Rain in the next hour, not the weekend
Weather apps look interchangeable because most of them show the same thing: a week of icons produced by one of a small number of forecast models. What separates them is the short range. Rain in the next hour or two does not come from a model at all, it comes from radar and satellite images extrapolated forward, and an app either has that data for your area or it does not. That is the single question worth asking before installing one.
Where each part of the forecast comes from
| Part of the forecast | What produces it | How much to trust it |
|---|---|---|
| The next two hours | Radar and satellite, extrapolated forward | Good enough to time a walk, where radar coverage exists |
| Today and tomorrow | A national or global forecast model | Reliable for temperature, vaguer about where rain lands |
| Three to seven days | The same models, averaged | A trend rather than a plan |
| Beyond a week | Model averages with wide error | Read it as a mood, not a forecast |
| Severe weather warnings | The national meteorological service | The only part with an official source behind it |
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The apps, and what each one is actually for
Layered maps with wind, rain, temperature and cloud, and several forecast models you can switch between. The one to open when two other apps disagree and you want to see why.
Radar first, forecast second, with animated rain movement. Strongest in North America, where its underlying radar coverage is densest.
Opens straight onto a moving radar map with no menu in the way. The fastest answer to should I leave now or in twenty minutes.
Its short range rain timing is the feature people install it for. Check what the current free tier includes, because the advertising and subscription terms have changed more than once.
A large, feature heavy app with radar, pollen and alerts. Worth it if you use those extras, oversized if you only want a temperature.
Pulls in readings from amateur weather stations as well as official ones, which matters in hilly places where the nearest airport is not representative.
Clean design over official data sources, and it lets you pick which source to use. A good default for anyone who wants the numbers without the marketing.
Open source, no account, no advertising, and you choose the data provider yourself. The least commercial option here by a distance.
Its short range rain map is genuinely good, and it has the best coverage of Russia and neighbouring countries of anything on this list.
Built around central European forecasting, with radar and warnings tuned for that region rather than adapted to it.
Widget led, so the forecast sits on the home screen instead of behind an icon. Advertising supported, which shows in places.
Small, quick and undemanding. The right choice on an old phone where the larger apps take a few seconds to draw anything.
A clock and weather widget more than an app, for people who want one glance on the home screen and nothing else.
Another widget first option, with a lot of themes. Check the permissions it asks for before settling on it.
Minimal and already present on some phones. No radar loop, no extras, and for a lot of people that is the whole appeal.
What a weather app costs you in the background
- Let it use location only while in use A weather app does not need your position at three in the morning. This one setting is most of the battery difference between apps.
- Set the widget refresh to hourly, not continuous Fifteen minute refreshes flatten a battery and change the forecast almost never.
- Keep notifications for warnings, turn off the daily summary The morning summary is the notification people eventually mute, and muting takes the warnings with it.
- Look at the radar over WiFi when you can Animated radar layers are image downloads, and a few minutes of scrubbing back and forth is a real amount of mobile data.
- Know your national service's own app or site For a storm warning, the official source is the one that matters. Every commercial app is repeating it, sometimes late.
- Rain in the next hour where radar covers you
- Temperature today and tomorrow
- Wind, which models handle well
- Knowing a warning has been issued
- Exactly where a thunderstorm will land
- Snow amounts, which are hard everywhere
- Mountain and coastal microclimates
- Anything at all beyond about a week
Pick for the next two hours, not the next week. Radar coverage where you live decides that, and the rest is presentation.
Frequently asked questions
Why do two weather apps show different forecasts for the same place?
Because they are reading different models, or the same model at different resolutions, and then applying their own adjustments. Neither is lying. An app showing several models side by side is the honest way to see the spread.
Is a paid weather app worth it?
Only for the short range and the maps. Nobody sells a better seven day forecast, because the models underneath are the same public ones. Paying usually buys a better radar view and removes advertising.
Does an offline weather app exist?
Not meaningfully. A forecast is data that has to be fetched. What you can do is refresh before losing signal, since most apps keep showing the last forecast they downloaded, with its timestamp.
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