Best 8 Emergency Weather Radio Apps Ranked (Stay Safe)
Site Owner & Radio Enthusiast
Weather radio apps help you tune in and stay abreast of news headlines as they arise during a disaster. Choosing the wrong one can leave you disconnected during a desperate time, which is less than ideal.
So, what goes into these apps to make them dependable?
I’ll discuss the best emergency weather radio apps, ranking my favorites. I’ll also discuss what makes an excellent emergency radio app. Stay tuned!
What Makes a Good Emergency Weather Radio App?
I ranked these apps based on their ability to provide reliable and up-to-date information. How did I identify that?
I considered the crucial features that allow these apps to perform optimally, such as:
● Real-time updates
● Location-based alerts
● User-friendly interface
● Customizable alerts
● Weather forecasts
The Best Emergency Weather Radio Apps Ranked
Now that you know what to look for in an emergency weather radio app, let’s explore the best options.
1. The NOAA Weather Radio App
The NOAA Weather Radio App is the best emergency weather radio app for a good reason. It’s like having an emergency radio on your phone!
With a network of over 200 radio stations broadcasting continuous weather updates, the NOAA Weather Radio App is a reliable source of real-time information.
The best part is that the app can access all NOAA weather band frequencies by the National Weather Service.
Since you can access these bands across the 50 US states, this app is perfect for travelers. I’m always on the road, and I appreciate the accessibility of this app.
The app’s notable key features include:
● Audio streaming
● Available for iOS and Android
● Access to multiple weather radio frequencies
2. NOAA Weather Radar Live
Second on the list is the NOAA Weather Radar Live app due to its all-in-one weather tracking capability.
After reviewing this emergency weather radio app, I enjoyed its clean design that offers various map layers to track weather conditions.
The app also features a live hurricane tracker and storm center, making it ideal for those in areas prone to tropical storms (like me as a Floridian!).
What sets this app apart is its location and events timeline feature. You can save an essential weather event for easy access.
When retrieving your saved events, you can view them alongside locations.
Other features of this app include:
● Real-time severe weather alerts
● Detailed 14-day hourly forecasts
● Precise and timely to stay updated
● Weather widgets
● Frequent radar updates
Although the app is available for free on Android and iOS, the paid version offers an ad-free experience, multiple satellite map layers, and a live hurricane tracker. I recommend it!
3. Red Cross Emergency App
The American Red Cross is known for its efforts in disaster relief. It’s only fitting that it has an emergency app on the list.
The Red Cross Emergency App is essential, as it provides real-time updates and weather alerts.
However, what sets this app apart is its high versatility. It allows you to customize up to 40 different weather alerts to match your needs and location. As someone who travels a lot, I appreciate this feature.
Its step-by-step preparation guides for various emergencies, including hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires, make it a must-have.
Other notable features include:
● Available in Spanish and English
● An easy-to-find language toggle
● Full weather alerts
● Map of nearby American Red Cross shelters
● First aid instructions to assist you in case of injuries during disasters
The app is available for both Android and iOS.
4. MyRadar Weather Radar
I find the MyRadar Weather Radar app quite valuable for its high-tech and high-definition weather radar.
The app guarantees an extremely fast way to receive a quick and at-a-glance view of precipitation headed your way, right from your smartphone.
The app’s NOAA weather alerts, forecasts, temperature, and detailed hurricane tracker make it one of the best emergency weather radio apps.
As if that’s not enough, the app allows you to take and share your weather photos.
This is a crucial feature, especially during severe storms where communication lines might be down.
More great features of the MyRadar Weather Radar app include:
● Access to nationwide composite radar imagery
● National temperature overlayed on radar images
● Hourly precipitation updates
● Disaster warnings
The app is available for both Android and iOS.
5. WeatherBug
If you need an app with the best hurricane tracker, then look no further than WeatherBug. The app has an improved hurricane tracker that offers real-time storm alerts.
WeatherBug is a well-rounded app with a sleek design and all the essential features you’d want in an emergency weather radio app.
The app’s standout feature is its lightning alerts based on GPS data. It provides hyperlocal real-time alerts with current, hourly, and 10-day forecasts. I find it very useful for planning ahead.
Besides the usual weather information array, the app contains pollen count data and air quality information. If you have allergies, you won’t want to miss this one.
Apart from its free version for Android and iOS, you can subscribe to the premium version at $9.99 a year.
Yes, maybe that’s costly for an app, but the premium version offers an ad-free experience, advanced radar, extended forecast information, and more. It’s worth every cent.
6. Storm Shield
Are you in need of an emergency weather radio app whose alerts come in text and voice formats? If so, then Storm Shield is your best option.
The app provides voice alerts, which makes it an excellent choice for the visually impaired.
Additionally, its highly customizable nature makes it versatile for different weather events.
Storm Shield’s hyperlocal forecasts are accurate and timely thanks to its integration with NOAA weather radio.
The app’s unique feature is that besides providing weather updates for your current location, it compares that with your home’s address and city.
Also, you can share the weather alerts to keep your loved ones updated.
Finally, its storm-based warning feature eliminates the possibility of false alarms.
Download Storm Shield for Android and iOS.
7. Storm Radar
Created by the Weather Channel, Storm Radar is a unique app due to its free lightning trackers and alerts. This feature is especially handy for hikers, campers, or anyone who spends time outdoors.
The app has detailed and innovative all-in-one weather maps with information on rain and thunderstorms. It also provides real-time alerts of storm intensity and arrival times.
Storm Radar offers an interactive weather map with customizable layers such as cloud cover, temperature, precipitation type, and radar, specific to the current location.
The best part is that the app provides live NOAA/National Weather Service alerts and warnings, which are essential during severe weather situations. The alerts contain information such as:
● Tornado warnings
● Winter storm warnings
● Severe thunderstorm warnings
With this information, you can accurately predict storm paths and stay away.
Download the Storm Radar app for Android or iOS.
8. Carrot Weather
I also quite like Carrot Weather for its widget.
The widget comes in handy, especially if you don’t want to keep opening the app to check the weather. All you have to do is place it on the home screen.
Carrot Weather provides current, hourly, and seven-day forecasts with detailed information on humidity levels, wind speed and direction, pressure readings, and more.
The best part—the forecasts are livened with sarcastic humor, making this a fun and engaging app to use.
As you tap and swipe, the app gives you access to detailed meteorological data for your particular location, which is hyper-specific to the street level.
Premium subscribers can access periodic updates, forecasts for up to five locations, and tide data.
You can get the Carrot Weather app for Android or iOS.
Final Thoughts
Weather radio apps just could save your life, so you should always have at least one downloaded on your phone just in case. I hope you give one (or more) of these apps a try.
