Satellite Weather Apps
The best satellite weather apps give you more than just local forecasts – they also offer radar images, severe weather alerts and more.
Whether you’re planning a trip or just want to keep track of what the weather’s like where you are, these are the best satellite weather apps for iOS and Android.
NOAA Weather
If you’re a frequent weather explorer, you’ve probably heard of NOAA Weather Radio (NWR). This is an automated network of VHF FM radio stations that broadcasts weather information directly from a nearby National Weather Service office. NOAA Weather Radio is an important tool for citizens, business people, and outdoors lovers.
It’s a 24/7 broadcast system with over 1000 transmitters spread across the United States. It broadcasts weather forecasts, official watches and warnings, climate summaries, and zone/lake/coastal water forecasts on a minute-by-minute cycle. On occasion, it may broadcast emergency alerts such as AMBER alerts.
The Weather Channel’s website is a great resource for people who want to learn more about the weather in their area. It has several pages with various types of information about current conditions, hourly forecasts, and multiple-day forecasts. It also offers a detailed weather map that shows current conditions and forecasts for the next day.
Another great resource is the Weather Service’s own site, which has recently been updated to make it easier for users to use. Its new user interface makes it easy to zoom in and out of imagery, and it layers warning boxes over the radar imagery for a better understanding of storm activity.
A more in-depth radar app is RadarScope, which pulls data from 289 NEXRAD Level 3 and Super-Resolution radar sites in the U.S., as well as Guam, Puerto Rico, Korea, and Okinawa. It includes real-time wind speed and direction, as well as a future radar option that forecasts future storm movements up to six hours in advance.
If you’re looking for a more fun and whimsical way to track the weather, CARROT Weather is a good choice. This app uses AI to create forecasts that are a mix of personality and snark. It also has a persistent notification that displays real-time weather data every time you open it.
The app is free to download, but it costs $1.99 a month for ad-free versions of the app. The subscription removes ads and unlocks other features, such as 10 days of daily forecasts and an air quality index card. It also includes a variety of widgets and themes that you can customize for your home screen.
Dark Sky
If you’re an Apple Weather user, you may have heard about Dark Sky. In 2020, Apple purchased the app and started slowly incorporating its features into the built-in Weather app.
Unlike most other weather apps, Dark Sky focused on hyperlocalized notifications rather than offering basic data sets. This included hourly and daily forecasts with color-coded bars showing temperatures, and images of weather maps displaying changes in relation to your location.
These features were complemented by impressive animations. These were a big part of why Dark Sky was such a hit. It was one of the first weather apps that I felt truly comfortable with. It also had a minimalist design that lent itself to a beautiful and soothing aesthetic.
Another big draw was its rain warnings. These were right more often than they weren’t, which was reassuring to know in the case of a storm.
Unfortunately, this feature only worked in the US, UK, and Ireland. So if you’re living outside of those regions, it might be time to find a new weather app.
Thankfully, there are plenty of options to choose from, so there’s something for everyone. Some are cheaper than Radarscope, while others are just as good at predicting the weather for your region.
The best option for those who want to keep the great 3D world map that Dark Sky had is Ventusky. It’s affordable, offers a wide variety of weather models, and has a smooth interface that will please any user.
You can even set it up to give you a text message when it’s about to rain, which is a feature that isn’t available in the Apple Weather app.
Other features that you’ll find in the app include a 10-day weather forecast, a single-sentence summary of upcoming conditions at first glance, air pollution details, rain maps for your area, UV index, sunrise and sunset times, and more.
In addition to all these great features, there’s also the option to cross-check your predictions with others. This can help the app deliver even more accurate forecasts for your area.
Weather Underground
Weather Underground is a popular weather app that offers users the ability to receive real-time forecasts for their area. It combines data from over 250,000 personal weather stations with a proprietary forecast model to give you the best weather data available.
With a free account, you can set weather alerts so that you’re always prepared for whatever the weather brings. You’ll also find a variety of other useful features, including a live weather radar and severe weather alerts for your area.
The Weather Underground app is available on Android and iOS devices. It can display current weather conditions and future forecasts, as well as weather related news and blogs from meteorologists. It’s also a great place to check out photos and videos of the weather from people all over the world.
It also gives you an Outdoor Sports Index, which shows you how favorable the weather is for hiking or biking. You can see the score on a scale of 1 to 10 and make decisions based on that information.
You’ll be able to customize your experience with the app by choosing different weather overlays, personal weather stations, nexrad radar, satellite and heat maps. There’s even a feature that will show you where lightning will strike during the day.
In addition to the weather, you can also see air quality and UV index. It’s a great app for people who have allergies or are concerned about their health.
The app uses the Weather Underground crowd reporting system to verify forecasts and add hazard alerts. It also allows you to create your own personalized forecast.
There’s a lot to like about Weather Underground, but there’s also some controversy with the company. According to Bryan Burrough’s book Days of Rage, the group’s leader Michael Kennedy allegedly helped plan an illegal plot to break Timothy Leary out of prison.
This led to a number of arrests and the group’s demise. However, some supporters of the Weather Underground continued to support the movement.
In the early ’70s, Van Lydegraf and his followers started to regress into a faction that was largely made up of low-level members and those who had been purged. These included a group of former members of Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Weathermen who had been arrested or expelled from the movement.
Rain Radar
The Rain Radar app uses radar data to display areas of precipitation, marked with different colors. It’s a great way to see where and when rain is likely to fall, especially during an event like a hurricane or typhoon.
The app can show you the amount of rainfall that will occur over a period of 36 hours. This can help you determine whether or not it’s safe to venture outdoors if there’s heavy rain in the forecast.
You can also check out how much rain has fallen so far on the radar, as well as see when the next rain front is expected to arrive. Having this information can save you from getting wet or spending too much time in the rain if you’re on a hike or out fishing.
It can also tell you when you can get out of the rain without getting wet, or if it will be safe to stay indoors. This is particularly useful if you’re in the mountains where it can be a challenge to find shelter from a strong storm.
Another feature of the app is its ability to predict if and when a storm will produce hail. It can also show the probability of severe hail, as well as the maximum size of the hail stones.
Using radar data, the app can also show you the direction of wind and how fast it’s moving. The app can also show you if there are any changes to the wind patterns, which is helpful for determining how fast the weather will change in the future.
Rain radar is an extremely useful tool when it comes to tracking thunderstorms, typhoons, and tornadoes. The app can also tell you how far away a storm is, which will help you decide if it’s worth risking a trip to the grocery store or to work.
The app also shows a forecast of the movement of storm cells over a period of 60 minutes. Each cell’s movement is shown with an arrow. The app can also show the speed of storm cells in knots, which is important for determining how fast the storm will move when it hits you.