouldn’t want to keep the one that came with the phone. Can you delete them? It’s not giving me an option to which is why I asked.
I was actually looking for an extension for my browser the other day because Google Chrome went nuts on me and deleted all my extensions so when I went to load them again the weather one was no longer on the list. Bummer!
Thanks Carolyn for this great list.
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, Great question. You’re right, it can be frustrating to have apps on your iPhone that you don’t want. The bad news is that the apps that come with the iPhone, known as “native” apps, cannot be deleted. What you can do is put those apps in a folder to hide them. You can either cluster all of your native apps together in a Native App folder, or you can put them in a folder with similar apps, such as a Weather Apps folder. That way they don’t take up as much valuable real estate on your home screens.
I agree with you, the native weather app on the iPhone isn’t very useful, especially compared to these other apps. But it’s slated for a major upgrade in iOS 7 coming in the fall.
I didn’t know you could lump them together in a folder Carolyn so thanks for letting me know. There are several I’ll never use and they’re just taking up space. Thanks for telling me about that so now I’ll go on the hunt on how to do just that. If you have a post about that then just point me in the right direction. 🙂
~Adrienne
Hi Adrienne, You know, I haven’t covered that yet. If you can hang on until Friday, I will show you how to create folders for your iPhone apps. It’s a handy trick that will help keep your apps organized!
Thanks Carolyn for creating this great app list, I’m going to try some of it to see if they work in my country also or not.
Hi Rajnish, I’m glad you like this list. I hope that these apps do work in your home country!
I have just been using a Norwegian service called YR, it’s great for the Norwegian weather. But, I’ll probably test on of your services when I’m going to Italy.
I hope you’re enjoying your summer Carolyn, the sun is shining in Norway 🙂
Hi Jens, The app Outside actually uses a Norwegian weather service!
I hope the weather apps you use in Italy show you sunny and beautiful days! 🙂
Weather Underground? Wasn’t that a subversive group in the 70’s? I guess everybody is getting apps these days, huh?
I have two weather apps, The Weather Channel and one just called Weather. The one thing you count on in Florida is an afternoon shower, it’s just a matter of where. So far, I have had only two tennis matches rained out this year.
I’m sitting here at my desk listening to the Rays on the radio. They had an afternoon game today in St Pete I almost went to, but I couldn’t anybody to play hooky with me. They are on a roll right now.
When were you in Florida? When I saw your up close and personal photo on Dino’s blog you looked really familiar like maybe we met somewhere along the way? Are you in the witness protection program, or will you have to kill me if you tell me?
Hope you are having a lovely day oh incognito famous one…:).
Hi Bill, Yes, we may have met in Tampa. I worked for a law firm called Fowler, White, Gillen, Boggs, Villareal and Banker, which was going for the longest law firm name in Florida history. They have since changed the name to Fowler White Boggs.
It’s a shame you couldn’t get anyone to go with you to a Devil Rays game today. Perhaps there will be another one you can get to by persuading your pals to accompany you.
You’re absolutely right, I was in the Witness Protection Program, but they weren’t very keen on me starting a tech blog, not good for staying invisible, if you know what I mean. So I quit the WPP so I could write The Wonder of Tech! :-bd
Hi Carolyn,
Great List of apps as always. I still use websites to check the weather but my girls are crazy about apps and they like to check everything using them. I will send them this post and I am sure they will like it.
Thanks Carolyn for sharing these great stuff.
Be Blessed,
Neamat
Hi Neamat, Yes, sometimes the weather is the most important part of your day! I hope you and your girls enjoy these apps.
I’ve never tried using a weather app before. I must say though I like the name of Outside…actually makes me want to give it a go.
Hi Frank, I like Outside. The animation is well done, the colors are bright and the text is large. It’s helpful when you want to glance quickly at your phone and get a weather report.
Your review os great, I personally prefer weather apps, and to be more precisely, widgets, as with them you don’t need to open website or app – you just launch your tablet and see the waether – very useful and quick
Hi Victoria, Welcome to The Wonder of Tech! You’re right, weather widgets on the Android phone are very handy to have on your home screen. In fact, that’s a main reason that many people prefer Android phones over iPhones!