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I've never understood why Weather apps are such a huge thing. I just type into Google "Weather" and it tells me that weather. If I was worried about privacy I'

I've never understood why Weather apps are such a huge thing. I just type into Google "Weather" and it tells me that weather. If I was worried about privacy I'd bookmark the local government weather website. Why the need to install an app for a simple query? People are obsessed with them though, they're massively popular so I'm missing something.

Markoff 4y ago
Because Weather.com is not the most accurate data source in many places. For instance in Prague by my research Dark Sky is the most accurate, then there is big gap and it's followed by Wunderground/AccuWeather and possibly Weather.com (though I think Wunderground/Weather are often same if chosen specific location)
- muppetman 4y ago
  Weather itself is so random though. It was dark and hailing a 5 minute drive from my house the other day (it was still sunny with a few clouds on the horizon) I live in a town of 65k people so the weather is for that town. But the forecast was either perfect or totally wrong that day.
- tasuki 4y ago
  What model does Dark Sky use? I find its interface a bit too simplified, though it does have all the important info. I'm Czech and always looking for better weather apps. Mostly using our local Windy[0], which shows a comparison of the GFS, ECMWF, Meteoblue, and ICON models. [0]: https://windy.com/ https://windy.com/
  - Markoff 4y ago
    I think they have their own model. I've made chart and was checking forecast and comparing with real result for few weeks comparing many data sources for Prague and that was my result. I don't consider Windy weather forecast app at all, I wanna see simple hourly forecast or simple day forecast without watching some animations and wasting my time plus it's horrible touch UI in general trying to see what will be temperature 24 hours from now through animation on phone.
    - tasuki 4y ago
      Yes the animations are not so useful. I use their widget which shows the forecast for my current location. It takes three clicks (yes, a lot) to get from the widget to the comparison of forecasts, which is my favourite feature.
      - Markoff 4y ago
        Thanks, I just tried it and I can see they have now daily/hourly forecast (though hourly is every 3 hours and not exactly by hours unless you pay extra), I think they didn't have it when I tried it last time, also the comparison page is interesting. Shame it seems you can't hide that animated screen completely since I don't really care about it, just wanna simple forecast + have radar in other app. Btw. Weawow has also forecast comparison with easy access, after setting up the app/city you just need to open the app and tap on data source in bottom of screen which opens comparison screen with various data sources and their forecasts. Easier to read than Windy comparison.
danuker 4y ago
I use one because it is much easier to tap once than to have to type anything (like "weather").
- Markoff 4y ago
  As he said you can make home screen shortcut to whatever URL/site, I use this way weather radar without need of app.
- muppetman 4y ago
  I get the simple bit but don't both iOS and Android have built in apps/shortcuts? Weather apps just seem to be like Flashlight apps these days, all promising to be the brightest but actually none better than any other all while slurping up your data.
  - piaste 4y ago
    There's a lot more variance in pure functionality between weather apps than between flashlight apps. Flashlight is literally 1 bit of information (on/off) and after that you can only add more sophisticated triggers (gestures, timers, etc.), which is why native OS functionality typically makes apps completely obsolete. Weather data is a lot bigger: not only are there are a handful of different providers, but you could spend a lifetime optimizing the presentation of the data on a 6" screen (let alone a widget or notification). You can't possibly fit in all the relevant numbers so you have a lot of room for UX design work.
NoboruWataya 4y ago
Widgets is a big reason on smartphones.

Markoff 4y ago

Because Weather.com is not the most accurate data source in many places. For instance in Prague by my research Dark Sky is the most accurate, then there is big gap and it's followed by Wunderground/AccuWeather and possibly Weather.com (though I think Wunderground/Weather are often same if chosen specific location)

muppetman 4y ago
Weather itself is so random though. It was dark and hailing a 5 minute drive from my house the other day (it was still sunny with a few clouds on the horizon) I live in a town of 65k people so the weather is for that town. But the forecast was either perfect or totally wrong that day.
tasuki 4y ago
What model does Dark Sky use? I find its interface a bit too simplified, though it does have all the important info. I'm Czech and always looking for better weather apps. Mostly using our local Windy[0], which shows a comparison of the GFS, ECMWF, Meteoblue, and ICON models. [0]: https://windy.com/ https://windy.com/
- Markoff 4y ago
  I think they have their own model. I've made chart and was checking forecast and comparing with real result for few weeks comparing many data sources for Prague and that was my result. I don't consider Windy weather forecast app at all, I wanna see simple hourly forecast or simple day forecast without watching some animations and wasting my time plus it's horrible touch UI in general trying to see what will be temperature 24 hours from now through animation on phone.
  - tasuki 4y ago
    Yes the animations are not so useful. I use their widget which shows the forecast for my current location. It takes three clicks (yes, a lot) to get from the widget to the comparison of forecasts, which is my favourite feature.
    - Markoff 4y ago
      Thanks, I just tried it and I can see they have now daily/hourly forecast (though hourly is every 3 hours and not exactly by hours unless you pay extra), I think they didn't have it when I tried it last time, also the comparison page is interesting. Shame it seems you can't hide that animated screen completely since I don't really care about it, just wanna simple forecast + have radar in other app. Btw. Weawow has also forecast comparison with easy access, after setting up the app/city you just need to open the app and tap on data source in bottom of screen which opens comparison screen with various data sources and their forecasts. Easier to read than Windy comparison.

danuker 4y ago

I use one because it is much easier to tap once than to have to type anything (like "weather").

Markoff 4y ago
As he said you can make home screen shortcut to whatever URL/site, I use this way weather radar without need of app.
muppetman 4y ago
I get the simple bit but don't both iOS and Android have built in apps/shortcuts? Weather apps just seem to be like Flashlight apps these days, all promising to be the brightest but actually none better than any other all while slurping up your data.
- piaste 4y ago
  There's a lot more variance in pure functionality between weather apps than between flashlight apps. Flashlight is literally 1 bit of information (on/off) and after that you can only add more sophisticated triggers (gestures, timers, etc.), which is why native OS functionality typically makes apps completely obsolete. Weather data is a lot bigger: not only are there are a handful of different providers, but you could spend a lifetime optimizing the presentation of the data on a 6" screen (let alone a widget or notification). You can't possibly fit in all the relevant numbers so you have a lot of room for UX design work.

NoboruWataya 4y ago

Widgets is a big reason on smartphones.