10 of the Best Free Weather Apps

It’s important to keep track of the local weather in your area to stay safe. Whether you live in a hurricane zone or up north, where snow is common, using a weather app on your smartphone is typically your best option. If you’re looking for the best free weather apps on your phone, continue reading to see some suggestions.

1. The Weather Channel

One of the best free weather apps available is The Weather Channel. On this app, you can track daily weather forecasts, receive live radar updates, see storm alerts and even be notified if it’s going to rain in your area. 

The app also lets you access 15-day weather forecasts to plan for any future events. If you’d like, you can upgrade to the app’s premium version to get rid of ads, get 15-minute forecast details and access and advanced 72-hour future radar. 

2. AccuWeather

AccuWeather is another free weather app on the Apple and Google Play Stores. It has a clean, modern interface so you can navigate the app more easily. 

The Today tab on the AccuWeather app tells you the important details of the weather forecast, so you know what to wear or whether or not to bring an umbrella. It will tell you the temperature, precipitation, sunrise and sunset times, air quality and allergy data, which is helpful as the seasons change.

3. Carrot Weather

Carrot Weather is more than just a basic weather forecasting app — it comes with a healthy dose of humor. The app offers hilarious dialogue and appealing animations to make using the app more enjoyable. 

It will tell you important information such as current, hourly and daily forecasts, rain, lightning strike and severe weather alerts. You can customize the Carrot Weather app, add widgets to your home screen and access the app on your Apple Watch.

4. Yahoo Weather

Yahoo Weather is one of the more aesthetically pleasing free weather apps on the market. The app uses crowdsourced images from Flickr, which bring the app to life and show you exactly what the weather in your area looks like. Yahoo Weather’s navigation is relatively smooth and simple. 

Its design is uncluttered so that you can cut through the noise and access current weather conditions. The Yahoo Weather app is available on iOS and Android devices. Luckily, suppose you’re downloading apps like Yahoo Weather from the Google Play store. In that case, you also get built-in security features, such as risk monitoring and privacy warnings. 

5. Clime: NOAA Weather Radar Live

Clime is an all-in-one, real-time National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) weather tracker. It provides radar images, alerts to severe weather conditions, highly accurate weather forecasts and more. It’s easy to stay informed on weather changes with the Clime app. 

You can view 24-hour or 7-day weather forecasts in addition to current minimum and maximum temperatures and “feels like” temperatures. Aside from the free app version, you can subscribe to Clime Premium, which is ad-free and offers enhanced features like hurricane, lightning and wildfire tracking, temperature map, snow depth forecast and hourly forecasts. 

6. FEMA App

The FEMA app, which belongs to the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), helps you avoid severe weather conditions and natural disasters. You can receive real-time weather alerts, send important messages to loved ones and locate nearby emergency shelters if needed.

Aside from real-time help, the FEMA app also has plenty of resources to help you plan for natural disasters so that you can stay prepared. They have information on how to prepare an emergency kit, what to do immediately after a disaster, the importance of a family communication plan and more.

7. WeatherBug

WeatherBug is another free weather app that pulls forecasts from multiple sources, ensuring you receive the most accurate weather information when needed. You can see a Doppler radar for North America and receive alerts to natural disasters in your area. WeatherBug also provides current, hourly and 10-day forecasts. 

One cool WeatherBug feature is its lightning tracking feature, which allows you to track how close lightning strikes during a storm. This can help keep you and your family safe. Remember that the app is listed on the Apple App Store as WeatherBug. However, the app on the Google Play Store is called Weather by WeatherBug. 

8. MyRadar (iOS, Android)

With over 50 million downloads, MyRadar is one of the best free weather apps. It’s an app suitable for casual weather enthusiasts or full-fledged weather geeks, as it provides basic and advanced weather information, depending on your preferences. 

MyRadar offers hurricane tracking, disaster warnings, detailed weather forecasts, precipitation alerts, high-definition radar and nationwide temperatures. The app is also compatible with Amazon Alexa! You can simply say, “Alexa, load my radar,” to hear important weather details from your digital assistant.

9. Weather Underground

Weather Underground has a sleek, easy-to-use interface with valuable weather features. For example, you can see weather forecasts based on NOAA and Doppler Radar technology data. You can also set up weather alerts for your favorite locations, which is helpful if you frequently travel from place to place. It is a free weather app, but it also comes with a Premium subscription if you want to pay a small monthly fee. 

Weather Underground displays current weather information, hourly forecasts, multiple-day forecasts and more. If you upgrade to Premium, the app will also provide extended forecast estimates for up to 15 days. 

10. WeatherPro 

Last but not least is WeatherPro, a free weather app that provides extended forecasting, has severe weather alerts, includes weather maps and comes ad-free. The app is especially useful for world travelers, as it covers global weather forecasts. 

Apart from the actual temperature outside, you can also see “real feel” temperatures, which can help determine what to wear or bring when heading out. Consider downloading WeatherPro, as it allows you to customize the app and fine-tune weather updates to your liking.

Use the Best Free Weather Apps to Stay Ahead of the Curve

It’s become easier than ever to track your local weather using the best free weather apps on the iOS and Android operating systems. However, there are so many weather apps out there, it can be hard to choose which one is best for you. 

Consider downloading one or more of the best free weather apps described above if you’re looking to track forecasts, receive real-time weather alerts and stay safe from poor weather conditions.