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Stock Weather App and Weather Channel Data

E

eric3312

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Sep 17, 2012
502
204
Hi guys,
From what I understand, the stock weather app in iOS 8.x uses data from the Weather Channel. Honestly, I love the style of the stock weather app and it works fine for what I need (basics: rain, snow, temperature, etc.).

However, frequently I notice that the Weather Channel's data (both website, and official app) differs from what is displayed in the stock weather app. What gives? Can someone lend some insight? Shouldn't the data be exactly the same?

Here is a picture to compare the stock weather app's information and the weather channel's website/app information. Notice the hourly temperatures as well as % chance of snow are drastically different. If it were only a few degrees off here and there, I wouldn't really care or think much of it.

Let me know what you think...seems kind of bizarre.
 

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Are both using the exact same location (as in sometimes searching for city name in one vs. ZIP code in another can lead to somewhat different weather station data, or even using coordinates--best comparison would probably be entering the same exact ZIP code in each one and seeing if that's the same or not)? And were both updated/refreshed with the latest data pretty much at the same time?
 
C DM said:
Are both using the exact same location (as in sometimes searching for city name in one vs. ZIP code in another can lead to somewhat different weather station data, or even using coordinates--best comparison would probably be entering the same exact ZIP code in each one and seeing if that's the same or not)? And were both updated/refreshed with the latest data pretty much at the same time?
Click to expand...

His city is top secret, not even the app can know.
 
C DM said:
Are both using the exact same location (as in sometimes searching for city name in one vs. ZIP code in another can lead to somewhat different weather station data, or even using coordinates--best comparison would probably be entering the same exact ZIP code in each one and seeing if that's the same or not)? And were both updated/refreshed with the latest data pretty much at the same time?
Click to expand...

Yes, both are using the exact same zip code. I even tried entering them both in again to see if it would change anything
 
eric3312 said:
Yes, both are using the exact same zip code. I even tried entering them both in again to see if it would change anything
Click to expand...

This has been an issue for quite a while.
My iPhone 6+ differs from all other weather apps, web pages, and my Android devices the majority of the time.
I live in Westchester Ca. and the default location settings drop me into downtown Los Angeles. I can choose to manually set the location to a nearby WC listed spot, but even that seldom matches.
Wish they would fix this. I doubt it is a WC issue as my Android (G3) uses the WC for the app on it and it matches the web page for the same location. It has to be something inside the OS or app.
 
cmichaelb said:
Could it be one is updating more frequently than the other?
Click to expand...

That's a good point..I'll check it here shortly.
Not really a big deal..just wondering why such a discrepancy...I mean 80% chance of snow compared to 0% chance is a pretty stark difference.
 
I think you need to be really accurate in your search i.e. by postcode as a previous poster recommended.
I've noticed that "My Location" is often different to the same City, manually entered so the feed must come from a local station
 
I'm telling you, try the Weather Underground and don't look back. It's by far the most reliable weather app ever made. Their network of weather stations is ridiculous and their forecast is one of the most accurate. Source: Amateur storm chaser who does design, coding, and photography for the college that houses atmospheric and environmental sciences. I also started reading college level meteorology books on topics such as cyclogenesis when I was in middle school. I talk with those weather guys and students often as they're right by my office and we do a lot of stories on their work. And if you're interested Radar Scope is the best radar app ever made but maybe a little bit technical. I can typically spot a tornado forming 5 minutes before the warning by using the base velocity scans at multiple angles combined with the level 3 reflectivity. I think later in life when I get bored of design and coding I'll get my masters in atmospheric sciences, lol. :D

Another good pick is BeWeather. They use Weather Underground data but have a better widget (although the widget could use some design help with margin alignment issues on my 6 Plus) which shows more customizable sections than the current Weather Underground app does. I also like using Dark Skies which uses your location using the lower power location services cell triangulation mode to alert you when rain is moving into your area and tells you when it will arrive. Super handy and they also have a simple widget. Lastly if you have an iPad and really want to geek out the Weather Underground just released a new app for iPad called WunderStation that has every piece of data that you could ever hope for, including some historical data as well for each station. Each section is customizable so you can use it as a weather dashboard of sorts. Pretty neat!
 
macduke said:
Another good pick is BeWeather. They use Weather Underground data but have a better widget (although the widget could use some design help with margin alignment issues on my 6 Plus) which shows more customizable sections than the current Weather Underground app does. I also like using Dark Skies which uses your location using the lower power location services cell triangulation mode to alert you when rain is moving into your area and tells you when it will arrive. Super handy and they also have a simple widget. Lastly if you have an iPad and really want to geek out the Weather Underground just released a new app for iPad called WunderStation that has every piece of data that you could ever hope for, including some historical data as well for each station. Each section is customizable so you can use it as a weather dashboard of sorts. Pretty neat!
Click to expand...

Which BeWeather are you using? 2 or HD?

Update: I got the BeWeather 2. This gives a better location but still the wrong location.
I'm closer to El Segundo or Playa Del Rey (I'm in between these) but the app chooses a location that is east of me by a few miles. My location atm is 64F. El Segundo is 64F (2.2 miles south) and Playa Del Rey is 63F (1.3 miles west). This app chooses the Inglewood Civic Center 69F (3.7 miles east). The small distance differences are magnified when you live close to the beach. Inland is almost always warmer.

Update 2: Found in BeWeather 2 that if I click the itty bitty pencil next to the city name I can select alternate WU locations in my area. This allowed me to fine tune the location. The display is now matching what I see/feel outside.
 
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This has been a major bug in the Weather app since 8.0. If your city exists by the same name in multiple states, it is probably showing you the wrong state in the app. This occurs even if you specify the correct state, and even if you search by zip code. See the attachment below. I have posted about this multiple times on here and submitted a bug report to Apple.

EDIT: This appears to be fixed with 8.1.1! As I posted this message I realized I hadn't checked since updating, and now it looks like it is fixed. If you follow the steps outlined in the attachment, I now see the correct Middletown.
 

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Rhonindk said:
Which BeWeather are you using? 2 or HD?

Update: I got the BeWeather 2. This gives a better location but still the wrong location.
I'm closer to El Segundo or Playa Del Rey (I'm in between these) but the app chooses a location that is east of me by a few miles. My location atm is 64F. El Segundo is 64F (2.2 miles south) and Playa Del Rey is 63F (1.3 miles west). This app chooses the Inglewood Civic Center 69F (3.7 miles east). The small distance differences are magnified when you live close to the beach. Inland is almost always warmer.
Click to expand...

BeWeather 2. I haven't tested it extensively since I think it just came out fairly recently, but I mianky wanted it since it had a widget with more information, seems accurate in my area.
 
macduke said:
BeWeather 2. I haven't tested it extensively since I think it just came out fairly recently, but I mianky wanted it since it had a widget with more information, seems accurate in my area.
Click to expand...

Been playing with BeWeather 2 for a day now. I can manually set my location which is more accurate (for me) than the assigned location. All the bells and whistles are working great except the temp on icon badge feature - it always shows location. Still, pretty good.

best weather app I have found so far, then again Authentic has been humorous :D
 
I get different results with Weather Bug. My iPad says one temp and my iPhone shows another. Both pointing to the same place for weather information.

I may give that Weather Underground a try.
 
Beelzbub said:
I get different results with Weather Bug. My iPad says one temp and my iPhone shows another. Both pointing to the same place for weather information.

I may give that Weather Underground a try.
Click to expand...
One of the nice things about Weather Underground is that they include personal weather stations (PWS) in their data feed. You can search for users near you that have PWS online and draw your data from there, rather than relying on weather stations which may be miles from where you are. Only proviso is that accuracy may vary depending upon which PWS hardware a station is using and how well they maintain it.
 
azhava said:
One of the nice things about Weather Underground is that they include personal weather stations (PWS) in their data feed. You can search for users near you that have PWS online and draw your data from there, rather than relying on weather stations which may be miles from where you are. Only proviso is that accuracy may vary depending upon which PWS hardware a station is using and how well they maintain it.
Click to expand...

+1 on WU. I really love the today screen widget it provides.
 
Thanks for all the replies guys. I appreciate it. I'm going to download these apps this weekend and give 'em a shot.
 
That is kind of odd. I never noticed because I only open the weather channel app for radar and I don't need to do that often.
 

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Weather Underground is owned by the Weather Channel now. But the data is separate. WU is using local weather stations giving off real time data. So it is much more accurate. Also look at Wundermap. It's the stand alone WU map.
 
MacNut said:
Weather Underground is owned by the Weather Channel now. But the data is separate.
Click to expand...

Did not know about this, thx! And lets hope the WC do not ruin WU.

I have used WU from the get go. They also have a nice app WunderStation. If you look around
your location and find a station that is "Rapidfire" the data is updated about every 7-20 seconds.
I use the WU website to find this and then use it on my devices.

I just recently got the BeWeather 2 and its now my fav. Can choose your station from WU data.
 
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