Choosing an Accessible Weather App
January 27, 2025 | 2 Comments
by Eric Boklage, VRT
Mother Nature can be fickle. Here in Chicago, you may think we have a four-season climate, but sometimes it feels more like seven or eight.
For those who are blind or have low vision, we can’t rely on just looking out the window to see what is going on out there. That’s why it’s always a good idea to have a trusty weather forecast at your fingertips. A good weather app on your smartphone is a handy tool to help you decide which coat to wear, whether or not you need galoshes or snow boots, and whether or not you should pack some sunscreen.
Our Selection Process
Considering how many weather apps are vying for your attention, we chose six free weather apps available on Apple’s App Store to test their accessibility and determine which ones provide an accurate forecast. A good weather app is one that is accessible, provides all the pertinent weather information, and doesn’t have incessant ads. An app must work well with VoiceOver, using standard VoiceOver gestures.
Since apps can evolve over time, we took these apps for a test drive to check the most recent version. We also used information from AppleVis, which has been providing app reviews for the blind and low vision community for over 14 years.
Six Free Apple Weather Apps
We chose the following free weather apps from the App Store to test accuracy and accessibility:
In reviewing these apps, two things quickly became so annoying that they became “deal-breakers.” One is a lack of VoiceOver accessibility. The other is an overwhelming number of ads that got in the way of using the app.
VoiceOver Accessibility
Unfortunately, a couple of the apps are simply not accessible when using VoiceOver. They may be great apps if you have enough vision to see the display. But if you’re depending on VoiceOver output, they simply aren’t up to the task. This is particularly true of WeatherBug, and to some extent, the Weather Channel app.
Too Many Pop-up Ads
A couple of these free apps are overloaded with ads that promote their paid versions or other products. These ads are quite annoying to navigate around, since VoiceOver will preempt the important information to read the ads aloud. Good luck finding the button that closes the pop-up ads! The Wheather Channel app is plagued with having too many pop-up ads. We also had similar issues with both the Carrot Weather and AccuWeather apps.
Apps that Make the Cut
In our experience, we had two apps that generally make the cut. Our runner-up is Weather Gods, which is fairly easy to navigate and provides all the relevant information. However, it has a rather bizarre nomenclature like the Sun God and Water God that might take some getting used to. This app also allows you to get weather for multiple locations. A great option when you are traveling or have family and friends in other places.
Our Recommendation
Our collective recommendation: Stick with the Apple Weather app. It is designed to work with VoiceOver, so it’s fairly easy to navigate, and it provides all the necessary information to keep you safe, warm, and dry. As with Weather Gods, you are also able to list multiple locations to receive forecasts and conditions.
One note: Although AccuWeather is one of those apps that is very difficult to use because of the incessant ads that keep popping up, it actually provides very accurate local forecasts. However, in our opinion, the best way to access that AccuWeather information is to use the NFB Newsline app, which is ad-free. You can find AccuWeather on the NFB Newsline app listed as one of the top news sources. To learn more about the NFB Newsline app, join us for our February Apple Exchange. We’ll be discussing how to access content on this platform.
Eric is an intern at Second Sense. He is currently working toward both his CVRT and CATIS designations.
I really appreciated this post—it’s refreshing to see a thoughtful breakdown of what makes a weather app truly accessible. The way the article highlights elements like clear fonts, intuitive navigation, and high-contrast visuals really got me thinking about how even small design choices can make a huge difference for users who depend on these features. It makes you wonder how many of our daily tools could be improved with a little more attention to accessibility.
I have lots of weather apps on my iPhone, but the one that I use the most is called storm shield. I believe there is a small fee for it, but I like it the best. It’s very accessible, and I have several cities in which I can track the weather.