Weather Underground (for Android) Preview (2024)

Are you tired of The Weather Channel's bi-weekly freak outs about "megastorms?" Then Weather Underground might be for you. Weather Underground says it draws from multiple data sources, including 33,000 personal weather stations run bylocal enthusiasts. Weather Underground's Android app (free), manages to sate nerdy data hunger without sacrificing elegant design. It's an Editors' Choice forAndroid weather apps.

Stylish Data
Weather Underground is focused on delivering as much information about the weather as possible, as quickly as possible. Thanks to a recent redesign, Weather Underground's weather data is more artful than ever. The default view is a white background and black text but I recommend the alternate mode's black background for easier viewing.

Your current location, the location of the nearest reporting weather station, current temperature, high and low temperatures, conditions, wind direction and speed, precipitation, and a radar map are all packed into the app's main page. Weather Underground collects its weather data from numerous sources around the country, and the app automatically selects the one closest to you. However, you can tap some blue text under your current location to select whichever weather station you prefer. Neat.

Below that option are several movable sections for extended or hourly forecasts, an enlarged radar map, in-depth information on conditions, sunrise and sunset times, moon-phase information, and a textual (as opposed to numbers and graphics) extended forecast. You can reorder these components however you like, but you won't be able to remove any. An overflow button lets you access local weather radio, ski reports, and hurricane maps.

Tapping the magnifying glass pulls up your favorite locations and lets you search for new ones. There's a quick overview of the weather for those locations, but I wish I could just swipe left and right to see more information. For planning a trip, it's a bit awkward. I much preferred how The Weather Channel for iPhone and 1Weather for Android handled locations.

By far my favorite feature is the current conditions and hazards, which lets you add your own voice to the mix. Mine says the weather in Murray Hill (the neighborhood in New York City where I work from PCMag's offices) is overcast, but it looks clear to me. With a few taps on my Samsung Galaxy S4 Active, I can submit my own observations. It also includes a comparative forecast in text, usually something like "tomorrow is forecast to be warmer than today." That's critical information, and the sentence format conveys it quickly and easily.

Fans of the Weather Underground website will find most of what they're looking for, except for long-term wind-direction forecasts and historical data. You'll have to deal with some small banner ads, but that's a minor inconvenience.

The Wundermap
Weather Underground clearly considers its WunderMap a central feature, as it's linked to in at least three places. This composite map shows radar, temperature, precipitation, crowd reports, IR satellite data, wind, and weather fronts on Google Maps. You can also animate it to see weather in motion.

The Wundermap is a handy tool, albeit a bit overwhelming. Pilots, amateur astronomers, and weather nerds will certainly appreciate it. The rest of us will just check if that big storm is headed our way.

Widgets
The Weather Underground's app and service are one thing, but most people will probably get their weather information through widgets. With this app, you get three. The largest widget is a resizable weather map, with a base size of 2 by 2 slots on your Android's desktop. But I didn't much care for the weather-map widget and found the other two much more useful and tastefully designed. The 2 by 2 widget includes a three-day forecast, while the 1 by 1 shows just the current conditions. You can configure all but the WunderMap widget to display a custom location, in case you need to quickly check the weather in San Francisco while you're in Reykjavik.

Weather Underground also tucks weather info into your notification tray and the notification bar. Just about every weather app does this, but I liked the style of Weather Underground's little forecasts the best.

Mostly Sunny
What sets Weather Underground apart from the competition is its focus on raw weather information and user involvement. You won't find breaking stories or lifestyle videos here. I really like that you can quickly add your own observations from the main page. Additionally, the ability to choose your weather station plays to Weather Underground's strengths. I'd like easier access to multiple locations, though.

Weather Underground marries design and function in a lovely app that gives you everything you need, and quickly. It's a solid Editors' Choice for Android weather applications.