6 Weather Apps That Professionals Actually Use

You can never be too prepared, so it’s a good idea to use or download the best possible weatherapp on your phone if you want more details on, say, what to wear for the day outside, future forecasts, air quality indicators, radar images or severe weather alerts and warnings. 

As climate change continues, weather may only be getting more difficult to predict. Here are six weather apps that meteorologists and other weather-dependent professionals swear by for accurate forecasts and information.

1. Weather.gov

Anthony Torres, a meteorologist and the director of science at Currently, a weather service, mainly relies on data and meteorologist-specific weather prediction models to prepare accurate weather forecasts and reports.

However, in a pinch, he uses the National Weather Service’s Weather.gov.

“If I haven’t put together a forecast, I use Weather.gov because I know that whoever put that forecast together is a meteorologist,” Torres said. “I don’t necessarily trust any particular model or computer output because there are things that computers can’t tell the difference yet with, and so having a meteorologist put together the forecast is usually my first step if I don’t have the time to do it myself.”

Although it’s technically a mobile site, rather than an app, you can similarly add Weather.gov to your phone’s home screen. iPhone users should navigate to mobile.weather.gov on their phone’s web browser, then click the “send” button at the bottom of the screen to choose “add to home screen.” Instructions for Android users are similar.

2. RadarScope

Torres also likes RadarScope because it gives users access to satellite and radar so they can see where it’s cloudy or rainy or storming.

Though this app “tends to be a bit more on the technical side,” it’s helpful to meteorologists like Torres as it allows them to see exactly what the radar is seeing.

“I can do analysis on the data as soon as it comes in on my phone,” Torres said. “It’s really convenient.”

Gary Szatkowski, former meteorologist-in-charge at the National Weather Service and current Philadelphia forecaster at Currently, also uses RadarScope when he’s in a hurry.

“If you’re really into radar data, particularly the Doppler part of it, which shows you the winds and stuff, not just rain or snow, but more details about what the atmosphere is doing, RadarScope is a good option.”

3. Weather

Carly Ruff, a day-of wedding coordinator based in Florida, prefers Apple’s Weather app on her iPhone. 

A reliable weather app is especially important to Ruff, as she often coordinates both outdoor and indoor weddings, and she needs to know what weather to expect long before the event. As a day-of wedding coordinator, couples go to Ruff when they’ve planned almost their entire wedding and need help sorting things out over the last few months leading up to the big event. 

“These weather apps are super important for me because I need to know if I need to get my couples a tent or not,” Ruff said, laughing.

She also noted the weather is usually “unpredictable” in Florida, so Ruff likes being able to rely on an app. “I’ve had a lot of instances where it says it’s going to rain all day and then it doesn’t, or it says it’s going to be a beautiful day, and then at the last minute it does rain,” Ruff said.

She said she appreciates Weather’s interface and the hourly view, as it lets her know exactly when she can expect rain or some other weather event. The app also marks the time of sunset each day, so she can let photographers know to take pictures around that time.

“Weather tells me exactly what’s happening when, which is super important for me because I need to know if we need to delay the ceremony at all,” Ruff said. “Or a few days before the wedding, if [the chance of rain] is looking like it’s over 70%, then I know that I should recommend the couple rent a tent or find a plan B.”