This is my first time using any app to access continental US severe weather warnings and watches in one place. I may seem excited, and I am a little bit giddy. It’s like getting a new toy. So bear with me as I extol the virtues of the app as a noob to weather stuff. This app is much easier to read (font size) than using an iPhone 6 web browser to view SPC, NOAA or NWS websites for first-hand info. I like being able to see the continental US radar view. I know little about forecasting, but I know enough to recognize that this app includes visual tools that forecasters use to discuss weather. It has it all—or almost all. I might need a different app for winter weather season. I don’t know enough about weather to know if I am missing out on satellite imagery showing my location in the Midwest. The app does give continental US and regional stills from Tropical Tidbits: wind, barometric pressure lines, and other nifty weather nerd graphics. Since I don’t do forecasting, stills are just fine, even if it would be cool to play around with model future progressions. I do get what I wanted, after all: current severe and life-threatening tornado warnings and watches with radar progression images. Maybe I’ll even become a hurricane weather enthusiast, too.

Out of all the hurricane apps I’ve used, this app is one of the best hurricane apps I’ve ever used. This helped me track Ian, Helene, and Milton. What’s even better is that you can look at past hurricanes to see how far away they were from you. For example, I never knew that Hurricane Irma was 4.4 miles away from me. Pretty interesting stuff. Heck, I’m considering on upgrading this app (Purchasing the Pro version). Absolutely worth downloading if you don’t have cable to track the storms. Where’s 10/5 stars when I need it?

I want to be super clear — I don’t mind apps that have ads. It’s a great way to support developers. This isn’t that. If you want to use certain portions of the app (such as the satellite view of the hurricanes) you need to watch a video ad. No problem at all— normally. For these ads, however, the skip ad button simply doesn’t work. So you either download the advertise app, or you can’t move on. There are also multiple pop ups on the screen that make it challenging to even see what’s happening with the ad. Until the in-app ads are more even-handed, responsive and can be skipped eventually if I’m not interested, I’m moving to another app. It’s a bummer, I’ve been using it for a while. 😢

I’ve had a heck of time trying to find a reliable hurricane tracker that quickly gives relevant information and isn’t considered a premium feature. (I mean, really? Tracking a hurricane is a “perk” and not a “completely necessary thing for my safety”?) The app is fairly bare bones, but it’s well designed and makes it easy to find current and historic data. I highly recommend giving it a download if you live in a hurricane zone!