Where are the killer weather apps?

[Todd Renshaw]

I'm prompted to post this because of my frustration that there are so few great weather apps for iOS (iPhone/iPod/iPad). Here's what I have installed:

RadarScope - love it, just wish it had a mosaic so I could find the action when nothing is going on locally.
AeroWeather - kind of raw, with a lot of airport info I don't need, but it's not bad for tracking conditions changing as they creep across an area. (You can see lots of airports reporting, all at once.)
The Weather Channel Max - this is my main "amateur" app. It drives me a little crazy 'cause it can be so slow, but it's okay. (Not really useful for chasing.)
Darkness - I mostly use this for astronomy. Probably it's only useful feature for storm chasing would be that it shows the sunset time.
Hurricane HD - Have this one on the iPad.
I also have these installed, but rarely use them and they don't really bring much to the table that you couldn't get from any number of generalized apps: AccuWeather, RadarMotion, StormScope and WeatherBug.

So I can't help feeling that aside from RadarScope and maybe Hurricane HD, there really aren't any other killer weather apps out there. (Or maybe Apple just does a poor job of letting the best stand out? Maybe there are some gems buried in the clutter?) Question one for everybody: Are there some other great apps out there that you've found? Question two: What do you feel is missing? What hasn't been created yet that you wish we had?


Droid users, feel free to chime in. I'm not a user, but I know there's a lengthy post (and good things said) about Joe Jurecka's PYKL3 Radar. And also Mike Brady's StormChaser app.

 

[David Wolfson]

Depends what you want. A lot of "apps" are out there on servers accessible with Safari. For real-time analysis the SPC's mesoanalysis pages are out there for anyone to use, designed by and for severe weather forecasters. WeatherTAP works fine on the iPad for everything except for their RadarHD. If you want the enhanced features of RadarHD you can run the program on a base machine and connect to it on the iPad through a router using one of several IOS apps.

Apple doesn't give you a fully-featured GPS. However you can get an Apple-certified GPS tetherable dongle that purports to do the job with most IOS apps that use location. That's another thread....

While ideally the iPad would have a tiny bit bigger display its portability and battery life are pretty darn good features.

 

[Jarrod Barnett]

IDroid users, feel free to chime in. I'm not a user, but I know there's a lengthy post (and good things said) about Joe Jurecka's PYKL3 Radar. And also Mike Brady's StormChaser app.

Those are the only 2 I really use but recently downloaded "Stormchase Buddy". I like the built in WX radio that it offers.

Mike's Spotter Outlook app is a good one to have as well.

 

[Nicholas_Scherber]

Those are the only 2 I really use but recently downloaded "Stormchase Buddy". I like the built in WX radio that it offers.

Mike's Spotter Outlook app is a good one to have as well.

One thing i have done on my droid eris is bookmark accuweather and created a shortcut on my screen. It doesn't loop or anything but i can generally get a quick radar image pretty much instantly. plus, its free.

 

[B Ozanne]

Is the pay version of Aeroweather worth it? I like the free version, fast and accurate data for only the places I care about.

Is Darkness the best sunrise/sunset calculator out there? I have free app that only does your current location and am looking to upgrade. I see lots of complaints for Darkness regarding the lack of retina display support.

Has anybody heard anything about RadarScope working its way into the Mac App Store? I love it on my iphone and ipad...and I'd love it on my mac. I'd even pay for it again.

I too am interested in hearing about any other hidden gems. Not sure I am ready to commit to the Weathergeekpro app at this time. Looks good, but it seems like it could be more powerful.

 

[DRMabe]

I have the EVO 4g (droid OS), and I have PYKL3, Radar Now, and Spotter Outlook installed and have shortcuts to those and and the SPC on one of my screens.

 

[rdale]

Obviously Weathergeek Pro should be on the list and doesn't hurt to have EFScale too.

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/sho...eek-Pro-for-mobile-apps&highlight=Weathergeek

 

[Todd Renshaw]

B Ozanne: No, I'm guessing Darkness isn't really the best out there. If you only need sunset times and can find it elsewhere, I wouldn't bother with Darkness. For astronomy purposes it's main benefit is that it has sunrise, sunset, moonrise, moonset with the azimuth for each and you can add multiple locations. (You need really dark skies for astronomy. It helps with that.)

rdale: Thanks for mentioning Weathergeek Pro. Looks a bit easier than getting all that model data through a web browser.

 

[B Ozanne]

I just invested VelaClock ( the 99 cent version). Works great and does it's job for sunrise/sunset twilight and moon data.

I wish wgpro had an easier way to pick a forecast period. You have to press stop at exactly the right time.

 

[Todd Renshaw]

I wish wgpro had an easier way to pick a forecast period. You have to press stop at exactly the right time.

Yeah, I hear that. Also, I think it wastes a lot of screen real estate on those buttons. They could be a lot smaller and with the parameters maybe running up the side or with a scroll bar at the bottom. (To stop, or go back or forward, you just drag the scroll button to where you want to be. I also wish it kept that same view as you switch to a different model. (I know the maps are slightly different.) If I'm looking at (for instance) the midwest, I don't want to see the whole country again each time I switch around and have to zoom in again.

 

[rdale]

The developer has been VERY responsive to requests and I'm pretty sure he is not a ST member. You might post that on their forum.

 

[Todd Renshaw]

The developer has been VERY responsive to requests and I'm pretty sure he is not a ST member. You might post that on their forum.

Will do. I was planning on it once I became a little more familiar with using the app.

 

[Kevin Almloff]

Is Darkness the best sunrise/sunset calculator out there? I have free app that only does your current location and am looking to upgrade. I see lots of complaints for Darkness regarding the lack of retina display support.

I use Focalware. It costs a little more but allows you to choose any location and date. In addition to the rise and set times and moon stages, it shows the compass direction, angle above the horizon and shadow length for a given time and date. Useful for determining when the sun or moon will be above a specific object or knowing in advance where to set up the camera.

 

[akubiak]

Have a look at the iPhone app Lightning Finder It has a nice presentation.

 

[Todd Renshaw]

Have a look at the iPhone app Lightning Finder It has a nice presentation.

Thanks! There's also AllisonHouse's BoltMeter.