2y ago

What are Android's Best Weather Apps?

Ever since I started using smart phones, I have been jumping between different weather apps and have not been very satisfied with most of them. I found the apps from the big weather providers like Accuweather and Weather Channel to be bloated and distracting with advertisements and irrelevant news. The app I was closest to being satisfied with was the free version of Dark Sky, but I didn't get to enjoy it for very long since I discovered it not long before Apple acquired it. What are some of the best weather apps on Android right now?

86 comments

I recommend Weawow.
Odd name. Great app and widget. Single, dedicated developer and very simple monetization hook (just a donation, if I recall correctly).
Multiple data sources supported, and very customizable.
- That's what I use and it's the best weather app I've seen so far. The coolest thing is, when you're choosing weather providers, it will show you the current forecast for each one, so you can compare them better.
  And it has so many widgets that are easy to configure.
- Another +1 for Weawow. The widgets and choice of weather provider put it over the top for me.

I've been using Weawow and I like it so far.
- Yes. Weawow is customizable and you can switch the weather provider. Also a good selection of widgets if you need them.
- Another happy user of Weawow here!

Shadow weather is what I've been using since dark sky shut down. It has multiple sources, including apple(dark sky). Seems to be pretty accurate since it pulls from several sources.
- Seconding, the UI isn't the prettiest but it has a lot of information, one of the best weather radar setups I've encountered, and fairly accurate predictions due to pulling data from multiple sources.

Overdrop is a really nice one with a great looking UI.
Carrot Weather is also pretty good and has funny quotes it shows you if you like that kinda thing, but the dev is primarily an IOS developer so the Android app is pretty far behind feature wise if you compare the two versions.
- +1 to Overdrop. I like it quite a bit!
- Overdrop does have a great UI and plenty of widget options. I go between Overdrop and Today, as I prefer the overall UX of Overdrop, but find the multi-location switching easier to do in Today (unless I've somehow missed it in Overdrop).

I have to recommend Today Weather (not weather today, thats different). Excellent minimalistic UI, radar forecast, percipatation charts, widgets, all works excellent.

Meteogram is an amazingly customizable widget-type app that shows everything you could imagine on a timeline/chart. One of my all-time favorite and most used apps. It is updated regularly, and the amount of customization is insane. It is so nice to be able to just look at a chart and instantly know everything you need to know about the upcoming hour(s) and day(s).
I have been also been using an app called Forecaster which is pretty cool, that's more of a conventional weather app.
My favorite radar app is MyRadar.

MyRadar
- I worked outside for a few years and found this to be the most reliable app out there. It'd give me a fifteen minute warning for rain and was consistently spot on. I like the ui, but it's not as snazzy as some of the others.

I can recommend this app: https://github.com/WangDaYeeeeee/GeometricWeather
- Here's a fork of Geometric Weather that's still being maintained, which is what I use now: https://github.com/breezy-weather/breezy-weather
  
  This app is awesome, has way more data than other weather apps I've used. Really nice to see allergen information as somebody that gets bad allergies!
  
  Good to know, thank you!
  
  Thanks a lot, I was still using Geometric Weather !

I use Geometric Weather from fdroid, it's very polished. It's entirely FOSS, so nothing's spying on you.
- Geometric weather hasn't been updated in ages, its been forked and is called breezy weather fyi
  
  Wow, I've been using geometric for some time now but breezy definitely fixes a few things that had been annoying me! Thank you!
  
  can't seem to find that on the play store or fdroid

wX
- Wx is great, but it is really complex for someone who didnt attend classes in meteorology. Sure it is usable, but a lot of its functions are not geared for the average user IMO.
- This one, I presume?
  wX (Weather app geared towards storm chasers, meteorologists and weather enthusiasts)
  https://f-droid.org/packages/joshuatee.wx/
- just downloaded. I think this is going to get to be my new weather app -- but that UI is going to take some getting used to.
  Thanks for the suggestion!

I use prognoza - it's open source and has MD3 widgets
https://github.com/davidtakac/prognoza
I started using it after the weather apps I use were just so fucking bloated I gave up and looked for another solution
- I had never heard of this one before. Very clean thanks!

Windy has been great, it gives a really nice overview of data, and lets you pick from 5 different sources, as well as compare each source to local weather stations to figure out which had the closest predictions in the past.

I'm surprised no one here has said Shadow Weather. It's meant to be a replacement for Dark Skies on Android.

Downloading weather apps like I was downloading Lemmy apps the other day..

If you're not a fan of high information density, I recommend Overdrop. It presents the key information in a simple, clear way.
Also been testing Weather Today which seems to be another good one in the few weeks I've had it.
- Overdrop is very well designed, has beautiful themes but is more minimal which suits my needs.
  I was using Appy Weather and liked it for similar reasons but it's weather sources are not as good and sometimes inaccurate so I had to switch.
- Ooh, just checked out Weather Today. I like it, bought the full version

Windy, overall, but especially for VFR forecasts, one of the few that will give cloud ceiling and visibility, and detailed winds (both on the ground and aloft, steady and gusts).
DWD Warnwetter for rain and warnings.

I thought I'd heard that Weather Timeline was coming which is what I use, but it still appears to be hidden for new users. My next recommendation would be Today Weather which I've heard good things about from others.

I liked Appy Weather for a while. Nice clean design, and had access to the Dark Sky API and now the Apple Weather API after Dark Sky was shut down.
The precipitation notifications became nonsense for me though. We were on week 2 of a drought recently and I would get notifications saying things like "heavy rain continues for 8 hours" with no precipitation in sight. Not sure if that was the app's fault (developer hasn't updated in a while) or the API's, but yeah. Inaccurate notifications.
I am on a Pixel Fold now, so I'm currently using the redesigned Google Weather app. I really like the redesign. I just noticed that I had notifications disabled due to previously using that other app though, so I'm curious to see if it has live precipitation notifications now that they have the ML-Powered Dark Sky-like Nowcast thing.
- Is the new Google Weather app still the web app you get when searching "weather"?
  I couldn't find it in the app store and am curious if it's just the web app.
  
  It is not a separate app, but it can be opened by tapping on the weather widget or searching weather in the Google app, tapping the 3 dot menu next to "Weather / Today" and then tap on add to homescreen. It is more like a full app UI vs searching for weather.
  Here's what the new Fold/Tablet design looks like.

Not an app, but I've become quite a fan of MerrySky recently on both mobile and desktop.

Check this site for the most accurate weather provider in your area. Then choose an app that can use that as a source. https://www.forecastadvisor.com/
- I was about to write that some local (country level) have the better forecast.
  Living in Switzerland, I'm using mostly MeteoSwiss as it gives me good forecast.
  Do you know any similar site that works well outside us?

Rain
- Is there something else I have to do besides downloading the APK and installing it? When I try to install it it says I cannot install it on this device.
  Edit: nevermind I ended up finding it on the play store
- Never heard of it, checking it out now!

I'm fairly satisfied with AccuWeather. Not as good as Dark Skies was but close!
- Shadow Weather on Android is pretty good, a lot of people switched to it after dark sky went down. It does forecast aggregation from multiple sources like dark sky used to.

I like Today Weather (paid app IIRC). Has customixable widgets

flowx
I love checking the future forecast via different weather models. Very nice and fun. Been using this for a few years now.
- I pay the $20 a year for full access to the other like 4 models, mostly because I want the programmer to be able to eat so they can keep putting the app out.

I'm a fan of the very light, widget-only AF Weather. All it does is a chart showing temp & precipitation for the next 24hrs. I like it more than "hourly" forecasts in other apps, but it is pretty niche.
https://github.com/Gitsaibot/AF-Weather-Widget
https://f-droid.org/en/packages/net.gitsaibot.af/

eWeather HDF

International: Weather&Radar - best overall UK: Wearher Forcast UK or MetOffice app (same source but different UI) GER: Deutscher Wetterdienst und Regen Vorschau (very accurate but only GER)

I am putting my vote on QuickWeather since its so simple and not loaded with junk.

Personally the BBC Weather app has always been my favourite although the default Samsung one has gotten really good, too.

It only works for Germany I believe, but the best app (both for the actual forecasts and the nice widget) is the Deutsche Wetterdienst app - though thanks to legal shenanigans you have to pay a euro for it.

https://github.com/woheller69/weather
You'll need an api key from openWeather

windy.com is what use for radar. (There's an app for it too.)
- Windy is it. Great initial view of favorites for the quick check and beautiful visualizations, but man does it get deep if you want to double click.
  For instance, a few weeks back I wanted to see why the sun looked orange and the sky was pale at 3pm, so I pulled up the particulates map. I could see a 6hr moving map of particulates making their way from Alberta CA over to the skies to my west.
  Also, they show a breakdown of all the major weather service providers' forecasts and detail which are better in which situations, helping you understand if that forecast you're planning on is really going to happen or it's just wishful thinking.
  Oh, and you can set up alerts to notify you days ahead of time if conditions are right for activities, like if it's cool enough and good enough air quality to go for a run or if the wave swells will be high for surfing or what have you.

I've started using Forescaster, it uses the weather api from apple which is a bit meh, but the way it shows the weather is great.

I've been using Rain for a few weeks now and I love it

Honestly, my go to has to be Weather Today. Great layout with support for Apple Weatherkit (dark sky api).
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kokoschka.michael.weather

How many weather data providers are there in most country?
- Flowx shows the model is using and you can change it.
- Almost all weather apps and channels in the US get their raw data from a single government agency called the NOAA. But all of those entities interpret that data and present it to the end user differently. So I can't say how many the average country has, but the US doesn't really have as many as it seems.

I use weather apps every day. My job revolves around the weather. I currently live in NW Indiana and the weather here is notoriously fickle. I need good forecasts.
Over the years, AccuWeather has been the most accurate and user-friendly by MILES.

I'm actually developing a weather app for Android. Its still in its early phases and is lacking in features, but if you search for Weather Warbler on the play store, you will find it. It's in beta and you can expect some bugs here and there, but trying to build a fun weather app.

I highly recommend Foreca Weather. They have recently decided to put a ton of work into the app and for the past few months it's been getting updated weekly with a bunch of new features. I love that kind of shit.

Pretty neat, installed it from their GitHub. What change I was really hoping for from Geometric Weather was better widgets and to have the widgets include material you colors. Seems like they're largely unchanged right now.

Weawow by far.

This is a great weather app. I can vouch for that. I've been using it for a little while now and I really like the layout.

I'm using Today Weather. Great overall app in terms of UI and info.

I have to follow rainfall amounts for work and I use Weather Underground for the hourly precipitation estimate and 10 day look ahead. I still use Weather channel for the radar but I'm going to check out some of these to look for a better one

86 comments