Skip to main content

the weather channel

See All Stories
Site default logo image

The Weather Channel brings real-time alerts for rain, snow, & lightning strikes to Apple Watch & iPhone

The Weather Channel app is today bringing new real-time alerts for rain, snow, and lightning strikes to both iOS devices and the Apple Watch.

For rain and snow alerts, the app will be offering up what the company says are “exact, to-the-minute timing of when rain or snow will start based on their GPS location,” while the app will also notify users of lightning strikes nearby with a new lightning map layer.

The Weather Channel® today announced the launch of real-time rain and lightning alerts on iOS, Android and Apple Watch. In the app, users can set up fully customizable notifications based on personal preferences so they receive the exact alerts that are relevant to them, whether they are at home or on-the-go. By combining the most accurate forecasts and weather data from The Weather Channel with real-time notifications, users have the information they need to get outside, stay safe and make the most of the weather.

The Weather Channel app, which just received an update for Apple Watch support over the weekend, is available on the App Store.

Site default logo image

The Weather Channel iPad app gets new iOS 7-style redesign

The Weather Channel app for iPad gets a nice update today that brings an overhauled design that the company says is closely aligned to the iOS 7 aesthetic. It also introduces new background photos that display the current weather conditions of the location you’re viewing and tweaked navigation that makes moving around the app easier.

The Weather Channel will officially be replacing Yahoo as the source for Apple’s stock Weather app in the upcoming release of iOS 8 this fall. Part of that decision, according to a recent report, was due to some new enhancements made to The Weather Channel service over the last year.

The Weather Channel app version 4.0 for iPad is available for free on the App Store.

What’s New in Version 4.0.0

Design— Beautiful and easy-to-use. This app is closely aligned to the iOS 7 aesthetic, and our amazing background photos match your current weather conditions.

Why Apple switched from Yahoo to Weather Channel for Weather data in iOS 8

Site default logo image

When Apple unveiled iOS 8 earlier this month, it didn’t take long for beta testers to notice it had replaced Yahoo with The Weather Channel as the source of data in the stock iOS Weather app. While recent reports suggested Yahoo was trying to get Apple to put even more of its services on the iPhone including search, we now have a bit more of the story behind why exactly Yahoo got the boot for weather in iOS 8. Re/code reports that the deal was made by Weather Channel CEO David Kenny who also happened to be a former Yahoo board member:

The situation Yahoo finds itself in is due to a very crafty deal engineered by former Yahoo board member and Weather Channel CEO David Kenny, who has essentially shoved Yahoo off the key smartphone to be replaced by a new offering that he has been developing since he took over the weather news and information service last year. With it, he has unseated Yahoo from its important perch.

It’s worth pointing out that Yahoo has always powered its weather services with data from The Weather Channel. With that in mind, it’s unclear if Apple possibly had plans to drop Yahoo and go straight to the source before Kenny started developing the new and improved weather service referenced above. More from Re/code on why Apple made the switch:
Expand
Expanding
Close