The best weather apps for iPhone and iPad

Apps are the cornerstone of any great phone, and while many of us take weather apps for granted, they’re important for helping us prepare for the day ahead. For example, you don’t want to go on a long road trip in harsh rainy conditions. While most weather apps on the App Store do a good job of giving you daily forecasts, many of them also give you a comprehensive breakdown for the week.

Of course, these apps are a dime a dozen. If you decide to ditch the stock iOS Weather app (which is still great, by the way), finding the perfect replacement might take some trial and error. Fortunately, this quick roundup will make things easier. From intricately detailed stats to gorgeous widgets, here are the best weather apps for iPhones.

1 The Weather Channel

A one-stop shop for all your weather info

It makes sense that one of the most popular TV channels in the USA has its own weather app. The Weather Channel is accurate, free, and incredibly detailed. It’s broken up into different sections titled Home, Hourly, Daily, and, Radar. You can also create a profile to add locations and topics you’re interested in (UV Index, Air Quality, Dew Point, etc.).

The app also includes a Wellness Forecast that helps you understand the daily weather’s impact on your skin, allergies, and even breathing conditions. This feature is great for planning any outdoor activities. You can also use this app to get news and content directly from the TV broadcasts. The app also features some beautiful home and lock screen widgets.

Overall, The Weather Channel is the perfect tool for planning your day-to-day activities, long road trips, or even vacations.

2 Carrot Weather

Weather forecasts, but with a dash of personality

Carrot Weather is an incredibly popular weather app, but I was ill-prepared for its snarky personality. On the surface, it has a beautifully simple interface, but the devil is in the details. It has a bot that provides commentary for the daily forecasts. Depending on what personality you set for the Carrot Bot, it can be friendly, professional, snarky, or even use profanity. I think the last one is a bit too much for a weather app, but to each their own.

Fortunately, this app is not a one-trick pony. It’s highly accurate and allows you to choose what sources it pulls weather information from. However, if you want to use most of these sources, they do require a subscription. Subscribing to the premium plan will also give you custom notifications, detailed widgets, and 10-day forecasts.

Other than that, it’s easy to take a look at the UV index, moon phase, and sunset/sunrise times. You can even talk to the Carrot Bot and complete missions to “improve” its personality. If you think weather apps tend to be boring, Carrot is well worth trying.

3 AccuWeather

The no-nonsense comprehensive weather app

AccuWeather doesn’t have any bells or whistles, making it the complete opposite of Carrot Weather. It’s by far one of the simplest weather apps out there, as you can get everything you need to know by swiping down on the home screen. It displays wind speed, humidity, air quality, UV index, and more, all on the same page. You even get hourly forecasts that show you how the weather changes every 10 to 30 minutes.

The best part is that it promises forecasts for up to 45 days ahead. I’ve found it to be highly accurate, and it’s incredibly simple to just open the app, swipe a bit to get all the info I need, and close it. The premium plan removes ads and gives you widgets and custom notifications. Fortunately, you don’t need that at all to make good use of this fantastic app. The free plan works great, and the ads aren’t that intrusive either. Not much more you could ask for.

4 (Not Boring) Weather

A gamified weather app

Not Boring Weather is arguably the most beautifully designed and interesting app on this list. While AccuWeather and The Weather Channel might be more detailed, they’re not as fun as this one. Instead of a static screen that shows you the weather, Not Boring Weather has 3D fonts, cool animation, and unique sounds.

Scrubbing the slider at the bottom gives you a 3D animation that runs through the weather conditions throughout the day. This includes cloud conditions, moon phases, and precipitation. If you swipe up from the bottom, you get your weather forecast for the week. As a bonus, the app has incredible widgets that mimic the same minimalist design of the app. The developer has quite a few apps with the same design language, and they’re definitely worth checking out.

5 Windy

The one for weather nerds

Windy asks how much information you need about the weather, and then gives you three levels to pick from: General, Intermediate, and Advanced. That’s how you know it’s a serious one. It will then continue by asking about your outdoor activities and then create a custom layout that tells you everything you need to know. As the name suggests, it excels at telling you all about wind patterns.

It also offers detailed maps with wind patterns, precipitation, dew points, air pressure, humidity, and much more. You even get hurricane tracking, which is useful for stormy seasons. The free version already has more information than most people need, but the premium plan gives you access to various weather models and stations.

The only downside to this one is that it’s not exactly accessible for most people unless you use the General mode. But if that mode is all you need, you’re better off with any other app on the list.

6 1Weather

Everything you need at a glance

Some people like to dive deep into weather conditions, while others just want to get a quick glance to know what to expect. If you fall into the latter category, 1Weather is a great choice. It’s a beautifully designed app that has a lot of info, but it manages to display it all without overwhelming you. You have your main temperature reading at the top, some recommendations below that, and precipitation, humidity, air pressure, and other details right at the bottom.

However, if you do want to dig deeper, 1Weather isn’t just form over function. It features tornado warnings, a hurricane tracker, wind patterns, graphs, and detailed satellite maps. These features are hidden behind different tabs, so you can access them whenever you need to. If you don’t need them, they’re never in your face. As a bonus, the widgets are quite gorgeous.

Always be prepared for tough weather conditions

Whether you prefer the simplicity of AccuWeather or the detailed maps in Windy, all these apps have one thing in common: keeping you prepared for the day ahead. It’s surprising to see how much work was put into each one, and some of them definitely deserve a mention as the best iPhone apps out there.