A weather app was a leading feature of the first iPhone in 2007 and enthusiasm for them has not dampened since. While the sophistication of forecasting and range of choice may have grown exponentially, different apps often give wildly different predictions.
Meteorological institutions record observations using a network of instruments and tend to share them freely, so most weather services start with roughly the same data. But differences arise in how each office analyses and models the data to produce a forecast, and the chaotic nature and complexity of the climate system means small changes can produce huge variation.
A good weather app may not brighten this so far lacklustre British summer, but it can help people prepare for drizzle or occasional sunshine. Here is our pick of the five best weather apps.
Best for accuracy: Met Office
Founded in 1854, the Met Office is one of the oldest national weather services in the world and its app is the most popular in the UK. Its supercomputer analyses 215bn weather observations each day at a rate of 14,000tn calculations a second. The resulting model is then fine-tuned by meteorologists to produce a forecast. The process seems to work as the app was named most accurate in the World Meteorological Organization’s weather apps awards. Alongside hourly and daily forecasts, the app features a long-range forecast of up to a month and a map that shows rainfall and cloud cover for the last six hours and the next five days.
Best for simplicity: BBC Weather
The BBC’s weather app used the Met Office’s forecast until 2018 but is now served by DTN, formerly known as MeteoGroup. Its output is based on the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMRWF) model as well as its own in-house models. The clean but basic app features an hour-by-hour 14-day forecast that includes temperature, wind, humidity and visibility. The BBC recently revealed it selects the most pessimistic outlook when choosing a symbol to represent the day’s forecast, making it a good choice if you like to be pleasantly surprised.
Best for extensive data: AccuWeather
The US-based AccuWeather claims to gather the most data for its forecasts, incorporating more than 190 climate models, including those of the Met Office. Its app provides minute-by-minute forecasts and a “real feel” temperature, which takes into account sunshine intensity, wind, humidity, cloudiness and elevation. It also offers a detailed air-quality index and a bewildering array of other variables such as dew-point temperature, indoor humidity and cloud-ceiling height. You’ll need to upgrade to the paid version for many of the features such as the hourly 10-day and long-term 90-day forecasts.
Best for choice: FlowX
One for the enthusiasts, FlowX lets you compare forecasts from various meteorological institutes, including the ECMRWF, the US-based National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Canadian Meteorological Center. Selecting a forecast imposes it on a map and allows you to scroll forward in time, while choosing whether to view rainfall, cloud cover, temperature or even wave height or surface ozone levels, then you can make your own informed judgments about the likelihood of rain or shine.
Best for aesthetics: Yr
The little known Yr app is a joint venture of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation and the Norwegian Meteorological Institute. The latter is almost as old as the Met Office, having been established in 1866. It is the most pleasing app to use, with a photorealistic sky that you can scroll through to see how the heavens will look over the next 48 hours. It also gives precision forecasts based on your coordinates, as opposed to finding the nearest local forecast like most apps, so is well suited for off-grid adventures.
