Weather applications available for various cell phone platforms are great tools to use and are a vital component of my app arsenal. When it comes to forecasting, I would much rather compose my own than follow someone else’s prophecy, but when I have limited access to computer model data and my “normal” suite of weather websites, relying on apps at hand is not only convenient, it’s necessary. Finding sources for good weather information can be confusing and overwhelming. There are many different tools, apps, and sites to look at and the message can become mostly cloudy.
I believe that the best apps are those that are easiest to understand and provide information the public can use for travel plans and emergency situations. These are a few of the weather apps I like to use:
iMapWeatherRadio – severe weather alerts
WeatherTAP – weather radar that identifies storms and shows direction of movement
WeatherBug – active alerts, current weather, a seven-day forecast, and radar.
Using these tools to find out if you need an umbrella or coat is part of an everyday routine, but I wholeheartedly believe they can be life saving as well. People often miss weather warnings when they are in transit. The iMapWeatherRadio app provides audible alerts whenever the National Weather Service issues a severe Thunderstorm or Tornado watch or warning for the area you are traveling in. Being able to identify the direction a storm is moving in is difficult to do without training. While a widespread area of rain can be moving to the northeast, an embedded storm could be moving to the southeast. The storm movement feature of the WeatherTAP app is beneficial in taking away the uncertainty about where storms are going. WeatherBug is my go-to app for daily what to wear information. When an alert is visible on this app, it prompts me to research the situation further. I hope these suggestions prompt you to download some “weather assistance” to stay informed and safe!