No-one likes waking up on a work morning to a storm, or going out to work without a coat only to find that there is a downpour at noon.
Let’s face it: the weather gets in our way almost every day, and the majority doesn’t have the time in the morning to await the weather update on the news.
Unlike the iPhone, the iPad doesn’t include a weather app right out of the box, so it takes a bit of searching on the App Store before you can find what’s right for you.
Fortunately, we’re here to save you the hassle; here’s the very best weather apps for iPad.
We’ll be offering you our take, followed by a user review from the iTunes store.
Dark Sky – £2.99
Dark Sky is most notable for its beautiful design, following suit to the standards of iOS 7 and beyond; it features bright, vibrant colours and strong glass-style blurs over items that are in the background.
It’s this focus on the UI that earns it a spot on this list; it has some incredibly impressive animations and runs extremely well whilst still retaining hugely impressive functionality.
Dark Sky can tell you the exact time- to the minute- that rain will start and then when it’ll stop. From testing we’ve found this to be extremely accurate, too; scarily so.
The downside to Dark Sky is that it costs £2.99. For some this price tag may be a little high, but if you have the cash to spare then it’s wholeheartedly recommended.
“This app is ideal. It has all the weather information you’d need set in a very simple yet effective layout, as well as being very aesthetically pleasing.” – Icelighter, iTunes
The Weather Channel – Free
The Weather Channel app for iPad is similar to DarkSky in that it has a very nicely designed user interface. It features similar blurs and colours as you’d expect from a modern app for iOS.
This app can show you the forecast for the whole week ahead in morning, afternoon and evening categories, along with the classic “feels like” temperatures.
What sets The Weather Channel apart is that it’s based around an actual news channel, meaning that there are video reports from the majority of areas when serious weather conditions are about to occur. This is extremely handy if you don’t want to have to navigate through loads of menu’s to find out about the extremes.
Another bonus is that this app is completely free to use with only a single unobtrusive banner ad for The Weather Channel’s website at the bottom.
“This app provides good basic weather information like all other weather apps in a zillion different websites. I used it several times today and have been using it for four years.” – JWalkerNH, iTunes
Yahoo Weather – Free
People laugh at Yahoo a lot; but the fact of the matter is that they produce some strikingly fantastic apps.
Yahoo Weather is no exception. This sleekly designed app has all of the functionality that you’d expect from weather software along with information on pressure, humidity, moon phases and tides.
It also features animated weather graphics and pulls local images for display on each location you have the app set up for.
Finally, what makes Yahoo Weather a cut above the rest is the inclusion of live maps that display heat zones, clouds and wind speeds across the world. These aren’t forced on the user and so don’t interfere with the “at a glance” style of the software. It’s as in depth as you want it to be, and that means that it caters to everyone.
The Yahoo weather app is completely free to use with unobtrusive banner ads.
“Overall a good design and accurate , it’s better than apples weather app, I’m impressed.” – Bigdee007
Clear Day – $3.99
Clear Day has been around for 5 years (previously under the name “Weather HD”) and was one of the first apps to offer beautifully designed HD graphics, a global quick view option and deeply integrated gestures.
Much like Yahoo Weather (above), it pulls local images and then overlays them with the current weather condition; be it rain, snow, sun, storm, mist; just about anything is catered for and has been built up over its long lifespan.
Most notable of this app is the inclusion of a 3D globe system that can show clouds, temperature, a radar and live tweets about the weather to validate that its information is correct.
While the UI doesn’t follow suit with iOS’ new design scheme, it still looks beautifully modern and operates well for touch. The user interface is the real focus of this app, and at no point does it compromise.
Clear Day costs $3.99 which, again, is a shame for those who can’t afford it, but the lack of advertising within the app means that there isn’t a constant distraction (which is probably well worth $3.99!)
“This app is largely a winner, with top-notch functionality and stunning animations.” – A.RoodAwakening, iTunes
Check The Weather – $2.99
Check The Weather is an odd one.
Where other apps focus on UI design, Check The Weather focuses on functionality. This turns out to be a good thing rather than a bad thing.
The UI is a “clean”, black-on-white design with very little to prove. The information that it provides is vast, however, and instant radar maps show pressure, cloud cover, temperature, humidity, as well as using graphs to show rainfall and temperature.
It isn’t pretty, but it gets the job done. The high contrast on the colour choices may make this a much more usable app for those who are hard of sight than any other, which is why it earns a spot on this list.
Check The Weather costs $2.99, a bit less than most other weather apps.
“Works well and has replaced a number of other apps for quick checks of the weather.” – cchelberg, iTunes
Weather Caster – Free
Weather Caster is a superb app in all definitions of the word.
It’s nicely designed, not in a way that conforms to iOS’ design but a way that looks and feels extremely nice, and provides more information than any other app on this list. At a glance, too; no gestures or finding hidden buttons here.
Weather Caster features everything that you could ever need: a 7-day forecast, “at a glance” viewing of other locations, satellite radar maps and most impressively: video reports for major cities and locations.
A nice additional feature is that Weather Caster will push notifications to you when you choose: these can be triggered for particularly hot conditions, storms or general weather alerts. This means that you’re informed throughout your entire day.
Best of all, Weather Caster is free to use!
“I haven’t played with this app much but so far it seems far better than any other weather app I have tried. I like the way it say things like, ‘rain for the next four minutes.’” – SpookyDCat, iTunes
Who wins?
Amongst a plethora of fantastic weather apps, it’s hard to choose the best. It’s quite situational, as different people will have different tastes; for example, if you don’t mind slightly less information than other apps nor small banner ads, Yahoo Weather is perfect.
But, for some, the advertising will be a huge annoyance, so they may be more inclined to pay a small amount for an ad-less experience. If that’s the case, then it’s up to them to decide if they prefer the iOS stylings of Dark Sky or the modern interface of Clear Day.
Whatever your choice, you’ll be getting to the minute information from verified sources with any app on this list. Why not try a couple before settling?