NOAA Weather Radio Reviews

NOAAWeatherRadio allows you to to get a live stream of any NOAA Weather Radio in the US, plus some Canada and tropical radio feeds as well. It also allows you to receive weather alerts that you customize for your specific county or other location of interest. Here is the only thing I wish there was a workaround for: Part of why I purchased NOAAWeatherRadio is so I can have it wake me up if there is severe weather or flash flooding at night. I typically turn my phone on airplane mode when I go to sleep, and it doesn’t look like alerts will come through when the phone is on airplane mode. So, on nights where there is severe weather or flooding expected, it looks like I will need to keep my phone off of airplane mode, but then will also need to temporarily turn other notifications for email, texts, and phone calls off so that if there is a severe weather warning at night, it can wake me up and I don’t have to worry about text messages waking me up! Also, you have the option of paying an additional 99 cents as an in-app purchase for additional information on the products issued by the NWS/SPC for your area, which is very helpful.

Here is my story,

I downloaded NOAAWeatherRadio in anticipation for Hurricane Irma. I went to use NOAAWeatherRadio and it was locked in to the loading screen, I thought this meant it would work in a time of need. Once we lost power and the storm was ramping up to its worst, I opened NOAAWeatherRadio and waited 1 min for it to connect to a radio in my area. No luck, I figured I would try again when I received power. When I did get power same issue occurred. We faired ok and I downloaded my local news app. We used it for the next 2 days (day of storm and luckily the 23.5 hours of no power.) I reached out to the Noaa people to notify them of my troubles and ask for a refund if $4.99. I am not a fan of paying for apps unless it is a necessity. This seemed critical so I forked over the $5 for an app that I would use possibly once a year. When asking for a refund Chris (the CEO) asked what I experienced and what channel was having issues. He responded that his team would be working to fix the issue. Although that is kind I would still like a refund and responded this. I have not heard from him in roughly 2 weeks. At the end of the day if NOAAWeatherRadio had worked when and how it was supposed to then I would not mind the $5 being spent. The fact that I used a free local news weather app and it did a significantly better job is frustrating. I would rather donate the $5 to them then spend it on NOAAWeatherRadio.

I got NOAAWeatherRadio for the purpose of having the NOAA radio weather at my fingertips whenever I wanted it. Recently I’ve owned an emergency crank radio which had NOAA weather on it and I love having the computer-generated voice reciting the forecast - for some reason I find it immensely soothing. Listening to that voice tell me the weather for my area (or, more specifically, the area in which I may be in at any given moment in time) is something I find both useful and pleasing to my ears. Within a few minutes of paying for and downloading NOAAWeatherRadio I began to look around at the radio stations in my region and of the dozen or so stations “available” in my region only two of them delivered on a forecast and one was for a location on the other side of the country!
Since I am writing this review during a pandemic and everything is slow to change (or slow to be fixed if it is broken or not working properly) I will hunker down with NOAAWeatherRadio and give it time to start working the way I want it to work. If it does not start to work correctly, however, my review could change.

I’ve been trying to find a free and easy way to listen to weather radio in Hawaii. You would think that, in this day and age, our government would provide a simple web link that you could click on, bookmark and return to easily that would play your local weather radio station. But no. Millions of tax dollars cannot figure that out. So I finally I decided to spring for this $3.99 app after failing to find a website or free app that does the job. (There used to be a free one that worked about 60% of the time but I can’t find it again). This one works 100% of the time, remembers my location and my favorite station and opens right to it when I want to listen. It even plays nicely in the background with other apps while I read email, the news, check the waves, etc. It also plays nicely with the iPhone timer app and stops playing after a set period of time. Love that robot voice to doze off to. Anyway, highly recommended, at least for my purposes. Aloha.

I downloaded this per the advice of our local weatherman, who is nothing short of a local legend after 24+ hours solid reporting during the Tuscaloosa tornado of April 28, 2011, a day I will never forget!!
No matter how tech savvy you may or may not be, NOAAWeatherRadio will work for you. It's very intuitive, and has lots of information with networks that span the entire nation, yet deliver accurate and timely local weather. I have alarms set for my location, as well as those of my children, and other relatives who are scattered across the country. The warnings wake me up before any other communication stream. I find NOAAWeatherRadio to be more reliable and user friendly than my NOAA weather radio. All this, and I am using the free version!
If you are worried, as I am, about your cell dying during a weather disaster, just keep a few power banks continuously charged..... you need them anyway. Don't wait.... if I can use NOAAWeatherRadio, so can you.

Weather radio is still a super easy and reliable way to get important weather information quickly, particularly when you don’t want or can’t be glued to your screen. NOAAWeatherRadio lets you hear the radio if you have data, which is more reliable than radio signals these days. It also allows you to see the 7 day forecast, see the current weather stats, read warning information, and generally streamlines information that can be challenging to dig out of the NOAA website.

This is an app that does exactly what it claims to, and does it very well.

The only thing that holds me back from a 5 star rating is the lack of a way to pay to fully upgrade NOAAWeatherRadio in one purchase. I don’t mind paying for additional features, they’re worth it and the developer needs to make a living like the rest of us. I just appreciate being able to do so 1x when possible, as opposed to when new features are added.

After buying and installing NOAAWeatherRadio I began the easy process of setting up the weather stations I wanted to use. Strike one happens when the Wilmington, OH KILN is not on the list. This directly affects my location as NWS alerts for Fayette, Franklin, Wayne and Union Counties in Indiana are issued from Wilmington. Strike two happened when Union County Indiana was not even in the list of places and strike three happened when there was no listing for the NWS radio operating in Richmond, IN.
So with all that why the four stars? Well otherwise NOAAWeatherRadio is very well designed and laid out. Any link I clicked worked well and it looks good on my iPhone 8+. I’ve still not heard how an alert sounds but considering the severe weather in my area I expect that to change soon.
Hopefully NOAAWeatherRadio will be updated soon to fill in the missing items.

I have always enjoyed listening to NOAA Weather Radio.
Especially when my family and I lived in Dallas Texas in 1978-‘79!
My Granddad, on dad’s side of the family, had this:
4”W x 4”D x 4”T square Radio Shack™️ battery powered weather radio with a switch underneath it for good (or) better reception mode, a telescoping 12” antenna, volume knob and long white on/off bar across the top side.
Anyhow, I’m 55 years old now, but back in the 1960’s & 70’s NOAA Weather Radio Stations were ‘staffed’ with live, male, broadcasters..call me a geek...but their voices could put an elephant to sleep. The broadcaster’s voice is “computer animated” these day’s and new (Radio Shack™️) NOAA Weather Radio’s are all but impossible to come by these days, but, thank the ‘Higher Powers’ that be that there’s the NOAA Weather Radio “app” that’s still available from “An” App Store 🏬 to that’s available to use ‘with’ (or) ‘without’ an “Old~Timmie” - NOAA Weather Radio!

NOAAWeatherRadio tells the weather and when there’s severe weather in the area I check it immediately and it tells me what’s going on, plus, I can listen to the weather radio too. I love that! And it shows what’s going in the whole world plus it shows the radar for the area! The only thing I don’t like about it is that I have some weather radios and I compare it to the weather narrater and it is not synced with the narrater talking, which means it is not live. Next thing is that when I got NOAAWeatherRadio , it was doing the notifications just fine. But now it started to give me some notifications but not all. I have all alerts checked and active, but I don’t know why it started doing that. If you set those to the side, I love NOAAWeatherRadio so much, thank you creator for making NOAAWeatherRadio I love it!

I’ve had NOAAWeatherRadio for at least 4-5 years and I keep a certain set (3) counties with push notifications turned on for various categories but specifically for Tornado Watches & Warmings because I live in Tornado Alley... Thanks to the early alerts I received from NOAAWeatherRadio & all the updates, we stayed safe on several close call situations; such as the recent 2020 Tornado that destroyed a lot of our county & surrounding counties & the same thing that happened when we had a F5 Tornado April 27, 2011... it was terrible... But NOAAWeatherRadio kept me up to date and sent me watches & warnings with details so I knew more what to expect. Good thing cause of electricity went out and if I hadn’t had my phone with NOAAWeatherRadio & alerts, I’m not sure if things would have turned out the same for my family & I.

Weather radios have been around a while but for some reason I don’t have one. I think I might have lost mine in the divorce. Who knows. Anyway, I’m getting older and live alone and I’ve cut the cable so I don’t watch TV. I’ve realized (mostly because my daughter has pestered me) that I need to be more aware of what’s going on weather wise. Enter NOAAWeatherRadio!! It’s really cool. And I get to pick which areas I want to monitor. Did I mention I live in an area that has lots of tornadoes? Yeah. With NOAAWeatherRadio I can monitor specific counties. When monitoring tornado activity, it’s important to know what’s going on not just in your county but in the counties west of you. Plus I can monitor the weather where my daughter lives - in another state! Good job, app developer!

I have always relied on my NOAA Radio app for alerts. It’s always kept me aware of inclement weather in the areas I have selected. During the recent tornado outbreak April 2019, an alert woke me from a sound sleep. Upon investigation, I found I was ground zero for a tornado in my community. The alert gave my family time to get to our safe space just as the wind picked up dramatically as the tornado approached. Fifteen minutes after the NOAA Radio alert, it was all over. Our house escaped damage but there were some huge limbs down. We realized it could have been different, but with the alerts from the NOAA Radio app, we’re always prepared and can even alert others since we have settings for other places in the USA where we have family. I think it should be installed on every phone.

The name of NOAAWeatherRadio is a bit of a misnomer. It offers so much more than weather radio. NOAAWeatherRadio offers multiple weather radio stations for most states, plus Canada, as well as one NHC Tropical Weather station.

I have set up notifications to receive weather warnings for my county as well as the many counties that surround me, where weather likely comes from. My expensive weather radio that I bought years ago has never worked effectively, so NOAAWeatherRadio has taken it’s place and shown my weather radio up.

NOAAWeatherRadio is great for the serious weather fan, but it is especially helpful for those in the path of dangerous weather. It offers so many different types of information: National radar map: geographical weather maps; active watches and warnings; lightening detection maps; forecast maps; forecast offices; sector radars; storm prediction center; storm prediction center links; marine forecasts; Great Lakes marine forecasts, etc. NOAAWeatherRadio is so thorough that it is my go-to for bad weather, both for where I live and where all my loved ones live.

For anyone serious about weather, this is is a must-have app.

As a farmer and professional driver I’ve relied on NOAA weather radio for over 35 years now. Before the era of smart phones and their accompanying apps I kept a pocket-sized Motorola radio in every truck and tractor I owned. And you know what... I still do; you can’t go wrong having a dependable backup just like you can’t go wrong by adding the NOAA Weather Radio app to your mobile device. Don’t get caught in a freak snowstorm or in the path of a tornado because you didn’t want to invest in a reliable forecast and live weather app. Download the NOAA Weather Radio app today. And while you’re at it, check out all of the digital weather tools NOAA offers. If you’re like me, they’ll be on your phone faster than your meemaw can unbutton her overalls. Oh, and while you’re there, tell ‘em Truckin’ Todd sent you!

I work at a factory in Wichita Kansas. NOAAWeatherRadio helps keep up to date with the rapidly changing weather conditions. As a voiceover user I must say NOAAWeatherRadio is pretty easy to use. Most of the weather apps I have used in the past required me to jump through a few hoops in order for me to check the conditions. The only thing i wish that there was some kind of verbal announcement after the alert sound. For example, after the severe thunderstorm warning sound is played the next thing you would hear is "Severe thunderstorm warning "or "tornado warning." Mostly not a big deal to look at my phone after hearing the alert sound but would be nice for the times when I can't get to my phone because my hands are busy at work.

NOA weather radio has been a big part of my life when it comes to weather. As a child I would love to add the weather radio frequency to my 2 meter radio and listen in whenever the weather is bad in my local area. Just found out a few days ago that NOAAWeatherRadio is pretty much the same thing. It’s nice to tune in still when I’m not in my vehicle and don’t have to bring the hand radio with me to hear what’s going on. How cool is it in the 21st century you don’t have to have a ham radio or buy a weather radio at the store to listen in anymore. Though I’m more traditional it’s nice to see how how times have change. No issues listening in!! Can’t complain at all!

During 2016 was able to use NOAAWeatherRadio on my I phone and my iPad. Was extremely pleased as I am a farmer and it is the most dependable weather service available as far as accuracy. For some reason in 2017 I am unable to use the location from Lubbock Texas . It simply spins "Connecting " but never buffers. The Amarillo connection works every time . Other locations work , but never Lubbock or Plainview. I have tried to delete NOAAWeatherRadio and renew it but nothing helps. It is absolutely not functional as far as the radio broadcast. Of course it brings up the page that can be viewed but I need the verbal feature. When working properly it is the same quality as the weather radio in my tractors. I need this feature to work. Otherwise my purchase of NOAAWeatherRadio is now a waste. Currently I would give it no stars.
And here we are in 2020 still doesn’t have the radio function , just continual buffering .

The NOAA Weather Radio app is my go to for all things weather related. My initial motivation for making this purchase was to access the radio feature to hear detailed reports about the weather in my area. To that end NOAAWeatherRadio has completely satisfied my expectations. I somehow find hearing the radio forecasts to be a more complete way of understanding the entire picture of the weather that is to come. However, NOAAWeatherRadio includes additional details that make it truly remarkable. The variety of maps that are available make NOAAWeatherRadio well worth its purchase. If you are interested in weather beyond the simple data of temperature and wind speed I would highly recommend NOAAWeatherRadio to you.

What a great find this NOAA weather program is! Just about any location you want to monitor from a distance right down to your doorstep it’s in this program. Want to watch the weather away from home on the road? Covered! Family in far off location and you worry about their weather conditions? Covered! Need to know the weather for a fishing locale? Covered! If you only have one weather program this should be it. If you are a weather watcher this program should be in with your other weather tools. Fantastic program! You will be delighted with all of these features for in-depth researching the weather around you and in far off places as well. This is a great weather program!

When I first got the application I set it up to give me the weather and warnings for the counties and states surrounding my location, it's been phenomenal, no last minutes preparation for the weather. I'm always well aware of my surroundings and what to expect.
The Spark option is a most have, not only for your own safety but that of your loved ones and friends. This isn't just an application, this application can be the difference between life and death, when used right.
I use it throughout the day even in the most beautiful blue sky days, because so many things are weather related, not just clouds and rain. Thanks for your thoughtfulness in preparing this awesome, dependable life saving application...Rey Torres

Fixed it...

On the alerts page, it tells you to swipe left or press edit to turn on/off notifications or to delete selected locations. Are your locations grayed out? Mine were. Using edit, only lets you delete the locations. If you swipe left on them, you’ll notice a button to actually turn the notification on or off. There must’ve been a version that added this feature and defaulted them to off, because I know that I never turned them off myself... I turned them back on this way, and now instead of being grayed out, they’re bold n black / asserted. About an hour later, since there is weather going on, I got my first alert after doing this. If you’re having the same issue, give it a try. It may make you love NOAAWeatherRadio again...

Now just can’t hear the weather radio audio. Just spins. The radar takes a bit to load as well. NOAAWeatherRadio needs some updates, but at least Iam getting the alerts again...😁