Stay prepared for the 2023 hurricane season with one of these five hurricane tracker apps

Brandon Girod, Pensacola News Journal

May 16, 2023 at 11:45 AM·7 min read

As the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season quickly approaches, there are several things different about monitoring severe weather compared to last year that could impact how you receive crucial information. Having a hurricane-tracking app can ensure you stay safe and informed.

While many weather apps provide general storm alerts, most of them aren’t quite geared toward providing information specific to hurricanes. And many iOS users have found themselves a bit lost after Apple shut down its highly popular weather app Dark Sky on Jan. 1.

Here are some of the best hurricane trackers you can download on iOS and Android to stay up-to-date with the latest weather alerts, storm predictions and more this hurricane season.

Hurricane season 2023 predictions: Hurricane season 2023 starts June 1. Here's the latest predictions and how to prepare:

First storm in 2023 hurricane season: First subtropical storm of 2023 Atlantic hurricane season happened in January, says NHC

My Hurricane Tracker

My Hurricane Tracker is a simple app that provides comprehensive tools for tracking cyclones, tornadoes, tropical storms and weather warnings. The simple interface makes the app a breeze and doesn’t overwhelm users with too much information.

Opening the app up, you’ll be prompted to give it access to your location and to send push notifications — both of which are used to provide push alerts for warnings relevant to users from the National Weather Service.

The interactive tracking maps use the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s forecast map and satellite imagery where available, plus a five-day outlook.

Free features

Perhaps the app’s most convenient part of the app is the fact that all of its features are available to users absolutely free. There is a small, nonintrusive banner ad at the bottom of the app, but it remains otherwise clutter-free.

Pro features

Cost: $2.99

Permanently removes ads

Download My Hurricane Tracker for iOS | Download My Hurricane Tracker for Android

2023 hurricane names: A look at the 2023 hurricane names, which ones have been retired and how they're named:

Emergency by American Red Cross

The Emergency app by American Red Cross is a great “set it and forget it” app that will provide you with highly customizable alerts, invaluable information on how to prepare for the worst disasters and even provide you with a blueprint that can help you create a customized emergency plan and toolkit.

Unlike the other two apps, Emergency is best used to supplement other weather apps. It does provide maps for upcoming storms and shelter locations, but you won’t be using the app to see if you need to grab your umbrella on your way to work.

Once you go through the app’s quick onboarding process, scroll down to “Live Location” under “Locations” and enable live monitoring. If you haven’t already, it will prompt you to grant the app access to your phone’s location. Click on your location and then the bell icon to take a look at all of the alerts you can customize, including high alerts, hurricanes, tropical cyclones, severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, high winds and more.

Advanced options will allow you to customize these further. For instance, tapping on “Hurricanes” will allow you to change how you want alerts for hurricane warnings or watches delivered to you. You can even set these to override “Do Not Disturb.”

Free features

The app is completely free and has no ads.

Download Emergency for iOS | Download Emergency for Android

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Clime

Clime, formerly known as NOAA Radar Pro, is a feature-rich weather app that is worth its price of admission if you’re a weather enthusiast looking to get the most out of an app. Admittedly, if you’re looking for a free app, this one won’t be your cup of tea.

Where Clime shines is its robust hurricane, precipitation, storm, wildfire and lightning trackers. As soon as you jump into the app, you’re prompted to customize the alerts you want to receive and you’ll be prompted to share your location.

From there, you’re dropped directly into a radar map based on your location. Clicking on various locations on the map will bring up advanced weather forecasts, including precipitation outlooks that will tell you how soon rain will start and estimate how much rainfall the area might receive.

Going back to the radar, you can swap between different maps, similar to Google Maps, to change your view from radar to precipitation, temperature and snow depth forecasts (you never know with Florida). The best part is the app’s ability to allow you to stack these overlays over the hurricane tracker to provide a gratuitous amount of information about impending storms.

Free features

The free version of the app includes limited functionality like standard 24-hour and 7-day forecasts with severe weather alerts, but the app’s juiciest features are saved for subscribers.

Pro features

Cost: 3-day free trial, $4.99 monthly, $19.99 annually

Severe weather alerts — Stay ahead of floods, storms, tornadoes for saved locations
Storm preparation — Stay informed on approaching storms and lightning
Fires and hotspots map — Observes fires and hotspots detected by satellite systems
14-day Forecast — Provides a detailed 14-day forecast
Temperature map — Learn the temperature with a color-coded forecast
Daily weather updates — See recent weather info and predictions every day
Unlimited weather alerts — Anticipate upcoming weather conditions with notifications
Hurricane tracker — Monitor hurricane positions and projected paths
RainScope — Check the minute-by-minute chart to be ready for any precipitation type and intensity
Ad-free
Pollen outlook

3-day free trial, $4.99 monthly, $19.99 annually

Download Clime for iOS | Download Clime for Android

Ventusky

Ventusky focuses mostly on providing users with a beautifully animated and detailed weather radar and less on the breaking news aspect of other weather apps. In other words, if you’re bunkered down, already prepped to ride out a hurricane, this is the perfect way to watch a hurricane in action from the safety of your home.

The basic app includes radars for temperature, precipitation, satellite and others, but the app’s annual $6.99 subscription will provide you with “premium” radars that include wind speeds, gusts, clouds, air pressure, thunderstorms and more.

For weather enthusiasts, the app also allows you to switch through various weather models by default, but it comes out of the box with preconfigured models based on your location.

Free features

Temperature
Perceived temperature
Precipitation
Radar
Satellite
Air quality
Probability of aurora

Pro features

Cost: $6.99/year

The “pro” version of the app provides these premium weather maps:

Wind speed
Wind gusts
Clouds
Air pressure
Waves
Thunderstorms
Humidity
Snow cover
Freezing level
Ad-free
Premium widgets

Download Ventusky for iOS | Download Ventusky for Android

WeatherTiger: Florida hurricane season has a 70% shot at normalcy, but it only takes one | WeatherTiger

For subscribers: Despite a 'slow' hurricane season forecast, warmer waters mean danger lurks in Atlantic

The Weather Channel

The Weather Channel app is a great all-around solution that can cover all daily use cases, plus you get many of the bells and whistles included in paid apps for free.

The home page provides a detailed look at the weather in your selected area, along with precipitation, hourly, allergy and daily forecasts. It also provides detailed looks at outdoor conditions like mosquito, sweat, heat, UV and umbrella indexes, health and activity risks and storm trackers.

Alerts are also free, and you can turn them on for everything from flu risks and pollen reports to government-issued alerts and top stories.

Free features

Rain radar and tracker
24-hour future radar
Storm tracker
Local weather radar
Severe weather alerts
Latest weather news

Pro features

Cost: $29/year, $4.99/month premium pro; $9.99/year, $1.99/month ad-free

72-hour future radar
192-hour forecast
30-mile lightning layer
15-minute forecast detail
48-hour future snowfall
Windstream map
Ad-free

Download The Weather Channel app for iOS | Download The Weather Channel app for Android

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: What’s the best hurricane tracker? Try these five apps

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My Hurricane Tracker

Emergency by American Red Cross

Clime

Ventusky

The Weather Channel

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