A bit of a topsy-turvy week ahead for Houston

Good morning! I’ve got you covered this week, so Eric can enjoy some time with his family.

Well, if you could look past the cold, it sure was a nice weekend. Certainly Sunday was pleasant. We officially registered a freeze in Houston with lows of 32° at Bush Airport on both Saturday and Sunday mornings. Here’s a fun fact about that: This is the latest into the “winter” that Houston has officially registered a freeze since March 15, 1999! Our last freeze in 2021 occurred on February 20th. We got to March 6th in 2019. So this was some impressive cold for this late in the season. That should be it for freeze risk in most of the area this winter. Over the next 2 weeks, there’s nothing too impressive looking, though I don’t think we’re done with cool weather just yet. This week will feature a little of late winter and some definite signs of spring as well.

Today

We have another cold front on the way late today. This one won’t have nearly as much cold air with it, but it will have some oomph behind it, which should lead to at least some scattered showers and storms. The timing right now appears to focused in the evening hours, although there are already a few showers around this morning. Although the downpours or storms should be very hit or miss, have an umbrella at the ready today. We will probably see a more solid line of showers and storms with the front itself overnight. Those storms could be noisy for a short time.

A 10 PM Monday “forecast radar” from the HRRR model shows a handful of isolated storms ahead of the main line near College Station. That would arrive in Houston around or after midnight. (Pivotal Weather)

While the storms today will be fairly isolated ahead of the front, any of them will be capable of becoming strong to severe with gusty winds and/or hail this afternoon or evening. Most people won’t see severe weather, but a few places may.

A “slight” risk of severe weather (Level 2/5) is shown well north of the Houston area, while most of our area is in a marginal risk (1/5). Today, this means severe weather is possible but not necessarily likely. (NOAA)

Outside of showers, look for clouds, some sun, and high temperatures in the 70s today. Winds will also be up a bit today, out of the south at 15 mph or so, gusty along the coast.

Besides a chance of storms, Sam Hunt is on the menu tonight at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. The good news is that any rain probably won’t last long, call it maybe an hour at most. But the bad news is that there is definitely a chance of some lightning in the area during the entirety of the evening. Most of that may occur either while you’re inside for the show or after you’ve arrived back home. Certainly the main line of storms with the front is expected after Midnight. Either way, prepare for at least a chance of showers or storms, and expect generally mild weather with 70s leading up to showtime and upper 60s after. If the front is faster and it rains more, you could see upper-50s or low-60s, so maybe a hoodie would be a reasonable accessory to have on hand for when you exit.

Tuesday and Wednesday

I think tomorrow may start a bit sluggish with some clouds around, especially north of I-10. Look for temps in the 50s on Tuesday morning. Those clouds to the north may keep temperatures from getting much past the low to mid-60s tomorrow, particularly if they linger into afternoon. But areas south of Houston, with fewer clouds should warm to near 70 degrees or a bit better on Tuesday afternoon. It will be a bit breezy tomorrow, with north or northwest winds gusting over 20 mph.

Wednesday looks spectacular. It will start a little cooler, with 40s or low-50s in the morning followed by sunshine and highs in the mid-70s at least on Wednesday afternoon.

Thursday and Friday

Onshore flow resumes on Thursday, which will kick up some humidity, clouds, and slight shower chances. Look for 50s in the morning, warming close to 80 degrees by afternoon. Pencil in the next front on Friday afternoon, with a chance of showers and storms. Morning lows Friday will only be in the 60s, warming into the 70s ahead of the afternoon front. More on this tomorrow.

Weekend outlook

Both weekend days look outstanding right now. Expect sunshine both Saturday and Sunday, with generally light to moderate winds. Morning lows will be in the 40s and 50s. Afternoon highs should be in the 70s.

Look for a warm up early next week, perhaps followed by another front on Tuesday or Wednesday.

Wednesday & Thursday to bring nicer weather back to Houston before a chilly weekend

Good morning! We expect nicer weather today after yesterday’s dreary outcome. Before getting to that, Emma Balter over at Chron.com had a fun conversation with me about food that you can check out if you’re interested!

Also, a number of you pointed out the fairly loud “boom” on Monday night, right around Midnight. No one has really come up with a satisfying answer, so the truth is, we don’t know for certain what it was either. The suspicion is that it was a meteorite, but that’s speculative. I suppose the noise may have been enhanced by the fact that a temperature inversion (temps warming as you go up in the atmosphere) was in place right around 5,000 feet up (with a second one around 10,000 feet up). That, plus the insulation provided by Monday night’s cloud cover could have acted to enhance the sound, which may explain why it was so loud. This is about 80 percent speculation on my part though, and I freely admit that this may be completely wrong. Whatever the case, we’re aware of it, and if there’s any follow up we find out, we will share it with you!

Temperatures will be a good 15 degrees warmer today than they finished yesterday. Gradually increasing sunshine is likely as well. (Pivotal Weather)

Today

It will be a much nicer Wednesday than it was Tuesday. Yesterday’s rain and mid-40s are behind us, and today we’ll see decreasing clouds and temperatures poking up above 60 degrees in most places.

The weather will definitely be one thing right for Kane Brown tonight at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo. Look for pre-show temperatures in the upper-50s, cooling back closer to 50 degrees on your way out. Chilly but certainly not awful.

Thursday

Tomorrow looks fantastic. Expect sunshine, morning lows in the 40s and daytime highs a bit above 70 degrees, and a light southeast breeze. This will front run any significant humidity returning to the area, so it’s going to be delightful.

Friday

The week will end on an interesting and much colder note. After Thursday’s stellar weather, look for a strong cold front to plow through with scattered showers and thunderstorms. The exact timing of the front is a little sloppy, but in general the showers will be in the morning through early afternoon and the major temperature changes are expected during the later afternoon hours. Once the front comes through, you will know it, as temperatures will plunge from the 60s into the 50s and 40s. Winds are also going to howl out of the north, sustained around 20 mph, gusting to 25 or 35 mph on land and near 40 mph around the bays and coast. The signal on the models for gusty winds has been locked in since late last week, so while the cold will be the story this weekend, the winds late Friday into Saturday morning will be another notable element.

Weekend

We will have our first shot at a late season freeze on Saturday morning, depending on how quickly skies clear out and winds calm down. It will be a close call, but the best chance for sub-freezing morning lows Saturday will be north and west of the Houston city limits.

Freezing temperatures are likely in parts of the area on Saturday morning, mostly away from the coast and outside the city. (Pivotal Weather)

After a sunny, chilly Saturday with highs in the 50s and diminishing winds, look for another cold morning Sunday. I think the odds of a freeze are a little lower on Sunday than on Saturday, but they’re still reasonably elevated for parts of the area, mainly outside the city of Houston and coast once again. Sunday will also be sunny with highs back into the 60s.

Next week

Eric covered Spring Break week (for many) yesterday, and there’s not much more to add today. Look for a generally benign, somewhat warmer week. There may be a front in the cards, aiming for the back half of the week, but it’s too soon to get into specifics. For now, the week still looks mostly fine!

Warm weekend for Houston, as we check up on drought across Texas

I’m going to open today’s post with a few comments about drought that’s been developing or festering across Texas. The updated Drought Monitor data came out yesterday, showing almost 57 percent of Texas in severe drought or worse.

The coverage of drought is expanding in Texas, with over half the state deemed to be in “severe” drought or worse. (US Drought Monitor)

Three months ago, less than 20 percent of Texas was in drought that excessive. We did see some improvement in early February across the state, but things have turned back worse again. Locally, things are not too bad just yet, with mostly the outskirts of Greater Houston even classified in drought at all. But rainfall is expected to average at or below normal the next 2 weeks, so this story will be one to watch in the weeks ahead. We are still technically in a La Niña (cool tropical Pacific Ocean), which tends to favor drier weather in Texas. As that has been in place over the last year or two, we’ve managed to get bailed out before things got too severe. We will see if we can pull that off again this spring.

Friday

As temperatures warm up and humidity gradually flows back into the Houston area, we continue to see some patchy fog in the area.

The rest of the morning will see gradual clearing, though Galveston and the Bay Area could see fog emerge at any point today. Otherwise, expect partly sunny skies and temperatures making a run toward the upper-70s. A few locations could even eclipse 80 degrees. There will be a noticeable southeast breeze through the day.

It’s Ricky Martin’s turn at the Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo tonight, and if you’re going, you’ll be livin’ la vida buena. Look for temperatures around 70 degrees initially, only dropping into the mid-60s after the show. No weather woes are expected, though there will be that fairly steady southeast breeze.

Weekend

This weekend will see fairly similar weather on both days: Fog, clouds, some sun, a gusty southeasterly breeze, warm temperatures, and higher humidity. Fog will be a little tougher to pinpoint due to the winds, but at times, we’ll likely see some fog along the coast and near the bays, especially in the morning. By afternoon, virtually everyone should just see clouds and sun. Look for highs in the 80s.

Saturday’s high temperatures will be quite warm, with 80s almost everywhere away from the coast. (Pivotal Weather)

Morning lows will generally be in the 60s. Any rain chances this weekend are likely to be limited to a few showers or some sprinkles, nothing that should interfere with any plans you may have.

Monday

Our next cold front will likely cross the region on Monday morning or afternoon. I would expect at least a broken line of showers and thunderstorms as it pushes through, which should give many of us some rain. Behind the front, temperatures should drop from the 70s into the 60s or 50s. We may warm up with some clearing in the afternoon, as well as drier air. But then look for 40s by Tuesday morning.

The 40s should return by Tuesday morning (Pivotal Weather)

Rest of next week

The forecast gets a little trickier after Monday with a couple quick moving systems and cold fronts in the offing. This should allow us to have a generally cooler week but perhaps an unsettled one as well. We’ll fine tune the details on that for you on Monday.

The Space City Weather guide to weather apps (besides ours)

After Hurricane Nicholas passed through our area last September, I put out a post on Twitter asking followers to reply with what weather apps they have on their phones. I received hundreds of responses, and downloaded many of your suggestions to get a wide range of apps on my phone. Now, after months of procrastination and testing, I am finally prepared to answer a question we are often asked: “What weather apps do you recommend?”

I want to preface this post with a couple quick notes:

First, these are my own opinions. I’ve tried to be as objective as possible. I’m a meteorologist, so my experience will likely be different than most of you. I’ve tried to account for what I assume people would like to see in an app. But again, these are Matt’s own opinions. And this is not an exhaustive list. We left some apps out to save space. Many readers will notice the absence of Dark Sky. As I note near the bottom, because that is alleged to be discontinued this year, I have intentionally left it off. At some point, when Apple and Dark Sky complete whatever it is they’re working through, we’ll add an addendum to this.

Secondly, I’m an iPhone user. I tested these apps on an iPhone. Unfortunately I don’t have an Android capable device handy, so I cannot really speak for Android users. Some of these apps will be available and offer similar experiences on an Android phone. Others will not. I invite our readers and Android users to please comment with whatever advice or comments they have on Android weather apps.

Third, Space City Weather is pleased to offer our own app! While I most certainly think ours is the best, I know a lot of you like to shop around, and this post may also find its way to places besides Houston.

Finally, if you’re finding this post two or three years after it was published, just keep in mind that the only constant is change, and what I am writing here today represents the state of these apps in February 2022.

This will be a lengthy post. I’ll try to hit on the highlights off the top, and then I want to go app by app and provide some brief comments and screenshots.

Best App (Objective): Tie – FOX Weather & Weather Underground
Best App (Subjective): Tie – Carrot & Windy
Best Free Radar: Storm Radar or Storm Shield
Best Lightning Alerts: WeatherBug
Best Context Notifications: AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, Yahoo! Weather
Best at alerting you when the rain will start or stop: Absolutely none of them.

What time will the rain hit my house?

Many of you are using weather apps to determine or get alerted to when rain will begin or end at your location, an admirable goal. Unfortunately, I tried every app that had rainfall alerts, and suffice to say, not one of the ones I used consistently did well. At all. So I cannot recommend an app that does best with rainfall alerts.

Matt’s Advice: They all performed equally poorly. There may be apps that provide this as a premium feature that do better, but I did not spend money to compare. Bottom line, if you want an app to consistently and accurately tell you when rain will begin, you will probably need to keep waiting.

What time will lightning strike nearby?

The apps did better with lightning alerts, where available. The ones that didn’t have that as a premium feature did well in alerting me to nearby lightning in cases when I didn’t hear any thunder. The WeatherBug app did best with this I thought. But honorable mention is warranted for Today Weather, MyRadar, Shadow Weather, and Storm Radar.

Watches & warnings

This gets trickier. Some apps notify you on all warned storms in your county. For instance, I got alerts for warnings for storms in other parts of Harris County from Storm Radar. Apps like AccuWeather seemed to do a better job with less over-warning. WeatherBug has a unique feature in that it warns on “dangerous thunderstorms” in addition to NWS severe warned storms. That is likely algorithmically driven, and it may result in a bit of over-warning, but it’s a feature you may not mind. Other apps allow you to toggle on or off what types of warnings you wish to receive. That can get a little clunky, as the National Weather Service has a big menu of alert products, so apps like Storm Shield may overdo that a bit, but at least you control the alerts you’ll receive. Those of you that are privacy hawks will probably cringe at the idea of these apps tracking your location or even warning for a location. Alas, for good quality warnings where you are, it’s a sacrifice you may need to make.

Matt’s advice: The ability of your phone to warn you to Flash Flood or Tornado Warnings based on your geolocation is probably good enough. If you want more watches or warnings, most apps will provide that functionality for you just fine. You may get “over-warned” at times, however, but I felt AccuWeather did a better job than most at keeping unnecessary notifications off my phone.

Forecast insights

Some apps get creative in terms of push notifications. AccuWeather did well here, providing some contextualized alerts about significant weather or an upcoming change. The Weather Channel app also did this well. But the best in my opinion was actually Yahoo! Weather. It notified on significant temperature deviations while I was using it, for instance telling me on a Sunday that it was going to be 16 degrees cooler on Monday. FOX Weather’s app also did this fairly well. Carrot provides the most personality in terms of forecast context, but I’m not certain that it’s necessarily helpful so much as it is entertaining.

Now we’ll walk through each app I used, and I’ll briefly share some comments and provide a rating (0-5, with 5 being best) based on an average score of how the app looks and feels, forecast info and insights (not accuracy), alert capabilities, radar functionality, nuance, and miscellaneous “other features” (which account for whatever else it provides). I used the free version of the apps, but many have premium options that can remove ads or unlock additional features. The apps are listed from top rated to lowest rated in my opinion.

Weather Underground (Wunderground)

Positives: The “Wundermap,” decent forecast data, acceptable radar.
Negatives: A bit ad-heavy (though you can pay to remove), not what it used to be

Say what you will about what has happened with this company, it was the “OG” of clean, functional weather info for years. Recently it has lost a lot of luster among some in the weather community as it’s been handed around and lost a lot of the things that drove many engaged users to it in the first place. But it’s stood the test of time. It still presents a good forecast. The “Wundermap” is unbeatable, the density of weather stations in their network is top notch, and it comes with an acceptable radar as well. It is a bit ad-heavy, which is annoying, but there is a premium option.

The Wundermap remains tough to beat in Weather Underground’s app. (Weather Underground)

Overall: 4.3/5. A classic that still has a place in 2022.

FOX Weather

Positives: Good radar, decent push alert quality, embedded streaming
Negatives: Ads, a number of things to sift through that you may not care about

FOX is the newest entrant in the TV weather wars, putting together a heck of a team, including Houston’s own Britta Merwin and Stephen Morgan. I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from their app, but quite frankly I think it’s one of the better ones. Much like The Weather Channel (TWC) and Accu, you will get the usual dose of other “stuff” you may not care about, but FOX’s app strikes me as a bit cleaner than the others. From a radar standpoint, it’s as good as any.

“3D” radar view of precipitation in the northern Rockies. I was a fan of the FOX Weather app, and it had a decent radar interface to boot. (FOX Weather)

You can also stream their weather channel in the app. Whether that’s a good business model or not, I’ll leave up to others, but from a user convenience standpoint, it’s nice. And from what I have seen to date, their on-air coverage compares favorably to other weather networks.

Overall: 4.3/5. An app that stands up well to the other big names and also allows you to stream live coverage.

Windy

Positives: Best interface of any app, any ads are unobtrusive, lots of cool imagery.
Negatives: Better options for radar, no options for warning notifications that I could find

Visually, no other app compares to Windy in my opinion. I don’t like using the word “beautiful” to describe a phone app, but it’s aesthetically pleasing to say the least. Windy displays wind, as you might imagine. It provides a good sense of what’s happening as soon as you open. But that’s at a high level. Drilling down locally, it does an acceptable job. Its biggest weakness in my opinion is the radar, which just looks poorly done. I really like the satellite feature on Windy, and that’s one reason I will likely be keeping it on my phone.

The Windy app is one of the few weather apps I would absolutely recommend, for pros and novices alike. (Windy)

Windy is not terribly intrusive; it has no ads that I found, and it gives you a lot of flexibility about what forecast conditions you want to receive alerts for (provided you create an account). But there was no option to receive NWS warnings that I could find, which is a bit of a drawback preventing this from being a “one stop shop” app. Windy has a premium version, but I’m not sure you need it unless you’re hardcore into getting data at high resolution and quickly.

Overall: 4.25/5. Radar’s a bit mediocre in my opinion, no NWS alerts, but otherwise about as good as you could ask for, with tons of ways to display data in a non-obtrusive way.

Carrot

Positives: Personality, nice interface.
Negatives: A lot of features that are free on other apps are premium here.

Alright, if you’re looking for something fun, Carrot may be the choice (WTForecast also garnered some mentions by people for this idea). You can customize the personality and political leanings of the app, which is kind of humorous.

Carrot offers a forecast and an insult. (Carrot)

And I mean, it runs the gamut from communist to apolitical altogether. The forecast functionality is not any better or worse than other apps, though I personally think it’s a bit better visually than some other apps. From a disappointment standpoint, the map functionality and notifications are premium only, so no free radar or alerts here. Maybe it’s worth it if you want to have some fun though.

Overall: Incomplete. This app may be good, but if you want a complete app, prepare to pay up. Sometimes these apps are more entertaining than “value add,” so test it out and see what you like about it and if it works for you.

AccuWeather

Positives: Good radar and mapping interface, notification quality was better than on most other apps.
Negatives: Ad-heavy (though you can pay to remove), a lot of other stuff you may not care about

A Goliath in the field of weather, but another app that’s very acceptable. I mentioned above that I liked not receiving warnings that were not for my specific backyard. That’s a big plus of this app. The app alerted with occasional contextualized information that was helpful.

Snow cover in the Kansas City area. Ads frustrate some, but the interface is simple, generally clean, and I appreciate that AccuWeather’s app doesn’t over-warn with push alerts. (AccuWeather)

The user interface feels a bit cleaner than The Weather Channel, despite the fact that it also includes ads. The radar is also good.

Overall: 4.1/5. Another app that’s pretty much what you’d expect, but I feel that it’s slightly better than TWC in enough areas (alerting in particular) to get a slightly higher rating.

The Weather Channel

Positives: Good forecast quality, good quality radar & mapping.
Negatives: Ad-heavy & somewhat intrusive (though you can pay to remove), a lot of other stuff you may not care about.

The great Goliath of weather! While it’s trendy to hate on TWC, their app is popular for a reason. Yes, you will deal with ads. Yes, you will deal with headlines and winter storm names. But you’ll also get an excellent radar, some very good model-derived forecast data, and at least a little context around the forecast.

Ads feature prominently at times on TWC’s app, but you also get decent forecast data, a good radar, and a lot of other weather info too. (The Weather Channel)

Since TWC also produces the Storm app discussed below, I might say that app is better visually, whereas TWC is better for a forecast.

Overall: 4.0/5. It is pretty much what you expect, and I wouldn’t shame anyone for including this on their device.

Storm Shield

Positives: Excellent radar and mapping, limited or no ads.
Negatives: None really, but the forecast functionality may be a bit basic relative to other apps (not necessarily a negative though)

One of a couple apps I had not heard of prior to this exercise, I was curious to see what Storm Shield offered. Right off, I’ll say the radar stands out. It’s good quality, clear, and works well. The forecast functionality is pretty basic and no frills. I saw no ads, a big plus, of course.

Snow in Buffalo? How often does that happen!? Storm Shield was a clean app with a decent radar, among some other things. (Storm Shield)

There are add-ons you can purchase to get some more features. But for a generic, straightforward weather app, this works.

Overall: 4.0/5. Excellent radar, very simple, no ads, additional features if you pay.

Yahoo! Weather

Positives: Nice, clean forecast interface, more unique notifications than some other apps.
Negatives: Radar & satellite functionality is much weaker than other options, ads.

When I pictured Yahoo’s weather app, I sort of pictured an outdated email interface. No offense to Yahoo or their users, but I just feel that they’re more 2000s than 2020s. Alas, their weather app is pretty slick. Their radar functionality is not that great in my opinion for Houston. And their satellite capability is kind of poor as well. But, their forecast setup I found to be the most visually appealing behind Windy. Alerting, as I noted earlier featured some nuance, which is something I value. But in general, it really is just “ok” in my opinion.

Yahoo! Weather has a nice visual appeal in my opinion, but it fell short on other metrics like radar and satellite. (Yahoo! Weather)

Overall: 3.8/5. Visually, it’s better than most. But the radar/satellite interface is not as well done as some other apps. Alerting is decent and somewhat nuanced.

Shadow Weather

Positives: Multiple forecast sources if you want to compare, relatively clean without ads, decent premium option.
Negatives: A lot of features are “premium,” poor notification quality in my opinion

This app was interesting in that it offers you multiple forecast sources. At the bottom, you can scroll over and the forecast will update to that source’s data. I’m not sure how helpful this is, but it’s a feature. Unfortunately, a lot of the functionality is premium, which you can unlock by watching an ad. That said, the forecast functionality is free and also doesn’t show ads. So if you want a free, clean forecast app, this is a viable option. The forecast data is a little busy, which may be more than you want, but they do throw a little context in, with temp changes and such. The premium radar functionality is excellent though, and you can overlay things like satellite. One drawback: I felt its alerting capability was poor. Overall, this may be a decent app for you, particularly if you want to pony up for premium, but I’m not sure I could make it my default app.

Overall: 3.8/5. Good quality radar, but most features premium; forecasts from multiple sources, but alerting was poor.

Storm Radar

Positives: Excellent free radar option, decent quality forecast visual.
Negatives: Ad-heavy and somewhat intrusive.

Storm Radar is produced by The Weather Channel, so don’t expect any sort of dramatic forecasting differences within the app. What sets it apart from others is that it’s a pretty good quality radar that allows for zooming and all that. And for those of you more internationally inclined, this app also has radar imagery from Canada, Australia, Japan, Korea, and Europe. You can also display wind or temperatures instead of radar. The forecast portion is somewhat unique in how it displays a temperature line chart, as well as some icons, precip totals, and wind. You won’t get a ton of nuance here, but it reminds me a little of Weather Underground, which is also owned by The Weather Company. This app had an ad at the bottom that was distracting, so that’s another reason to be a bit wary. Storm has a premium version with some other features, but as a free app, it works fine.

Overall: 3.8/5. Great radar app, potentially over-alerts, nice display of forecast data.

MyRadar

Positives: Good map functionality.
Negatives: Not necessarily intuitive, ads intrusive.

I liked this app to a point. I didn’t find it to be super intuitive, and it may be a little too busy for some folks, but the map functionality was really good. I felt the ads were a bit more intrusive than other apps, which may just be a result of how the app is designed. Overall, it was acceptable. The radar functionality, while not super high quality is serviceable, particularly because you can zoom in anywhere on one map. I wouldn’t say I necessarily liked this app, but I didn’t hate it, and I wouldn’t discourage you from test-driving it if you wanted.

Overall: 3.75/5. Acceptable, decent radar, a lot of alerts, somewhat intrusive ads.

Clime (NOAA Weather Radar Live)

Positives: Ability to report an incorrect forecast, customizable alerting.
Negatives: Radar is not as good quality as other apps, ads.

I’m never a fan of apps that try to leverage NOAA or NWS as if they’re doing something unique compared to those working in the federal government, so I rolled my eyes at this initially. There are better options for radar, and the default includes these annoying animated raindrops, which you can turn off thankfully. The forecast interface is acceptable. One feature I really do like on this app is the ability to report to them when their forecast is incorrect. It’s really easy to do, and I wish I found this as easy on other apps. Alert customization is a nice feature also. There is a premium version you can pay for as well, which can remove ads, but I’d test drive it and some others before deciding to go that route.

Overall: 3.6/5. Better options for radars, but some unique and customization features on here that are worthwhile.

Today Weather

Positives: Forecast data straight from NWS, decent visual display of forecast info, no ads.
Negatives: Nothing that stands out, though radar felt a bit “blotchy” at times.

I had never heard of this app prior to this exercise. It doesn’t seem to have anything super special, but it’s a basic weather app. The radar component is reasonable, albeit a bit blotchy at times, but it works. The forecast data comes from the NWS, which I do like. And it does have a nice chart display showing probability of precipitation, among other variables. It’s very basic, so I’m not sure you get anything other than you would from a native phone weather app or something more mainstream. But it does not have ads, which is always a plus.

Overall: 3.6/5. Very basic, no ads, a serviceable radar, and NWS forecast data. Not great, not terrible.

WeatherBug

Positives: Great lightning detection, notifications for sub-severe but strong storms, very simple forecast accessibility
Negatives: Very ad-heavy and intrusive.

I used to often hear from people that “well, my WeatherBug says this.” So I’ve always taken kind of a roll your eyes approach to this app. I feel as though this will basically do what you expect, so not a lot of surprises. The lightning feature is pretty good. The radar is acceptable. One feature I do like is the easy forecast access at the top: Now, hourly, 10-day. Simple. The ads are predictable and annoying. For $9.99/yr you can rid yourself of them, so if you really like this app, that’s a route I’d consider.

Overall: 3.4/5. Basically what you expect and probably does what you want, but nothing about it besides lightning comparatively stands out in my opinion.

For those wondering, the apps I will keep on my phone? Windy, AccuWeather, The Weather Channel, Storm Shield, Carrot, Weather Underground, and FOX Weather.

If you don’t want to download a separate app for weather and you use an iPhone, my recommendations are either creating a shortcut to weather.gov on your home screen or just using the native iPhone app, as it works fine and compares favorably to most others and may improve further with Apple’s acquisition of DarkSky (the app is being discontinued this year, which is why I did not rate it here).

Other niche apps that you suggested and I have found or heard decent things about? Note: Some of these apps will cost money to both download and subscribe to various data feeds. Others are free.

Klarify: An app that can help you manage pollen and seasonal allergies.
Surfline: This will help you ride the waves, though you have to create an account.
Open Snow: Top notch source to track ski conditions across the country (has both a free and subscription option).
RadarScope: The ultimate radar app.
RadarOmega: A viable competitor to RadarScope that has grown substantially in recent years and has a lot of additional data also.
SatSquatch: An app that provides interactive satellite imagery.

Hopefully you found this post informative, if not helpful. I encourage you to share your opinions on apps in the comments, including ones I may have missed. Please try to include what operating system you’re on (Android or iPhone or something else).

And don’t forget, you can get our app here!