Every weather condition has some impact on our lives. While following our daily routines or planning a vacation or business trip, we often check the weather forecast to plan our trip accordingly. And as we are not having the gifts of prophecy, we have to rely on weather data that meets the increasing demands of forecasting applications.
Are you also planning to meet this growing demand in weather forecasting? If yes, then you have your chance. However, these apps are not new for users, and we already have some big names that rule the market. You have to design your weather app to compete with the existing ones and make your app successful and profitable.
Modern weather apps also access the user location and provide accurate weather situations for that locality. So, even if you are traveling through Davis Square, your location settings linked with the weather app can give precise Davis Square weather conditions now and for the days to come.
The following article details the crucial areas that can help you in creating a weather app. We hope that these tips help you in overcoming the drawbacks and traps while creating your weather application.
Know your competition – leading weather applications
We all know that weather apps provide the users with the weather forecast for the next few hours, days, and even weeks. Apps with accurate forecasting, an appealing and interactive interface eventually lead over their competition. And so, it becomes important to study your competitors before creating your app.
Knowing your competition will help you to explore their salient features and user interface. It further helps you in creating a successful weather app that meets the user’s requirements and expectations. The best thing is that you know whom to fear and compete.
Tools required for accurate weather forecasts
Now that you have ascertained your competition, you know all the features and aspects you would like to have in your weather app. The best strategy to adopt is to take the best and leave the rest from your competitors to make your app stand out.
But the most important thing for any weather forecasting tool is the weather data. However, several professional sources provide the developers access to this weather data. You can collect the meteorological conditions from these sources and present them in the desired format in your app.
Although there are several such weather data sources, we have shortlisted the best weather API providers.
The Weather Company API
The Weather Company using its mobile service provides the weather conditions to its users. In addition to that, they also provide this data to outside developers who want to create their weather apps. They have various API packages on offer and what to select depends on the developer’s requirements. As The Weather Company owns several meteorological stations, it is easy to get the desired set of weather data.
API Package Offerings
- Core climatic data, that includes the basic weather details, satellite, and radar details;
- Best weather forecasting data using the latest technologies;
- Lifestyle data, which includes air quality, dry skin, breathing, flu outbreak, pollen, etc.;
- Historical weather observations and their analysis;
- Forecasting of seasons and their expected temperatures for 3-5 weeks, 1-4 months, and now even 1-7 months;
- Real-time traffic analysis showing data for different roads and traffic from over 300 million sources. This data is available for 50 countries and covers over 8 million km.
OpenWeatherMap API
It is an open-source platform and a free source to get desired weather data for creating your app. This platform is developed to provide meteorological data free to everyone. The open-source API provides weather data, like:
- Real-time weather data and interactive maps.
- Weekly forecast of a city.
- Past weather data of over 1,20,000 cities worldwide.
- The data is gathered from over 40,000 weather stations worldwide.
- Various maps including maps of temperature, wind, rain, clouds, etc.
Foreca API
If you are not satisfied with the above two options, then you can go with the Foreca API. It provides high quality weather forecasts in almost every part of the world.
Foreca API provides:
- Weather forecast for different time frames.
- Official warnings about any meteorological calamities.
- Facility of artificial forecast. The API uses Nowcasting technology which overcomes the issues of lesser stations. It can artificially predict any chances of snowfall, heat, rain and other climatic changes by analyzing the previously available data.
- Forecasts are available from 15 minutes to longer times going up to several months.
Essential features to include in your weather app
It is not about building an application only but also about its utility to the users and easy accessibility. The weather app you create should be effective and provide some help to its users. Let’s further discuss how to make your weather app effective and user-friendly.
- Accuracy of weather forecasts. The app should not be restricted with temperature data only but also give alerts of different meteorological conditions like the intensity of UV rays, wind speed, and rain. Be sure to have forecast information in hourly, daily, weekly, and bi-weekly formats.
- Weather forecasts for weekends. It will help the users to plan their weekends properly.
- Web maps. It can assist the frequent travelers to know the conditions of places they are planning to visit.
- Smart alerts. Instant alerts for drastic changes in meteorological conditions, storms, earthquakes, hurricanes, etc., can be lifesaving.
- Hyper-local weather forecasts. It is a must-have feature in recent times. It provides precise weather data of your current location using your location and GPS settings.
- Animations and visual effects. Having animations in your weather forecasts generates interest in the users, and they feel more connected. But to integrate animations and visualizations into your weather app, you must hire professional UI/UX designers.
- Do not ignore social media. Integrating social media into your app can benefit both you and your users. Users can easily share the weather updates with their friends to plan pleasant trips, while you will enjoy free promotions.
Make a weather app that stands out
To develop an effective and successful weather app, you must devise a strategy and include features that distinguish you from the competition. We have hundreds of these weather applications available online, including the basic iOS and Android weather updates. To be successful, your app should be unique and have additional features than your competitor apps.
