Watch the Weather with These 5 Apps

Whether you’re coordinating a large outdoor event—and are crossing your fingers for sunny skies!—or you simply want to know what to wear to the office, being informed about the forecast is an important part of your day.

Luckily, gone are the days of sitting eagerly in front of the TV waiting for your local forecast to appear (although,I admit, I do occasionally miss that instrumental elevator music). With the multitude of apps available today, you can carry updated and comprehensive weather information right in your pocket.

But, sifting through the junk in order to find an app that’s informative, user-friendly, and even a little fun can be a bit of a challenge. Look no further, ninjas! I’ve pulled together some info, reviews, and feedback from fellow ninjas on five different weather apps to help you pick the one that’s perfect for you.

Summary on lock screen

1. Dark Sky 5

Apple App Store

Sorry, Android users. This visually appealing—alright, downright beautiful—app is available exclusively for the iPhone and iPad. But, don’t feel slighted yet! Let’s find out if Dark Sky 5 is even worth the space on your phone, let alone the $3.99 price tag.

Noteworthy Features

  • No more forgetting to check the weather in the morning! You can program the app to provide you with a weather summary for the day, which appears on your phone’s lock screen.
  • The app features stunning maps that can show you everything from global patterns to the weather right outside your front door. The default map shows the entire globe, but you can zoom in to see temperature or precipitation exactly where you are (or where you’ll be travelling to). A pinpoint even marks your exact location on the map for ease.
  • The app is extremely easy to use and navigate, and offers a clean, streamlined, and easy-to-read design.

Drawbacks

  • Sure, $3.99 seems to be a cheap price tag for a lot of things. But, it feels like a steep price for an app—especially when there’s a huge assortment of free weather apps available!
  • It can have a few issues with “finding” your location. However, the kink is typically resolved after a minute or two.
  • It can be a drain on your phone battery, even after turning off alerts and other notices. But, it’s worth noting that the app is aiming to improve this issue with future updates.

What do ninjas have to say?

Overall, it’s a really cool app and I’ll more than likely keep it on my phone. Unless, of course, it keeps up with the battery drain. Then off it goes!” – Debbie Z., Office Ninja

I found the app really helpful this last week as I was planning my outfit for a wedding in another city. The weather predictions were spot-on. It was really easy to add a new location so you could keep track of the weather elsewhere. I plan on keeping the app. I think it will be great for home, as well as travel. I look forward to using it in the future.” – Carly A., Office Ninja

FunnyOrDieWeather

2. Funny or Die Weather

Apple App Store | Play Store

Anyone who’s familiar with the comedy website Funny or Die will likely respond with a big “Huh?” upon finding out that they developed a weather app. But, sure enough, Funny or Die Weather is free and available for both Apple and Android.

Noteworthy Features

  • If you’ve ever longed for a weather app that lightens the mood, this is what you’ve been looking for. Each time you open the app, a funny quote or joke about the weather appears on the screen.
  • If you’re familiar with other popular weather apps, this one will be incredibly easy for you to navigate and use.

Drawbacks

  • The schtick of this app is supposedly the funny quotes. But, in most cases, the quotes are unfunny, inappropriate, or just plain distracting—or all of the above.
  • The app is remarkably similar to both the Weather Channel app and the weather app that comes installed on the iPhone. Different colored backgrounds are the only noticeable difference, making it essentially unworthy of a download.

What do ninjas have to say?

I’d like to preface this with saying I am a huge fan of FOD. I like to think I have a pretty good (if not crude and sarcastic, at times) sense of humor. So, I was pretty sure I was going to love this app. Turns out, funny and weather are an odd, unfunny combo. So yeah, Funny or Die Weather was a big whomp, whomp, whooooooomp.” – Nicole L., Office Ninja

Overall impression? Silly. I will stick to my Weather Channel app. When I want to read a silly joke, I’ll refer to Tosh.0 or Buzzfeed.” – Kat M., Office Ninja

Atmos

3. Atmos

Apple App Store

Available exclusively for Apple for $2.99, Atmos is an easy to use weather app focused on bringing you the most vital weather information. But, is it worth the download? Let’s find out!

Noteworthy Features

  • The interface is incredibly simple, clean, and visually appealing.
  • The app offers the availability to view multiple locations on one screen, without needing to swipe back and forth between your preset locations. Less swiping? Super convenient!
  • Users can click the “Today” widget to get a quick look at their current conditions—wherever they are.

Drawbacks

  • It can be difficult to figure out how to return to the main screen at first, but the app starts to feel more intuitive after just a few uses.
  • Some users have experienced issues with getting the app to sync with their Apple Watch.

What do users have to say?

I have three weather apps and will continue to use this. I like it.” – Alison L., Office Ninja

I am using this app both on my iPhone and Apple watch and it works seamlessly. I have many weather apps and this is hand’s down my favorite for ease of use, accuracy, and clarity. The interface is clean, simple, and very nice looking. The forecast for the day and the projected forecast are all well detailed, and I keep track of 7 locations currently.” – Carringtonmk, iTunes Reviewer

AccuWeather

4. AccuWeather

Apple App Store | Play Store

An incredibly popular weather app, AccuWeather is available for both Apple and Android. It’s intuitive, informative, and comparable to the beloved Weather Channel app. Plus, it’s free!

Noteworthy Features

  • AccUcast allows users to share their weather observations in order to inform others in their community. The app even includes a real-time crowdsourced app from users all over the world.
  • There’s nothing worse than being surprised by rain! AccuWeather MinuteCast provides minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts targeted to your exact GPS location or street address.

Drawbacks

  • A few users have complained that the hour-by-hour forecast can be difficult to use.
  • As the AccUcast feature is still relatively new, not many people report their weather conditions—meaning there isn’t much information being gleaned from that feature yet.

What do users have to say?

I especially love the feature that lets you know the approximate time of rain starting or ending. It’s one of the first things you see when you open the app and that’s convenient and useful.” – NashvilleUser, iTunes Reviewer

Accuracy is never perfect in ANY weather app. I like that the widget tells you if it is going to start or stop raining in the next two hours. I can then decide to cycle to work or drive. I do get annoyed when, for a whole day, you cannot open the app due to ’problems downloading information.’” – An Casba, Google Play Reviewer

WeatherUnderground

5. Weather Underground

Apple App Store | Play Store

Weather Underground is yet another free weather app that’s available for both Apple and Android. Because Weather Underground was the internet’s very first weather site, you’d probably expect quite a bit from their weather app. Let’s see if it lives up to those expectations?

Noteworthy Features

  • Pulling data from a network of over 100,000 neighborhood weather stations, you can feel confident that the weather information you’re getting is targeted to your specific location.
  • The app offers the option to see weather from previous days, rather than just future weather forecasts.

Drawbacks

  • The layout of the app can make it difficult to see an overview at a glance, which can be frustrating.
  • A few users have reported issues with getting their location to update within the app.

What do users have to say?

The takeaway for me, this app has better overall content and features, but my TWC Max app (not even available anymore I don’t think) is still my go-to app due to simpler, less busy layout.” – DFPTA, iTunes Reviewer

Love it! I really like having the radar on my home screen so I know exactly what’s coming at me without having to wait for useless information to load. Always more accurate with telling me just how bad a storm is than all the other apps I’ve tried.” – Jen Coleman, Google Play Reviewer

What app do you rely on for the weather information you need? Let us know in the comments!

Responses

  1. Any chance you might include a Windows App or two next time you do an article on mobile apps? Thanks!

    1. We’ll definitely keep it in mind, Katie! Thanks for your feedback :)

  2. I prefer Weather Kitty (AppStore and Google Play) because it’s the cat’s meow. (Need I mention I’m a cat lover?) What better way to start the day than with Grumpy Cat providing you with the gloomy (or bright) forecast.

    1. Love it, Delia! I may just have to look into this app myself!

      #CatLoversUnite

      -Dinah

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