Top 10 Best Free Apps to Check U.S Weather Forecast Online

Laelia Yang June 04, 2022 | 17:27

There are hundreds of weather apps that you can check the weather in the US, we rounded up the best of 10 apps in this article. All are available on Android and iOS.

Weather apps provide us with one of the most basic but essential tasks, giving us a forecast to plan out our days and weeks. Depending on which weather app you choose to download, you may also get additional information like monthly forecasts, humidity levels and precipitation totals.

The built-in Weather app on your iPhone (which uses data from The Weather Channel) or Google Weather app on your Android may not be perfect, but if you're already in those device ecosystems, they have your current location information anyway. If you want to be even safer, check the weather manually in your internet browser or another device.

With climate change causing unpredictable and sometimes dangerous weather patterns, having one of the best weather apps can save you from more than just being caught without an umbrella. Here are 10 favorites.

How did to choose these weather apps?

There are several factors we considered when choosing the best weather apps for 2022:

Features: Most weather apps take a different approach when reporting the weather. For example, while RadarScope goes in-depth for weather enthusiasts, the Weather Channel focuses on easily-digestible reporting that anyone can understand. It is just a matter of what you are looking for.
Cost: Not all apps are free, so we consider what kinds of subscriptions are necessary and what they cost to help save you a buck wherever possible.
Accessibility: Some apps may only be available to Apple users, and some may be restricted to Android. Before you choose the best weather app for 2022 for you, be sure to consider what kind of platform it uses so you can be sure to have a compatible device.

What does a weather app do?

A weather app is a way to use your mobile phone to check current, past, or future weather patterns. Some apps may have extended functionality, like tracking of ocean tides or the skies.

Top 10 Best Free Apps to Check U.S Weather Forecast Online

1. The Weather Channel

2. AccuWeather

3. Dark Sky

4. Weather Underground

5. NOAA Weather Radar Live: Clime

6. Storm Radar

7. Emergency: Alerts

8. Tides Near Me

9. OpenSummit

10. WeatherBug

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1. The Weather Channel

Photo: idownloadblog

The Weather Channel, an IBM Business, has long been a go-to for reliable weather reporting, and that is no different with its app. Here you can get user-friendly, easy-to-digest weather information that helps you plan your day or week with a maximum 15-day outlook for both hourly and daily forecasts. You can set up alerts for extreme weather so you always know if bad weather is headed your way. Alerts will continue for you in your area until the weather has passed. Plus, the Weather Channel app offers the latest details on sunsets and moon phases, even incorporating information on the tides. Runners will appreciate the Running Index, which weighs running conditions and lets you know the best time for you to take that jog. Air quality reports measure pollen and other materials in the area, so you know when it is safest to venture outside. You can download air quality reports not only for the U.S. but also for the U.K., Mexico, Spain, France, Germany, China, and India.

The Weather Channel is best used as originally intended: as a free weather app that does all the basics well.

2. AccuWeather

AccuWeather is a beast and is often a Top 10 most downloaded weather app in app stores. It’s perfect for anyone planning to travel soon, work outside, go running, have a picnic, etc. There are two reasons for this: it shows a long, 15-day forecast plus a 4-hour, minute-by-minute forecast.

You’ll know exactly when it will rain, snow, sleet, and hail before you head out. Plus, the map displays radar from an hour ago to up to two hours in the future, so planning ahead is simple.

The primary screen shows everything you need to know right now: the temperature, what it feels like, the high and low for today, and whether there will be any precipitation in the next few hours.

AccuWeather also shows when the sun will rise and set; displays whether allergies like tree pollen, dust and dander, grass pollen, and mold are of a high risk; lets you submit a weather condition; lets you track multiple locations around the world; and has trending weather-related news built-in to the app.

However, if that’s just too much to handle at once, you can always edit the way things appear, removing or adding elements to the app that you do or don’t want to see.

The app is free for Android and iOS, but you can upgrade/pay to get more features like no ads and longer forecasts.

3. Dark Sky

Ask a weather obsessive to name their favorite weather app, and the most likely answer will be Dark Sky. This app is loved by people all over the world for its detailed forecasts, advanced radar maps, and high level of accuracy. Dark Sky has its own hyperlocal forecasting system backed by radar data from the NOAA. In fact, Dark Sky’s own forecasts are used by some of the other weather apps on this list.

Dark Sky shut down its Android and Wear OS apps on August 1, 2020 (after it was bought by Apple), but the iOS app continues to be a favorite of iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch users.

4. Weather Underground

This is the perfect app if you're in need of knowing when, exactly, you can do things like ride your bike, go running, star gaze, walk, take outdoor pictures, hike, fly a kite, etc.

WU is touted as the world's most accurate weather service, and gathers its data from hundreds of thousands of personal weather stations all around the world. It includes an interactive map with different views for displaying temperature, radar, satellite, severe weather alerts, heat maps, webcams, hurricanes, and more.

At the very top of the app is the current location with a preview of the radar and an outlook on today's weather—the current high and low and "feels like" temperature.

As you scroll down through the app you see the 10-day daily and hourly forecast, a temperature graph for a quick glance at how the day will go, followed by today's air quality index, Smart Forecasts, weather videos, health information (UV index and flu risk), webcams, and then finally hurricane and tropical cyclone information.

This is a free app for iOS and Android users, but you can pay to remove the ads and get extra features like Smart Forecasts and extended hourly forecasts.

5. NOAA Weather Radar Live: Clime

Photo: noaa

The app formerly known as NOAA Radar Pro has a new name — it's now NOAA Weather Radar Live: Clime on the iPhone and just Clime for Android users. But the focus remains the same. This weather tracker is highlighted by real time radar showing you changing weather conditions in your area.

You'll get the standard 24-hour and 7-day forecasts with severe weather alerts included. But the reason to turn to Clime is for the satellite weather imagery that gives you the full picture of precipitation, temperature and other weather details.

A premium subscription unlocks the best features on Clime, including severe weather alerts for all saved locations, trackers for hurricanes, lightning and wildfires and a temperature map. Subscribers get rid of ads, too.

6. Storm Radar

It's important to have a great quality app for tracking minute details about strong storms, and The Weather Channel's Storm Radar is just the app for it. Its maps are very detailed and show exactly where a storm is projected to go, and when.

The weather map included in Storm Radar is extremely customizable, letting you choose exactly which elements to display. You can pick from radar, satellite, severe weather alerts, temperature, local storm reports, storm tracks, temperature change, hurricane/tropical storm, earthquakes, and/or road weather.

The map in Storm Radar can not only show you the storm from a couple of hours ago, and how it moved to where it's at now, it even shows its projected path over the next six hours.

This weather app is all around very easy to use, despite its massive amount of detail. Just tap anywhere on the map, and you'll instantly get a pop-up box showing the weather information there; tap the star, and it'll be added to your list of favorite locations where you can get severe weather alerts and/or notifications for precipitation warnings and lightning alerts.

Storm Radar is free for iOS, but it comes with ads. To remove them and to get other features like full-screen capability, lightning tracking, and premium radar layers, you can pay a few dollars every month.

7. Emergency: Alerts

It's an app you hope you never have to use, but when disaster strikes, you'll be glad you have Emergency: Alerts from the American Red Cross on your iPhone or Android device.

Because it keeps tabs on everything from hurricanes and floods to extreme heat and winter storms, Emergency: Alerts is good to keep installed on your phone at all times, and not just during hurricane season. Not only will Emergency monitor where you live, you can also enter cities and people that are important to you. The app features customizable alerts and provides a map with shelter information in the event of an emergency.

You can use Emergency Alerts to make sure you're ready for a potential storm by scanning through the disaster preparedness info tucked within Emergency.

8. Tides Near Me

Whether you like to boat, surf, or just hang out at the beach, Tides Near Me is the best app for knowing ahead of time when there will be high and low tides.

Pick a country, city, and tide station, and you'll be given current information about the last tide and the next tide, plus a look at tides during the rest of the week, and a map of tide stations around the city to compare information between them.

Unlike some weather apps that have multiple purposes, this one is really only ideal for checking on high and low tides. Beyond that, you can see the sunset and moonrise time for each day of the week.

Tides Near Me is free for iOS and Android, but is also available as an ad-free app for a few dollars on both the App Store for iPhone and iPad and Google Play for Android.

9. OpenSummit

Photo: cloudnineweather

OpenSummit is the perfect app to have handy for hikes. It's free for the basic features and shows weather for over 1,000 locations in the US.

You can search for a peak by name or browse the map. Add peaks to your wishlist to keep a close eye on weather conditions.

The app includes precipitation (rain and snow), lightning (low, medium, or high chance), temperature, and wind conditions (sustained, gust, or > 30 mph) for the current day and the next day.

Another option is to connect it to your Instagram account so that it can show recent photos taken near every location. There are also safety tips you can read in the app to learn more about hiking best practices, nutrition, and more.

As of right now, only US locations are supported, but they plan to add thousands of international locations.

It's completely free for Android and iOS, but for more features, like 5-day hourly forecasts and map layers, you can subscribe to OpenSummit All-Access.

10. WeatherBug

WeatherBug is a solid mobile weather app, but it’s best used for getting instant alerts. Download the app for free and then go to the app settings to turn on notifications. There are severe weather alerts from WeatherBug, the National Weather Service, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. There are also Spark Lightning Alerts, special notifications when dangerous thunderstorms are approaching your area.