Are You Using the Wrong Weather App?

Weekly Wheaties #2615

Apr 12, 2026

In this newsletter:

📝 Post: Are You Using the Wrong Weather App?
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Google Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Microsoft Updates
🗞️ In Case You Missed It: Tech Headlines
😎 Pick of the Week: Color in Fashion
📦 Featured Product: Weather Stations

📝 Are You Using the Wrong Weather App?

Some of you have been using the same phone operating system for years. And some of you have even been using the same weather app(s) for just as long. I mean, the weather changes constantly, but how would tracking the weather actually change? Or how often should you even change weather apps?

Depending on our need, we may want to see or track temperature, wind, rain, snow, and even extreme events (fire, hurricane, etc.) as they arise. For starters, there are thousands of devices not only across the US, but the globe that help gather these measurements. These include satellites, weather stations (including many personal ones), buoys in the ocean, and weather balloons (that launch twice a day from all over). All of the data is crunched by supercomputers then available for apps to update. You can read more in depth here from NPR on Where does your weather forecast come from.

A problem with many of the weather apps, is they must choose a specific provider of sorts to determine what weather data to show (some do let you choose, though). Popular sources you may have heard of include: NOAA, The National Weather Service, Foreca, AccuWeather, OpenWeather, and many more. For some levity here, a survey found that The Weather Channel is America’s most trusted news source.

A potential next problem is some of these sources may be more accurate in one location than another simply because of either the number or quality of sources in that area. You’ve seen this in practice when your phone shows a 20% chance of rain and your friend’s show a 60%. This can simply be due to demographics and location (where you live versus where the weather stations your apps are pulling from are located).

The next problem is around funding. While some weather sources are free to access for users by way of grants through the Federal Government, others are private (for-profit) and will have either ad-supported options or are only available through a purchase or subscription. Before going too far, here’s a friendly reminder that NOAA and Weather.gov are currently two of those free services. Not to mention, the apps you’re using have to pay their developers and designers for updates to the app as required - even for typical app maintenance.

This leaves us asking ourselves a few questions. Do you want your app to be the most accurate? Do you want the most data available? The cleanest, and more modern of a look? Maybe some type of utility? Do widgets and notifications matter? Also, I know we’re talking specifically mobile apps, but it’s also known that Americans use digital assistants mainly for weather, music, and timers. So, do you want your app to talk to your digital assistants? Sometimes, having multiple apps working in tandem together may be required to get all of the specific information you’d want.

Here’s an exhaustive list of Weather apps you may want to check out:

Acme Weather - from the developers of Dark Sky (an app bought out by Apple with a cult-like following)
Carrot Weather - sarcasm mixed with surprisingly powerful data
- Bonus pick here… I subscribe to this app for two reasons: awesome widgets and a customized home screen (add, remove, or reorder any weather widget within the app to see only what you want)
Clime - detailed radar and alerts for serious weather
EverythingWeather
Flowx - swipe through time to see how weather changes
Mercury Weather - simple, fast, no clutter
MyRadar - quick, no-frills radar
NOAA - straight from the official source (desktop friendly)
NoAdsWeather - no ads, all data (desktop only)
(Not Boring) Weather - weather as an interactive experience, not just a forecast
Sun Seeker - tracks the sun’s path for planning and light
Ventusky - beautiful maps that show weather in motion (desktop friendly)
WeatherGraph - forecasts as clean, data-driven charts
Weather Fit - tells you what to wear based on the weather
Weather.gov - reliable forecasts, old-school interface (desktop friendly)
What the Forecast - brutally honest (and hilarious) forecasts
Windy.com - deep, layered weather data for power users (desktop friendly)

To end with a bit of fun while still learning, check out this video where Mark Rober shares how Hot Air Balloons work with the wind speeds at various heights on his YouTube Channel.

What weather apps are you using?

🗞️ ICYMI: Google Updates

Google’s at it again! Following their Google AI Edge Gallery AI app (available on both Android and iOS) that I keep trying to get people to download, they have now launched an AI dictation app that works offline. This means you can record audio and convert it to text just using the power of your phone - for free!

There was also an update to the Google Chrome Browser that provides updates for new vertical tabs and immersive reading mode. Other browsers have had vertical tabs for a while, but it’s interesting to see Google’s take on it. The debate between horizontal and vertical tabs is just as big among nerds as is the Android and iOS debate.

🗞️ ICYMI: Microsoft Updates

Microsoft has been silently making some updates in the AI space, too. LLMs work well when text is formatted properly. A common format used is called Markdown. This is simply a text-only way to format text using symbols (typically, #, *, or -). In order to make your Copilot experience better, Microsoft built a tool that converts literally anything into clean markdown. This includes Word Docs, PDFs, PPTs, and even Excel documents.

They also built Microsoft 365 connectors for Claude to help connect Outlook, OneDrive, and SharePoint to bring your email, docs, and files into the conversation. Lastly, with the new MacBook talk, a popular YouTuber made a video about the MacBook Air M5 vs Dell XPS 14, arguing if they may be closer than you think.

🗞️ ICYMI: Tech Headlines

😎 POTW: Color in Fashion

After sharing some fashion picks in Weekly Wheaties #2614, my wife shared with me how she used ChatGPT to help with personal color and clothing styles. After we discussed it a bit in depth, I wanted to share a prompt you could use to help! This is loosely based on the House of Colour, and if you’d like an in-person touch, make sure to check them out!

Prompt:

I want you to determine my seasonal color palette (Winter, Summer, Autumn, Spring, including sub-seasons like Dark Winter, Soft Autumn, etc.) and recommend clothing colors and style direction.

Please analyze based on undertone (warm vs cool), value (light vs dark), contrast, and chroma (bright vs muted).

Here is my information:

Basic Info:

Age:
Gender:
Height:
Weight:
Build (e.g., slim, athletic, stocky):

Coloring:

Skin tone (fair, medium, deep):
Skin undertone (cool, warm, neutral, unsure):
Hair color:
Hair depth (light, medium, dark):
Eye color:
Natural Contrast: How much contrast between your skin, hair, and eyes—low, medium, high, or unsure?

Behavioral Clues:

Do you tan easily or burn?
Do you look better in silver or gold jewelry?
Do you look better in black or brown?
Do you look better in bright white or cream/ivory?
Are there colors people compliment you in often?
Are there colors that consistently make you look washed out or tired?

Optional:

Ethnicity:
Do you have freckles? (yes/no)
Eye pattern (solid, mixed, bright, soft):

Style Context:

Lifestyle (casual, business, athletic, etc.):
What image do you want to project? (e.g., authoritative, approachable, modern, relaxed):

What I want from you:

My most likely season and sub-season (with reasoning)
A backup/alternative season if applicable
My best colors (specific examples)
Colors to avoid
Ideal neutrals
Example outfit combinations
Style guidance based on my palette and body type

If anything is unclear, make your best inference and explain your reasoning.

📦 Featured Product

In tandem with this week’s post, are you looking for a home weather station? If so, I have two options that allow much more than your typical temperature and humidity. They are a bit more expensive than other setups you’re probably more familiar with, but these are weather stations, not monitors.

The Ambient Weather Station looks and functions like your traditional weather station. It has moving parts, requires a bit more setup, provides a monitor for inside your home, and also allows the most smart home integrations. Since it uses more traditional methods, it can be more accurate, but requires more occasional maintenance.

The Tempest Weather Station is low friction, low maintenance, and allows viewing throught the app only. It doesn’t include a few measurements that the Ambient does (UV, solar,), but is a more modern setup for casual users. While the Tempest appears to do a better job for more localized modeling, it may also under/over estimate some events.

Both use solar power and connect to Wifi, allowing you to access your home’s weather from anywhere you have an internet connection. Lastly, the Ambient system offers an optional AWN+ subscription for more advanced data views and features, but it is not required.

Discussion about this post

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