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SALT LAKE CITY — It’s cold outside. In the winter months, it’s important to know what’s coming so you can plan appropriately. The weather can change quickly and roads can get slick after just a few minutes of snow. Luckily, it’s never been easier to find out what’s ahead. With these five apps you can check everything from road conditions to what you should wear outside the house.
The Weather Channel SMS Alerts (all phones)
Not everyone has a smart phone. Luckily, The Weather Channel has stepped in to keep you up to date on the weather as well. TWC offers text alerts for almost any weather condition and scenario you can imagine. Want to know if there’s going to be a lot of pollen in the air today? Sign up for their Pollen Alerts and get a text message sent to your phone on days it’s predicted to be high.
Want to know how the walk to school and back is going to be? There’s an alert for that. And yes, if you want to know what the surfing conditions are off of Oahu’s North Shore, you can do that too.
TWC has Android, iOS and Windows Phone apps as well that can alert you to the same conditions via the app, instead of text message.
NOTE: Currently, TWC SMS Alerts are not available to phones on the Sprint, Boost or Virgin Mobile networks. If you’re on one of those carriers, you’ll have to stick with the app.
Swackett (web, Android, iOS, Windows Phone)Swackett is a fun little app (also available as a web page) that let’s you know how to dress for the day. Having trouble deciding what to wear? Just give Swackett a quick look. The Android and iOS apps are very fast and lightweight. Unfortunately, you need to create a user account the first time you sign in, but it’s quick and simple to set up.
When you open Swackett you’ll simply see a stick figure dressed for the day. With that person will be little captions pointing out what they’re wearing.
Recently, the little guy on my screen was wearing a tasseled cap, scarf, winter coat, jeans, and snow boots. Another time, Legolas appeared on my screen, bow and arrow and everything. Sometimes they like to throw in some kind of celebrity or character, just to mix things up. All in all, it’s a fun way to get ideas on how to dress, but doesn’t offer a very detailed weather forecast.
Rain Alarm (web, Android, iOS)
The idea behind Rain Alarm is simple. When it’s about to rain, snow, sleet or precipitate in any way, Rain Alarm tells you. In the app all you can see is a map with current weather information overlaid with a pin marking your location. But somewhere between 30 and 60 minutes before it rains or snows you’ll get a notification warning you. This app is great for letting you know when the roads might be get slick.
Rain Alarm is particularly handy in the warmer months, when you may be riding your bike to work or driving with the top down in your convertible. I bike to work in warmer months and when I see a rain notification I move my bike under cover. But I have found myself using this app frequently in the winter, too. Twenty minutes before a big snowfall you’ll probably find me slipping out of work to get home before the roads get too bad.
If you have an iPhone and like the idea of Rain Alarm you should also check out Dark Sky. It works the same way Rain Alarm does, but has a few more animations and seems a little more polished.
KSL Weather (Android, iOS, web)When you really want to know what’s going on and flex your skills as a meteorologist there’s nothing like looking at weather radar. KSL Weather has radar images for the Utah, Idaho and Wyoming area. With radar, you can see where storms are and where they’re heading.
The app can find your location and show you what’s overhead now, or switch into predictive mode and show where storms (or clouds and precipitation) are going to be.
KSL Weather has 10-day and hourly forecasts. It also includes hourly percent chance of precipitation. The hourly forecast goes 24 hours into the future and is updated as conditions change.
Your built-in weather widget or app
Sometimes it’s hard to beat the simplicity and speed of using your phone’s built-in apps. If you have a weather widget on your Android home screen, you see the weather every time you turn on your phone. On your iPhone, just pull down the Notification Center. Or click the default Weather app and you get a little card with current conditions, a 12 hour detail bar, and 5 day forecast.
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of weather widgets for Android, and each handset manufacturer uses a different one by default. If you don’t like the one that came on yours, a quick search in the Play Store will show a lot of good options. One of the most customizable and beautiful ways to get the weather on your home screen is with Beautiful Widgets.
No matter how you choose to get your weather, remember that winter storms are serious, and it’s important to plan ahead. Dress appropriately, stay warm and travel safely.
Taylor Wilson is an IT professional at a small Utah company. He has a passion for helping people with technology. Email: taylorwilson@testonetwo.com
