weather

Whether you live in rainy Seattle or are expecting thunderstorms in Albany, N.Y., it's always a good idea to carry solid weather apps on your iPhone for quick forecasts.

The Weather Channel released version 5.0 of its app late last week with an upgraded interface and a few more features that will be useful to amateur meteorologists everywhere, but it doesn't have everything. One of the more useful parts of any local weather forecast is when you get to see the live Doppler radar for your location. The Weather Channel will show you a radar overlay, but you can't see it move. That's where the second app in this one-two punch comes in, NOAA Hi-Def Radar.

With this pair of apps, you might find that one or the other is the best weather app for you, but hopefully this comparison will help you find what best fits your needs.… Read more

The Weather Channel is a free weather-monitoring application that provides many more features than Apple's built-in Weather app. Released first in 2008, the app recently received a complete overhaul to the interface, adding features that make it even easier to check weather conditions wherever you are.

You can find paid weather applications that are more specialized, but The Weather Channel (sponsored by the cable channel of the same name) offers the features most people want in a weather app. You can view forecasts (hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day outlooks), quick access to Weather Channel local and regional video forecasts, severe … Read more

On the short list of must-haves for every iPhone owner: a good weather app. And the one that's bundled into iOS? Not so good.

If you ever checked out The Weather Channel for iOS and promptly turned your nose up at its cluttered, clunky interface, it's time for another look. The Weather Channel 5.0 for iPhone features a gorgeous new UI and some fun new sharing options.

Sharing? TWC has added a photo button to its Home screen; you can take a snapshot of the skies (or anything else) and share it via e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, or … Read more

It's a good day for pinning photos, protecting privacy and paying your taxes:

Yet another social network joins the billionaires club. The social photo-sharing network Pinterest has been valued at $1.5 billion. The valuation comes after it received a $50 million investment from a Japanese e-commerce site. Pinterest makes no money, but you can bet that investors will push to change that by integrating e-commerce tools. And if you want to see what all the fuss is about, here are some tips and tricks to getting started on Pinterest.

Facebook co-founder Eduardo Saverin is under fire for dropping … Read more

A group of sunspots 11 times wider than the Earth turned to face our planet, raising the possibility of solar flares and auroras tonight.

More than 60,000 miles wide, Sunspot Region 1476 became visible over the weekend and two coronal mass ejections (CMEs), where a portion of the sun's atmosphere breaks off, erupted on Tuesday.

The CMEs blasts could arrive on Earth later today and cause moderate geomagnetic storms later and auroras in the higher latitudes, according to NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center.

The CMEs are traveling at 1.5 million miles per hour but, since they … Read more

WeatherInfo is a simple application that keeps the current conditions and five-day forecast at your fingertips. It's not the most feature-packed weather app we've seen, but if you're looking for a program that can hang out unobtrusively in your system tray and provide you with weather info when you need it, it's not a bad choice.

The program's interface is straightforward and easy to navigate, with tabs dividing it into screens for Current, Forecast, and Options. The Current tab shows a thermometer with the current temperature down the left side, and a text box displays … Read more

Space forecasters said today's solar storm is having relatively weak effects this morning, lessening the chances of disturbances to satellites or the grid. The event, however, is ongoing and still could cause problems.

A solar flare from an active spot on the sun Tuesday caused a coronal mass ejection (CME), where high-energy gases from the sun break off and hurtle off into space. This morning, this blast struck Earth in a storm which could last until tomorrow.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center yesterday had forecast it to be a strong geomagnetic storm but so far it's been … Read more

You may be having a typical Thursday, but the Earth is currently being blasted by a wave of radiation from a huge solar flare.

NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center said the solar storm hit the Earth at about 2:45 a.m. PT. The solar storm is one of the strongest in years and could cause disruptions in satellites, affect radio communications in polar areas, and even slightly decrease the efficiency of solar panels.

This solar storm follows a similarly strong one only two months ago. Here's a short primer on what's going on.

First, are these … Read more

Weather is one of those things you pay attention to during the more extreme climate seasons like summer and winter. You'll want to see if it's going to be cold in the morning when you wake up or really hot in the afternoon so you can dress appropriately for your day. You may find one of these apps suitable by itself, or you can try combining a couple of them to get the most information.

One of the most popular weather apps by far. The daily information is excellent in this app because it includes … Read more