I don’t like spending a lot of time inside weather apps. Instead, I’d rather just swipe down and view current and impending conditions within the Today view section of Notification Center. That’s why when looking at potential weather apps, one of my criteria is that whatever app I choose, it comes complete with widget support. Depending on what kind of weather data you need, these weather apps currently have the best weather widgets for iPhone:
Dark Sky
Up to the minute conditions
Dark Sky offers some of the best up to the minute weather forecasts available, pretty much anywhere. The app itself shows a nice 5-day forecast and a nice timeline of what you can expect over the next 24 hours.
When it comes to inclement weather, Dark Sky has been the app I trust the most for a long time. I also love the simplicity of the weather widget, and typically place it right at the top of my Today View.
It’s nothing more than a small sentence telling me what I can expect over the next hour. When driving from point A to point B, or getting ready to leave for the day, this is all I need. And since this widget is so simple, it loads a lot faster than some of the others, which you’ll appreciate in a pinch.
- $3.99 – Download
Weather Nerd
If you like having lots of options
Weather Nerd packs a powerful punch both in the app, and inside the dedicated weather widgets. Yes, I said widgets, because Weather Nerd has not only one widget, but three — hour, day, and week.
All three widgets are incredibly detailed and easy to read. My favorite is the week view and I keep it more towards the bottom of Notification Center. This way if I want to view extended forecasts with a swipe, I can. But since Notification Center loads widgets at the top first, Weather Nerd doesn’t bog down load times of other widgets I care about more.
As for the Weather Nerd app itself, it’s beautifully done and supports almost every weather forecast feature you could ask for. Most locations worldwide are supported and forecast data is pulled in from forecast.io, one of the most trusted sources.
Another nifty feature I really like that sets Weather Nerd apart is its daily comparison, which tells you how today compares to yesterday, which is nice when preparing for the day ahead.
- $3.99 – Download
CARROT Weather
Snarky weather, widget and all
CARROT Weather not only gives you the weather forecast, it also gives you attitude. And if you’re familiar with any other CARROT products, you’ll love this one (it’s actually my favorite of them all). On the main screen of CARROT Weather you’ll see a current forecast, in CARROT speak, which usually means the world is ending in some way, no matter what the weather is. You can also view forecasts and of course, add a widget to your Today View.
CARROT’s weather widget will give you a one sentence summary of the next hour as well as a nice trend line to show you what kinds of temperatures you can expect throughout the remainder of the day. The top and the bottom of the weather widget also show you highs and lows as well as current temperature.
If you don’t need anything too complicated and you could do with a little laugh each day, CARROT Weather fits the bill, and then some.
- $3.99 – Download
Weather Underground
Radar, forecasts, and more
Weather Underground is one of the most comprehensive and trusted weather apps I’ve ever come across. The app itself is well put together and provides a lot of information that many other weather apps don’t, such as pollen and ozone information. I appreciate this when it comes time for allergy season.
You get a choice of two different weather widgets with Weather Underground — radar and forecast. I don’t use the radar widget much but the forecast widget is easy to read and loads incredibly fast. It shows you what weather station it’s pulling information from, current conditions, highs and lows, and a graph of the rest of the day’s weather patterns.
As for the radar widget, just hit the play button and Weather Underground can show you current conditions right inside Notification Center, no need to launch the app itself. Whenever we have bad storms or tornado warnings, I find myself adding this widget temporarily so I can follow along more conveniently.
- Free – Download
Your pick for best weather widget for iPhone?
If you rely on a weather widget to keep you up to date faster than launching an actual app can, what one are you using? Let me know!
