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chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,422
2,108
Berlin
This morning when I left the house it was sunny and 30 degrees Celsius, but later I got caught in an awful thunderstorm in my shorts and white T-shirt. Had I looked on the weather app I would’ve known- but why doesn’t the watch warn you automatically about severe, preannouncdd shifts in the weather conditions? Are there any apps that have this functionality?
 

willmtaylor

macrumors G4
Oct 31, 2009
10,314
8,198
Here(-ish)
This morning when I left the house it was sunny and 30 degrees Celsius, but later I got caught in an awful thunderstorm in my shorts and white T-shirt. Had I looked on the weather app I would’ve known- but why doesn’t the watch warn you automatically about severe, preannouncdd shifts in the weather conditions? Are there any apps that have this functionality?
DarkSky.

0B8E232D-B293-4ACF-A271-2314A7AE0E35.jpeg
 
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fbara

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2010
39
99
Hmmmm perfectly what I was looking for, thank you- but not available in Germany!?!? Why is that..
do you know an alternative?

Many different weather apps have this feature. Dark Sky's forecast isn't very reliable, though.

Just look at the weather in the morning before you get dressed, it takes about 5 seconds.
 

Graham4723

macrumors regular
Jan 24, 2018
165
56
This morning when I left the house it was sunny and 30 degrees Celsius, but later I got caught in an awful thunderstorm in my shorts and white T-shirt. Had I looked on the weather app I would’ve known- but why doesn’t the watch warn you automatically about severe, preannouncdd shifts in the weather conditions? Are there any apps that have this functionality?

Currently trying “Rain Alarm” (NOT Rain Alarm - weather warning !). Sends notifications of showers to watch, seems reasonably accurate so far.

I’m in the UK so can’t check if it’s available in Germany.
 
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nikkisharif

macrumors regular
May 22, 2019
215
292
Many different weather apps have this feature. Dark Sky's forecast isn't very reliable, though.

Just look at the weather in the morning before you get dressed, it takes about 5 seconds.

I think it varies by location. Never had any issues with Dark Sky when I lived in Boston & now I’m NYC. It’s pretty perfect, since weather underground is accurate around here.
 

fbara

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2010
39
99
Never had any issues with Dark Sky when I lived in Boston & now I’m NYC. It’s pretty perfect, since weather underground is accurate around here.

Take a look at https://forecastadvisor.com and search by your zip code. It will tell you what weather service has historically provided the most accurate forecast for your area.

The majority of places I’ve looked at over the years shows other sites are more accurate than Dark Sky. DS has a very developer- friendly API that doesn't cost very much. That's why you see their info everywhere; it's cheap to use.
 

staggerlee41

macrumors 65816
Sep 25, 2017
1,072
1,057
Pittsburgh, PA
Carrot Weather :cool: You can also set custom types of alerts, an example may be x % of humidity. I have tried them all and it is by far the best. Now if you're looking for weather apps focused on radar tracking that's a different story. Still Carrot is the best I have used. The developer frequently posts here, is responsive to any issues and keeps adding great new features!
 

nikkisharif

macrumors regular
May 22, 2019
215
292
Take a look at https://forecastadvisor.com and search by your zip code. It will tell you what weather service has historically provided the most accurate forecast for your area.

The majority of places I’ve looked at over the years shows other sites are more accurate than Dark Sky. DS has a very developer- friendly API that doesn't cost very much. That's why you see their info everywhere; it's cheap to use.

Thanks for the info!! Weather underground is on the top of the list for my zip code & that’s what Dark Sky uses. I actually have both apps (and a ton others) & I get the same alerts. Rarely are they off.
 

nikkisharif

macrumors regular
May 22, 2019
215
292
Carrot Weather :cool: You can also set custom types of alerts, an example may be x % of humidity. I have tried them all and it is by far the best. Now if you're looking for weather apps focused on radar tracking that's a different story. Still Carrot is the best I have used. The developer frequently posts here, is responsive to any issues and keeps adding great new features!

For radar, I’ve found Storm Radar to be the best.
 
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fbara

macrumors member
Oct 2, 2010
39
99
Thanks for the info!! Weather underground is on the top of the list for my zip code & that’s what Dark Sky uses. I actually have both apps (and a ton others) & I get the same alerts. Rarely are they off.

Dark Sky does not use WU as a data source, I'm not sure where you read that.

Dark Sky is a data aggregator and they apply their own algorithms to make predictions. They don't list Weather Underground as one of their source systems, they use mostly the free NOAA data.

Weather Underground has a different model where they incorporate info from over 250k personal weather stations into their forecast models. They also publish their forecast accuracy to be as transparent as possible.

I'm not putting Dark Sky down at all, they're good. It's just that their PR is better than their weather forecasts for most cities.
 
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nikkisharif

macrumors regular
May 22, 2019
215
292
Dark Sky does not use WU as a data source, I'm not sure where you read that.

Dark Sky is a data aggregator and they apply their own algorithms to make predictions. They don't list Weather Underground as one of their source systems, they use mostly the free NOAA data.

Weather Underground has a different model where they incorporate info from over 250k personal weather stations into their forecast models. They also publish their forecast accuracy to be as transparent as possible.

I'm not putting Dark Sky down at all, their good. It's just that their PR is better than their weather forecasts for most cities.

My apologies & I didn’t think you were putting them down. Heck I have ZERO monetary interest so it really doesn’t matter if you did LOL. The information I had was old & they use to list WU. I haven’t looked up recent API info for Dark Sky because they’ve been extremely accurate where I live/travel to frequently. I can’t speak to places outside of that. I use several apps including those mentioned & have only had accuracy issues with Beweather.
 

Crowbot

macrumors 68000
May 29, 2018
1,835
4,149
NYC
Look at WeatherBug (or the Elite version). It uses locally sourced weather data. I see at least 8 in Berlin alone.
 
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