Apps with Storm Forecast: Keep dry!

You probably know. The afternoon after a hot day starts to get overwhelming. A gray sky appears in the distance. Some hums can even be heard. There you are, in the middle of the heath. With a potentially annoying scenario coming your way slowly but surely.

Could you prevent this? Often. Really, let’s focus on this storm. They are usually either very local phenomena or part of a strong storm front. The latter is announced in regular weather reports, the former is more difficult to predict in the long run.

Fortunately, the development of such a spontaneous mood is easy to follow. And that’s why it’s best to be warned – even if it’s only half an hour in advance. In this case, you need an app that shows lightning strikes, for example. You will often see discharges somewhere nearby where you can also follow the direction of the storm.

Then – literally – you’ll soon know if you’re getting wet on the top of your head. If a storm develops not far from you, it’s time to take shelter. Just make sure you have a roof over your head.

The following apps help with this.

The LiveLightning app for iOS/iPadOS is ideal for watching live lightning strikes worldwide. An equal worldwide network of radio receivers has been set up for this purpose. Each impact location can be determined very accurately by simple triangulation. Nice detail: it’s a great luck that he calculated the area of ​​influence of stations on the other side of the world; distance ensures even more accurate positioning.

Anyway, the app is simple: launch it and if there is lightning nearby you will see it in the form of red balls. The brighter red, the newer. If the spot is red with a white border around it, then it’s a vibrant effect. Practice is the alert option in the bottom bar. Here you can set the distance to be warned in case of lightning. For example, if you set it to 30 kilometers and you get a message, then it may be time to see if the downpour is coming. And if so: seek shelter immediately.

An app like this is perfect for a vacation where you don’t know the local weather at all. For example, heavy thunderstorms often occur in the mountains at certain times of the day. If you are in such an area for the first time, you can be warned in time. This can be lifesaving, especially in more uninhabitable areas. Or check the effects live on the website: https://map.blitzortung.org/.

Another typical ‘real time’ alert application is Storm Radar. In principle, we recommend using the free version of it. The premium version costs € 1.99 per week. Subscribing to it for a full year is perhaps a bit of an exaggeration and expensive.

Of course you can only go for a certain period of time, but experience shows that people are often forgetful about stopping these subscriptions. Especially if it’s about an app used at certain times of the year. The advantage of a subscription is that you get various extras, including lightning strikes. It saves an app somewhere, just the way you want it.

Much more interesting are the weather alerts, which also work perfectly in the free version. You are properly notified of heat, hurricanes, severe weather, rain, frost, snow and much more. In addition, live radar images can also be viewed – also in the free version – predicted several hours in advance in the form of an animation. In short: it must be very strange to be hit by a (somewhat unexpected) severe airstrike with this app at your side.

For a more streamlined forecast, WeatherPro (app available for Android and iOS) is highly recommended. It is an application that has proven its reliability over many years. And it also does its business around the world.

You can get a carefree annual subscription for this, the costs are good (8.99 € per year). You will get an extremely accurate forecast for the next few days. It includes radar images and many other benefits.

Here, too, you can turn on notifications via settings (gear) and the switch behind Notification Center (a slightly awkwardly translated option).

Your chances of encountering unexpected weather surprises with this famous trio are pretty low. However, you should keep a few things in mind. Always check that your correct location is used when consulting the weather. Usually this positioning will work properly on its own, but if something goes wrong with this part, you may feel unduly secure or worry about nothing.

This false belief in safety can also happen if you venture into the wilderness too much. While a mobile network is available in more and more nature reserves and national parks, this is certainly not the case everywhere. Even in a dense forest – even with cell towers available here and there – connections can be disappointing. In this case, navigation satellites are also not always easily picked up from the sky. This then compromises the geolocation mentioned above. So be sure to check ‘normal’ weather forecasts like those from the WeatherPro app before you leave.

You can also use Storm Radar to view the forecast weather development in the coming hours. The further the projection in the future, the less accurate it will be. In particular, thunderstorms and associated local severe storms and even a hurricane are still difficult to predict. Therefore, a live internet connection provides extra security in that area. But don’t just blindly trust apps, trust your instincts. And if you don’t trust something, take shelter.