Weather Apps side by side comparison on Smart Phones

[Wise Old Owl]

Cold fronts are important because they contain lightening... as a big fan of the Intellicast.com service on line I thought the app was just as good as one can determine from an app in the field when to take cover or get back to the car... When a storm approaches and the map shows the storm in Lancaster and is moving 15 miles per hour, I have 15 minutes to 30 minutes to get back to the car or get out of the park. Imagine my surprise when the storm didn't match the Smart Phone... Intellicast has a delay or buffer on the data!


I just solved the issue - The Weather Channel app doesn't have a delay and its very up to speed from installing!

[Wise Old Owl]

Here is another one... some podcasts will not play because Adobe licences streaming... Google on Android won't support some streaming...

Install the Adobe Air APP and turn it on - its loaded with games... now leave it in background after activation... turn the phone off then on now the phone accepts streaming - you do not have to do anything with Air afterwards.

[Starchild]

I use weatherbug, have not noticed a delay in radar and used it extensively through the rainy season of my thru and kept dryer then most. But if there is something better I want to know about it.

[Kerosene]

Coincidentally, I recently searched the Internet for a comparison of free smartphone weather apps as I have not been very impressed with the accuracy of The Weather Channel app, at least for the Twin Cities. Accuweather got fairly high marks, so I'm using that for a while.

[grateful 2]

My favorite is MyRadar. It is fast and seems to be very up-to-date. (I did pay the .99 to upgrade to get rid of the ads though.) I ride a motorcycle regularly and need current weather info.

[ChinMusic]

Dark Sky is another app I use. It has you-are-here function that allows you to see with incredible accuracy if you are about to get wacked by a storm. This does require a descent cell signal so it is not good on many parts of the trail.

[Wise Old Owl]

My favorite is MyRadar. It is fast and seems to be very up-to-date. (I did pay the .99 to upgrade to get rid of the ads though.) I ride a motorcycle regularly and need current weather info.

I had that on my phone for a while but the service was...odd and if you went somewhere upgrades were $$$. Am I wrong?

[grateful 2]

I had that on my phone for a while but the service was...odd and if you went somewhere upgrades were $$$. Am I wrong?

I've never had to pay extra for upgrades other than the .99 one time. I've travelled all over the southeast and have never had any problems. Great weather maps but no forecasts. I think it was developed for airplane pilots.

[SoulSista]

I've used several apps over the years for weather. The Appalacian trail has one specifically for the trail that works pretty good for generalized forecasts. My favorite ones though are Accuweather.com and MyCast (not free) because it shows lightening strikes and such in your area.

[Second Half]

RadarScope. $9.95 for the app, but it's a professional-quality, real-time weather radar app for the entire US.

[moytoy]

RadarScope. $9.95 for the app, but it's a professional-quality, real-time weather radar app for the entire US.

I believe that's only for i-pads and i-phones.

[Second Half]

It appears to be available for almost all smartphones and devices (granted I use it on my iPhone):

http://radarscope.tv/products/

[moytoy]

It appears to be available for almost all smartphones and devices (granted I use it on my iPhone):

http://radarscope.tv/products/

I see that it appears you are correct. I didn't find it in the google play store on my s3 so I assumed

[Shutter]

I've used several apps over the years for weather. The Appalacian trail has one specifically for the trail that works pretty good for generalized forecasts. My favorite ones though are Accuweather.com and MyCast (not free) because it shows lightening strikes and such in your area.

Here's the app SoulSista mentioned:
Appalachian Trail Weather
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.atweather

I wrote this app after I had created a very basic version for my own thru-hike. The data is basic but it's designed to work even with a very weak signal. Heavier apps like WeatherBug and such took 10+ minutes to get a forecast; I had Sprint thus a weak and slow signal. I guess Weatherbug downloads the ads first and the forecast second. I got annoyed with that in 2011 so I wrote my own that uses an extremely small amount of data.

If anyone decides to give it a shot, feel free to PM me with suggestions. I want to keep the app as light as possible and geared toward the trail. I'd love to have radar but have yet to find decent data source to include.

I'm personally heading out to the PCT this year so any improvements probably won't make it to the Class of 2014.

[Chair-man]

I use this > Weather Underground App

Great animated radar map and will show your exact location. And it's free.

[Siarl]

Here's the app SoulSista mentioned:
Appalachian Trail Weather
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...=com.atweather

I wrote this app after I had created a very basic version for my own thru-hike. The data is basic but it's designed to work even with a very weak signal. Heavier apps like WeatherBug and such took 10+ minutes to get a forecast; I had Sprint thus a weak and slow signal. I guess Weatherbug downloads the ads first and the forecast second. I got annoyed with that in 2011 so I wrote my own that uses an extremely small amount of data.

If anyone decides to give it a shot, feel free to PM me with suggestions. I want to keep the app as light as possible and geared toward the trail. I'd love to have radar but have yet to find decent data source to include.

I'm personally heading out to the PCT this year so any improvements probably won't make it to the Class of 2014.

I will be doing the thru hike next year and came upon the App for Appalachian Trail Weather. It's a great app with no delay for each individual shelter and also listed shelters by state. It's great so far.

[nu2hike]

Shutter is your app available for iphone?

[Shutter]

Shutter is your app available for iphone?

Unfortunately not. I don't own any Apple products and Apple requires you to own at least a Mac to write apps for the iPhone.

[fredmugs]

I use weatherbug, have not noticed a delay in radar and used it extensively through the rainy season of my thru and kept dryer then most. But if there is something better I want to know about it.

I also use Wesatherbug but I also haven't tried anything else recommended on here. I just know it's way easier to navigate than the weather channel or accuweather.

[Wise Old Owl]

I have it on good authority from a friend that Unisys provides the fastest computer models of weather prediction. My best guess is that some apps are not direct connected and maybe using a different source.

Can I suggest playing with the app on high ground as a cold front approches?