From long-range forecasts to ‘real feel’ temperatures, a good app can prepare you for the best and worst of weather
A weather app was a leading feature of the first iPhone in 2007 and enthusiasm for them has not dampened since. While the sophistication of forecasting and range of choice may have grown exponentially, different apps often give wildly different predictions.
Meteorological institutions record observations using a network of instruments and tend to share them freely, so most weather services start with roughly the same data. But differences arise in how each office analyses and models the data to produce a forecast, and the chaotic nature and complexity of the climate system means small changes can produce huge variation.
A good weather app may not brighten this so far lacklustre British summer, but it can help people prepare for drizzle or occasional sunshine. Here is our pick of the five best weather apps.Best for accuracy: Met Office
Founded in 1854, the Met Office is one of the oldest national weather services in the world and its app is the most popular in the UK. Its supercomputer analyses 215bn weather observations each day at a rate of 14,000tn calculations a second. The resulting model is then fine-tuned by meteorologists to produce a forecast.
