Knowing the weather forecast is critical for farmers and ranchers. The difference between a bountiful harvest and a total crop loss can sometimes come down to a few hours or days difference where frosts or heavy rains can devastate your best laid plans for you of planting or harvest.
The best weather apps for farmers provide information that helps you plan ahead for planting, harvest, and other farming tasks. They should also include tools to help you monitor current conditions and forecast future trends and help you keep your crops, animals and workers safe.
Top Farming Weather Apps
These are just a few curated weather apps (in no particular order) that will help farmers and ranchers monitor the weather in real time so that they can plan ahead and take action when needed. This will hopefully help you to keep your crops, livestock, and workers safe from storms.
AccuWeather
World Meteorological Organization recognized
AccuWeather has been providing accurate forecasts since 1887. It offers an extensive range of weather products and services, including daily, hourly, and 5-day forecasts, as well as severe weather alerts. You can access AccuWeather's free mobile apps for iOS and Android devices, and its website provides live streaming data and maps.
Clime: NOAA Weather Radar Live
Rain Forecast & Storm Alerts
The Clime app offers NOAA Weather Radar Live right on your device. Access real-time radar images, severe weather alerts, accurate weather forecasts and more. Clime's high resolution radar overlays will help you stay informed about rain, snow and precipitation. You can also get push notifications about severe weather (tornadoes, hurricanes, freeze warnings, and more) in your saved locations.
Farmer's Almanac
A classic resource with great historical data.
While not exactly an app, the Farmer's Almanac has been a trusted source of weather information for more than 200 years. Its first edition was published in 1792 by Moses Farmer, who wanted to provide farmers with timely weather information. Today, the company publishes a weekly newsletter and produces several different weather forecast products, including a monthly magazine, a daily newspaper, and a smartphone app. It's a great resource for historic weather data.
NOAA - The National Climatic Data
Historic Climate Data Online
While also not really an app, The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provides a great free resource for accessing historic weather data. Using historic data can be a great tool to understand and analyze the impact of climate and weather on your crop production or livestock health. Climate Data Online (CDO) offers free access to The National Climatic Data's archive of global and state historical weather and climate data. This data includes high quality daily, monthly, seasonal, and yearly measurements that include temperature, precipitation, radar, and wind data. Access the NOAA Climate Data Online (CDO) historic weather data.
Storm Radar: Weather Tracker
NOAA Hurricane & Tornado Maps
Track the most severe weather in real time. Using a high-definition NOAA radar and tornado tracker you can stay up-to-date and help your farm weather the storm. Use views of the changing weather patterns in your area, including how much rain and wind is coming your way. You can also get real-time weather notifications with incoming rain and lighting strikes based on your GPS location.
The Weather Channel
If you're looking for a weather app that will help you track local weather trends, check out the Weather Channel app. This free app has features such as hourly forecasts, radar maps, satellite images, and more. It's the #1 weather app on the Apple app store. The Weather Channel app lets you track daily forecasts and receive live radar updates for severe storm alerts & local precipitation. They also offer live Doppler radar maps, storm watch which can warn you ahead of time of severe weather.
WeatherBug
An excellent app where severe weather is common.
This app has an easy interface and provides forecasts for up to five days out. It also includes a feature called "Weather Alerts" that notifies users when there is a severe weather warning issued for their area. Users can explore the weather us 20 different weather maps, including Doppler radar, future radar, air quality, lightning, precipitation, local temperature, wind chill and more! They also offer widgets to setup weather alerts you want to see on your home screen. WeatherBug is rated in the top 3 Free weather apps on the Google play store.
Weather Underground
Another popular weather app is the Weather Underground app. It's available for both Android and iOS devices. The app includes a variety of tools, including hourly forecasts, radar maps and satellite imagery. Weather Underground also offers weather at a microclimate level. Meaning you can get a hyperlocal weather forecast, with current conditions from your closest weather station. They aggregate data from over 250,000 personal weather stations to help provide precise local weather forecast. You can also get customizable weather alerts from NOAA and more. Plus they offer a storm tracker and Doppler radar technology to help you always be prepared.
Farmbrite offers in-app farm weather forecasts and updates. Check out our farm management software free for 14 days.
Have a great weather app that you use on your farm? Let us know we'd love to share it.