WeatherBug Elite Reviews

by KB Traveler

I have used WeatherBug ever since Automated Weather Source first developed it. Unfortunately something has changed and I find the quality of its actual and forecast weather to have declined, especially in the last year. Yesterday was the perfect example with WeatherBug showing 0% chance of rain for every hour of the day, while we experienced constant rain showers instead.

What I didn’t know was that AWS sold WeatherBug to Ground Truth (xAd). Their website describes themselves as the “largest location-based advertising platform in the world”. Yep their business model is all about selling your phone’s location information (even when WeatherBugElite is closed) - not providing you excellent/accurate weather forecasting. Sad because AWS had a great weather model, collaborating with educational institutions and local communities such as my own. So if your business/occupation is like mine and you require accurate weather forecasting, maybe it is time to look elsewhere.

by 1_DaveT

Weatherbug use to be a very useful daily info app in my life, with reliable weather alerts that I depended upon. Now it serves as an uncontrollable daily alarm clock to wake us up and numb us to weather alerts that we depended upon, such as tornado warnings. Every morning I get a Pollen Alert, through the same push alert mechanism used by real weather alerts. There is no way to turn this off except by disabling all push alerts (which would include disabling tornado warnings). Presuming this might have been some insidious scheme by an allergy medication sponsor, I deleted Weatherbug app and spent $10 to get the non-advertiser sponsored "Elite" version. Nope, the daily Pollen Alerts occur there too, also with no way to stop it. Pollen alerts occur even on days when there is nothing but rain for the day. I must now consider abandoning this weather app altogether. Humans need to sleep. I have written the developer three times, and found that to be a little better than broadcasting radio transmissions into a black hole.

by TeeBoune

July, 2020: Still a zero-star app in my opinion. I like to try it out every few months to see if it has improved. Nope, still zero.

Another update: Current temperature is 63 degrees at 7pm. Hourly forecast shows temperature for 7pm should be 78 degrees. This is a 15 degree difference. How can WeatherBugElite supposedly be so accurate for other reviewers and yet be so inaccurate for my area for the last several months? I find myself looking at the forecast in WeatherBugElite just to get a laugh.

Update: The forecast for Baton Rouge, Louisiana has in recent weeks been off. It is now way off, calling for freezing temperatures.

I have contacted you recently about this and you give me a canned “thanks for your concern and support “ reply, yet nothing changes.

Your forecast is so inaccurate and unreliable, it is both comical and pathetic.

Please fix your forecast for my area OR REFUND MY SUBSCRIPTION. WeatherBugElite is totally unusable for me.

Original review: Current and forecasted temperatures are off by 10 to 20°. Hourly rain forecast is usually zero percent for the next several hours until it starts raining and then it magically changes to 90 or 100%. I have emailed the support staff and receive the generic thank you blah blah blah. I am surprised to see other reviewers reporting accurate temperatures and forecasts. Two stars for nice map and lightning strike data.

by Rellortnoc

I’ve used WeatherBug Elite and it’s earlier versions for years. For some time now, I’ve been noticing that it totally missed the forecast. Since I was a longtime user, I just put up with the inaccuracies. Friends have used other, better apps and would often know better what the weather would do. Today was the final straw. The hourly presentation showed 0% throughout the day. No hint of precipitation anywhere the WeatherBug forecast. None. Of course it was pouring rain with lightning, thunder and pea-sized hail. No hint at all from WeatherBug. NONE!!! I was getting significant weather warnings from other apps, but WeatherBug was showing sunny with 0% chance of precip. If this was just one isolated incident, I’d blow it off. But this is the norm for WeatherBug.
I gave it two stars because the radar presentation is actually quite good. I spent 30+ years as a radar air traffic controller, so I know what I’m talking about. I’m also a commercially rated pilot. I have formal education and training in meteorology.
If the radar presentation wasn’t good on WeatherBugElite I’d permanently delete it.

by Birdog65

I've used WeatherBug for years and have always enjoyed WeatherBugElite but several things don't work in Alaska. I just purchased the elite version thinking there was more functionality but it was a waste of money. In Alaska the lightning reporting feature (Spark) doesn't work. The observation section doesn't work. The UV, Pollen, and live cameras don't work. And several of the radar layers don't work. Also the only alerts I can get are watches and warnings. I cannot get special weather notices or advisories which are very important as they usually contain life threatening information when traveling in Alaska. I would also like to see the moon rise and set times as a nice feature. To really add pain to this purchase is that I get ALL of this information on the Free Weather Underground app. I just don't like the way they have it laid out.

by VdrSain

Had WeatherBugElite for years now and overall and generally very happy with it. It does always seem to have some issues though. Some of these were fixed it seems with this big update (map animation for one) but nit sure how I like the overall format. I don't like that you can no longer swipe between your saved locations. There also seems to be a bug with my main location. There are a couple in my town, and even when I switch to my preferred one, the "now" screen indicates it's the other one, so I'm not sure what to trust. May be a small thing to some but my preferred station is literally a few hundred yards from my house and especially wind data is important to me.

by Pianolele10

I have had WeatherBugElite for many years but just kept it in a folder. I never really looked at it because it just didn’t seem up to par. I opened it up just a couple of weeks ago and WOW! There have been lots of changes! I actually moved it out of my folder and into the dock for easier access. I also have it in my widgets. I love WeatherBugElite now! I especially love that I can see the pollen/allergy level and what it is. Thank you for the improvements Weather Bug! One thing I would like to see different is the ability to “multi-layer” on the radar.

by ArtH1960

I love Weather Bug. I can not only keep
track of the weather in mine and surrounding area but I can keep track of the weather where my family is. I like how i can have an idea what the weather is going to be like in up coming days. I always put in the cities I’ll be traveling through so if there are any bad storms and lightning happening as I travel through those areas it alerts me to them. I also appreciate the pollen alerts. All of my family uses Weather Bug and I told many of my friends about it.

by Solzia

I've used WeatherBug Elite for many years and much preferred the interface of it vs the newer WeatherBug app. While I was glad to see it's been updated, as I've been getting warnings about it being an old app that could slow down my phone, it is harder to see the information. (1) the darker background of the old version was better; (2) now more 'white' space on the 10-day tab so you see less days on the screen without scrolling; (3) most annoying is the huge space right below the current temperature!
Otherwise, I like we can reorganize the tiles. Why I still like WeatherBugElite : very pleased with the weather conditions info, forecast, weather alerts. What really appeals to me is that WeatherBug uses local weather stations-ours is at the elementary school a mile away.

by Just2koolkats

I have been a WeatherBug user for years and am so glad to see that they have finally updated the elite version. What an update!
The interface is much more user friendly! You can scroll down through the main page for a quick glance to all the features and have the ability to reorder those features to suit your viewing preferences. (In future updates, I hope they add the ability to add/delete features.) It's a quick touch to bring up the maps which are greatly improved and one of my personal favorites Spark... a must for living in lightning alley!

by Gitarzz

I picked up Weather Bug seven or eight years ago. I used it to track storms in Arizona and New Mexico. I was driving trucks in that area. It worked great. Had more information than I needed but it had what I needed.

I decided to take an office job for a government services company and during that period of time I didn’t need so much info so I went back to using the free app that comes with the iPhone. Well, seeing the same four walls every day was driving me nuts so I decided to go back on the road. The free app wasn’t going to cut it.

I installed weather bug again and it’s really a lifesaver. The improvements they made over those years really make WeatherBugElite shine. There’s some really valuable information for people like me who travel the roads a great deal. Especially the satellite motion overlays like wind speed, precipitation, temperatures, storm tracker, etc. I’ve driven over 3,000,000 miles without an accident and I believe Weather Bug is an invaluable tool to help me reach 4,000,000 miles.

I highly recommend WeatherBugElite.

by Tamanzi

After having killed the ability to move the home screen cards into an order that suited you, WeatherBug has now restored that functionality. Sometimes I wonder what developers are thinking when they remove customization functionality. Living in Southwest Florida, I don't want to have to hunt down the card with the lightning data when the sky turns black. And air quality may be of importance to some in this area during fire season — so that's when that card may move to the top. Different strokes for different seasons. So, thanks. And all in all, a great, accurate, customizable weather app.

by Black Rifle 556

I’ve been using this for years, I don’t think any weather prediction app can we perfect, because it is, the weather. However, I can look at the radar and see what’s coming. Their long term prediction seems to be better than national news, and right on par with local news. I like the fact that I can quickly look at multiple places and save those places because I have family there or I travel to those places often. Can it get better? Of course, what can’t. Maybe a section for icefishing, telling me how thick the ice should be! Other than that, not bad.

by Fenderhead27

I’ve been using the original WeatherBug and then the Elite version for years. I’m a weather fanatic and have numerous weather apps. But Weather Bug is always the one I use at least 3-4 times a day.

My brother lives in a very small town in Australia but setting up my WeatherBug for his location was a no-brainer. I was amazed to see that WB uses a weather station located a few miles from his home and provides me the same sort of weather info as my own location in the US.

If you don’t have WeatherBug, you really won’t know your weather. (And yes, the Elite version is worth it IMHO.)

by Birdrr

I admire different features in different weather apps. I suppose it’s human nature to have favorites. WeatherBug is my favorite for hourly weather at my place. When I am taking a road trip this hourly data at a fixed location is less interesting than more regional coverage. Other apps do a better job here. Only one app gives me an overview of surface winds over a wide region ... and sadly it is no longer supported. We need a weather app that can be user programmed from bits and pieces of our favorites. I would start with WeatherBug and end up with something very different. Suppose we each would craft our own ideal weather app. Good luck.

by Raptureous

I like everything about weatherbug elite. There are a few things that I don’t use as often as others but it’s easy to use. I just scroll down and get the information and I’m ready to go. I like the way this is laid out for us non-techy readers.

Here are my favorites:
1. Now - temp, feel like, low. If I’m going out, good thing to know right at the top of the screen
2. We have our map set at radar. Able to see what’s moving into our area
3. Wind - let’s us know whether to wear a hat or rake leaves
4. Humidity - screens or air conditioning
5. Dew point - an additional help to humidity
6. Featured videos are not important to me
7. Traffic cams - I have read reviews of people that like this feature, especially since they drive to work
8. Air quality - I like this feature. You can tell a difference, especially after it rains or a temperature drop
9. Lighting - I have used this feature especially when a system is moving in to give me a pretty accurate time frame for getting dishes washed and taking a shower. That’s all for now!

by BethesdaMD111

We are an “outdoors” family that relies on Weatherbug for guidance every day. It has an amazing set of assists well packaged for wonderful ease of use. We use the weekly overview, the detailed daily description, and the hourly views with a single tap. The Alerts provide timely updates for weather advisories and warnings. As a sailor the wind info is indispensable. For snow/ice the traffic cams give video of road conditions around our house and at the destination selected. The radar real-time motion shows 100% accurate view where 1hr of motion is displayed allowing very accurate up-to-the minute ability to estimate rain/snow etc. arrival. We love WeatherBugElite and it really improves our quality of life. Thanks Weatherbug developers - great job!

by Teapc

I have found the Weather Bug App to be the most consistent way to keep myself informed of the weather in my area. I love having the ability to rearrange the content in order of what I care about most. There is only one small thing that frustrates me and it is not truly important just annoying. I cannot find a way to read the complete title of the really great Storyful videos. It will read something like, “Dangerous storm appears to...” and it would be nice to know the full title. It is a trivial thing but it feels when your phone loses power in the middle of a conversation or a game app. Other than that small annoyance it is a great app I use everyday.

by Tburgueso

This has become the weather app that I use on a daily basis, no matter where I am in the world. WeatherBugElite never gets weird: no crashes, no freezes, no formatting errors which paint information overlapping or beyond the window’s boundaries. They seem to adhere to the old fashioned idea of testing before releasing. The forecasts are neither more nor less probably correct than those from any other model. This Elite version has no ads, and while the overall esthetic is not something that I find beautiful, it allows me access to the information which I seek without making me jump through hoops to find it. Good as any, and better than most — especially better than the other half-dozen weather apps I have installed.

by Kommandohund

First off disregard all reviews of less than 3 stars as they are rubbish written by morons. Have tried all of the best professional paid weather apps. This one is the best as of 2017 for iphone. Some others are close. This has info laid out well. Has all needed info. Alerts are good. Very configurable. If you have a rock bottom cheapo phone with no memory then buy a decent phone. Although WeatherBugElite takes less memory than many. Its not a problem. And you do not need to use clouds. It will find any location or you can enter it. Has very good radar graphics also. For ten bucks i would not be without it.

by K-Man The Movie Fan

I first got WeatherBugElite because my news/weather channel I watch recommended it. Instead of using weather data from the PDX airport which is right on the Columbia River you can select from many other weather stations. Instead of the airport six miles away I’m using the Fire Station three blocks away. Fits our microclimate perfectly. I can add various locations to see what weather friends are experiencing in another part of the world, and watch the weather in a location I’m planning to visit in another country. See the weather for the day or hourly predictions. You can use WeatherBugElite for free!

by Lynkh

It’s hard to say one prefers one weather app to another but consistently, since I got it, I like Weatherbug best. It gives you the information you want — now, hourly, next 10 days... but so do all the others. It’s right most of the time, but, and increasingly, so are all the others. There are few commercials, and the page for every device, (iPhone, tablet, etc.) are readily acceptable. You know, I’d have to say that because they never ask you if your planning a trip, because they never suggest other things you might like, et al. It is because they just never impose, that is why I like Weatherbug the best.

by Padfootgit

I have had weatherbug for years, love the new update (switched to elite a long time ago), radar works much better, the only thing I miss is not having it on my iMac anymore, it used to have a little cricket chirp that warned whenever severe storms/tornadic weather was near, and I miss that, but I have never had any problem getting back on my phone with each upgrade, and I’m in love with all the new options on this latest ‘elite’ version!! Also the option to add other cities, I can track weather where loved ones or get weather forecast for vacation area! User for life!!