Weather Apps 2022

The last time I shared some weather apps, my list included apps for Windows Phone and Windows 8, replete with live tile callouts. So, it has been a while. Let’s look at what I’m using in 2022.

Don’t Rely on Data Infrastructure

But first, a reminder that while online services are useful and convenient, they are by their very nature prone to failure during emergencies. Power outages, data failure, network congestion, dead batteries are just a few obstacles that can cut off your critical information in life-or-death situations. In disaster areas, mobile phone service is often lost for hours or days until mobile power generators and COWs can be delivered. And even if you have a connection, often a web source is several minutes or more behind (even when you’re watching a so-called “live” video stream of your local news on Facebook). When seconds matter you need a weather or AM/FM radio with fresh batteries.

MyRadar

This is first in my list because I use it constantly. Even when I’m not using it, it is in the background and will receive push alerts. It’s on my phone, tablets, computers, and Xbox. It’s incredibly well-built by passionate weather-loving and responsive developers, constantly updated and improved, and works on everything. I can receive weather alerts whether I’m gaming or working, see impacts like power outages, storm reports and images/videos from spotters, and so much more. The “high def” radar is beautifully animated, or you can show per-station details with volume and velocity and tilt adjustments. I highly recommend this app for all your devices. It’s in every app store out there.

No-Nonsense Weather Information

We all love our local meteorologist celebrities, but sometimes you just want the facts quickly and without marketing fluff or ads. For this, I always turn to my friendly neighborhood WFO. The Weather Forecast Office covering my area is headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma on the OU campus, and posts their updates to weather.gov/oun. Such local coverage websites exist for every region the National Weather Service covers and many have alternate URL shortcuts. For example my local WFO can also be reached from weather.gov/norman, and I happen to know weather.gov/memphis covers my company’s Arkansas location. Mobile versions are available at mobile.weather.gov (find your city then add a shortcut to your phone’s home screen).

Mobile-Optimized NOAA Weather Resources

The local NWS websites and their mobile versions aren’t flashy, but they are fast and efficient — and you pay for it so you might as well get some use of it. I personally always visit the WFO site directly, you won’t find commercial or cable weather news channels in my browser history.

Wireless Emergency Alerts

Although the data infrastructure warning mentioned above is always applicable, the FEMA Wireless Emergency Alert system is generally reliable. This system provides alerts directly to mobile phones regardless of service provider and without downloading an app or subscribing to a service. The alerts are broadcast via cell tower in geographic areas, so your receipt of alerts will always apply to where you are at any given time, not where your phone is registered — and without any tracking or accounts or giving up any privacy. All the major cellular providers participate in WEA alerts on a voluntary basis. I recommend you visit the emergency alerts settings on your phone and make sure that severe weather alerts are enabled.

Smart Displays

Here’s a new one I’ve recently discovered, something I’ve searched for a few times in the past but only recently found Immersive Weather — an app that turns your Cast display into a weather display hub. This includes a subscription option (about $.83 cents a month) that provides even more customization. I love having a display in my house dedicated for this during weather events, and this app fits the bill.

That about sums of the weather apps I’m using the most these days. The list has gotten shorter since I first did this nearly a decade ago and with each update since. The maturity and constant updates to MyRdadar especially means it continues to fit my needs on desktop and on the go. If you have a favorite I need to checkout, let me know in the comments below.