Looking for alternative for Weather Alert USA

By dvdmth, 25 May, 2016

Forum
iOS and iPadOS

Hi all,

For the last year or so, I have used two different apps for weather alerts. One is Weather Radio by WDT, and the other is Weather Alert USA. I like them for different reasons.

Weather Radio by WDT is great for push notifications when severe weather alerts are issued for my precise location. The alerts are timely, usually before the alert beeps finish playing on an actual NOAA weather radio station. Plus, the alerts are storm based, meaning an alert is only issued for areas that are directly impacted by the storm in question.

Weather Alert USA, on the other hand, gives alerts by county and zone. One can choose which areas to monitor for alerts, and the app gives a nice list of all active alerts in the area. I like the app because it shows me what is going on throughout the region I live in, not just where I am at the moment. The app's notifications aren't very useful, since they often take too long to arrive and can get quite annoying when there are a lot of severe storms in the vicinity. Thus, I prefer Weather Radio by WDT for notifications, but I then check Weather Alert USA to see what else is happening around me.

I recently learned that Weather Alert USA is no longer being supported. Although the app still works, except maybe for notifications, I don't know how much longer the app will continue to run. There were times in the past when changes at NOAA broke the app temporarily until an update could be issued, so I believe it's just a matter of time before I have to switch to something else.

Which leads to my question. Does anyone know of an app out there that I can use in place of Weather Alert USA? I need to be able to view active watches, warnings, advisories, and statements that have been issued for the general region I live in, including multiple counties and zones. I don't need notifications, since Weather Radio by WDT is more than adequate for me there. I'm just looking for something I can browse.

For the record, I used to listen to an actual weather radio for this purpose, but I hate the new voice they recently switched to, and it often takes too long to cycle through all active alerts when there is a lot of severe weather activity going on.

Options

Comments

By Justin on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

Hi,
I have used an app called Deep weather. This app is great at providing NOAA weather data such as warnings/watches/discussions. I, too, am saddened to hear that weather alert USA is not being supported.

By Toonhead on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

My all-time favorite app is Weather Radio by WDT. Do a search for it and you'll find the directory entry. It does absolutely everything I need it to do and nothing I don't. I also subscribe to the lightning alerts for 4 bucks a year and they work beautifully. It does cost a few bucks but it's a worthwhile investment.

By KE7ZUM on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

I also use weather radio. And the ios weather app. I also use an app called dark skies even though that app needs a lot of accessibility work it works for what I need it for. I also listen to the weather station on my ham radio which also helps.

By Unregistered User (not verified) on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

Thanks very much for the recommendation to use deep weather. I was in the exact same boat as the original poster and have been looking for an alternative to weather alert USA for a while now. I have used weather alert usa for almost 3 years now but have been having a lot of trouble with it lately. Deep weather is even easier to use. What a great find.

By dvdmth on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

I appreciate the suggestion, but Deep Weather does not meet my requirements.

When I tried out the app, I was able to bring up info from different forecast offices, but when I looked at the watches and warnings section, it appears the app only lists the titles of each active alert, along with the zone number associated with it. There does not appear to be any way to view the actual alert text, unless I missed something.

For example, I brought up the Pueblo, CO office, and there was one watch currently in effect. I can see that it is a winter storm watch, that it is from tomorrow afternoon through Friday, and that it is for zone 82, if memory serves me right. That's it. I would like to see the full alert text, including descriptions of areas affected, projected snow amounts, and the like. I can get this from Weather Alert USA, and I can also get it from Weather Radio by WDT if I happen to be in the affected zone, but Deep Weather does not seem to have this.

So, I am still looking. I will appreciate any further suggestions anyone might have.

For those who mention Weather Radio by WDT, I will reiterate something I said in my original post. I love the app, but I cannot get a list of advisories in the general vicinity. I live in the Denver area, and I would like to know about any severe weather happening in the greater Denver region, not just at my neighborhood. I like the fact that Weather Radio only sends push notifications which directly affect me, but there are times when I want to check out what else is going on in the region.

By Justin on Wednesday, May 25, 2016 - 21:19

I agree with you DVDMTH completely. Weather radio is great like ya said, however I, also would like to see weather alerts for my area. Oh, one other weather app that I found,and I'm not exactly sure who it's by is Storm Shield. It provides you with the warning/watch/etc. It also speaks the warning when you click on the alerts. It could use a little more VO support, but overall it's a great app to use!