By SHANNON KELLY
“Everybody talks about the weather, but nobody does anything about it.”
—Mark Twain
Weather is one of those great equalizers: it affects everyone, everywhere. So it stands to reason that there are tons (heaps and piles, actually) of weather apps to choose from. We’ve waded through to find our favourites for Canadian travellers.
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- Canada's cable weather network has produced a slick app that is our top pick for true weatherphiles and that in our opinion blows the U.S.-based Weather Channel app out of the water. It has all the basics (really, <em>all</em> of them) plus details you don't usually see, like yesterday's high and low temperatures, a 14-day temperature forecast (the most we've seen), rain gauge, visibility ceiling, pressure, air quality, UV report, pollen report, ski and golf reports, bug reports (for parks) and a tool to compare conditions in several locations. The precipitation and cloud cover live radar is easy to read (it uses a Bing map) and shows three-hour trends. In addition to saving towns and cities as locations, you can save schools, airports and parks, and for travellers there's a Trip Forecast tool that predicts flight delays. Other features: weather photos and videos, air quality reports. And yes, both Celsius and Fahrenheit are available.<br /> <br /> <em>Wish list:</em> upgrade to disable ads.<br /> <br /> <strong>Platforms: </strong><a title="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pelmorex.WeatherEyeAndroid&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5wZWxtb3JleC5XZWF0aGVyRXllQW5kcm9pZCJd" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pelmorex.WeatherEyeAndroid&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5wZWxtb3JleC5XZWF0aGVyRXllQW5kcm9pZCJd" target="_blank">Android</a>, <a title="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pelmorex.WeatherEyeAndroid&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5wZWxtb3JleC5XZWF0aGVyRXllQW5kcm9pZCJd" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pelmorex.WeatherEyeAndroid&feature=search_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDEsImNvbS5wZWxtb3JleC5XZWF0aGVyRXllQW5kcm9pZCJd" target="_blank">Android tablet</a>, <a title="http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/1191/?lang=en" href="http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/1191/?lang=en" target="_blank">Blackberry</a>, <a title="http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/40883/?lang=en" href="http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/40883/?lang=en" target="_blank">Blackberry Playbook</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/app/weathereye-hd/id407173878?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/weathereye-hd/id407173878?mt=8" target="_blank">iPad</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/app/the-weather-network/id473299958?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/the-weather-network/id473299958?mt=8" target="_blank">iPhone</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/app/the-weather-network/id473299958?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/app/the-weather-network/id473299958?mt=8" target="_blank">iPod Touch</a><br /> <strong>Cost: </strong>Free
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- A weather app that uses data from Environment Canada, Atmosphérique is a Canada-only weather app and the only one we've found that allows switching between French and English. The free version (Atmosphérique Lite) is pretty basic: current conditions, six-day high and low temperature forecasts, per cent chance precipitation, pressure, humidity, wind speed and direction and sunrise/sunset times. We like that with the iPhone you can shake your device to refresh, and that there's a list of locations by province, and we've found some small towns that don't appear on other apps. With Atmosphérique Pro ($1.99) you get detailed weather forecasts, alerts and warnings and historic data. One caveat: Non-Canadian locations aren't included, so if you're travelling overseas, it's best to go with a different app.<br /> <br /> <em>Wish list: </em>Hourly forecasts, "feels like" temperature.<br /> <br /> <strong>Platforms: </strong><a title="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" target="_blank">iPad</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" target="_blank">iPhone</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/atmospherique/id347840721?mt=8" target="_blank">iPod Touch</a><br /> <strong>Cost: </strong>Free<br />
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- Fun is not something most people (certain dads excluded) associate with checking the weather forecast. But the primary appeal of Weatherwise is its colourful display, animations and oddball characters. The standard background is a pretty bonsai tree, and an animated display changes with the weather and time of day—with snow piling up on the bonsai tree in wintery weather, for example, and lightning flashing and leaves blowing during a thunderstorm. Additional themes (99¢ each) include a weird "Woobles" theme, where one of ten one-eyed animated characters pops up depending on the local forecast. Lest you think the app is all style and no substance, it includes current weather with hourly forecasts, five-day forecasting, weather details (humidity, precipitation, visibility, wind speed and direction, sunrise and sunset times) and the ability to save up to five locations.<br /> <br /> <em>Wish list: </em>"feels like" temperature; percentage change precipitation; radar; allow more than five saved locations.<br /> <br /> <strong>Platforms:</strong> <a title="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.localwisdom.weatherwise" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.localwisdom.weatherwise">Android</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weatherwise/id420954273?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weatherwise/id420954273?mt=8" target="_blank">iPhone</a><br /> <strong>Cost:</strong> Free
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- Like Weatherwise, Swackett takes a clever tack with the weather. Your local forecast is displayed using male and female silhouettes called "peeps," who each have three temperature-appropriate outfits to wear. You can upgrade to versions with 1950s-style peeps and kid peeps for 99¢ each. In addition to current weather, Swacket has hourly forecasts for the next 24 hours, visual forecasts for today and tomorrow, five-day forecasts; local, regional, provincial and national full-motion radar images; details include "feels like" temperature, humidity, dew point, wind speed and direction, sunrise and sunset times, precipitation, percentage chance precipitation. If you're looking for one fun weather app, it's a toss-up between Swackett and Weatherwise. We find Weatherwise's navigation more elegant and the animation more vibrant. But Swackett has more detailed weather information (like radar) and answers the question you're really asking when you check the morning forecast: What should I wear today?<em> </em><br /> <br /> <em>Wish list: </em>Ads that aren't so easy to click on accidentally (though you can disable all ads for a 99¢ upgrade), weather watches and warning notifications for Canada (currently only available in the U.S.)<br /> <br /> <strong>Platforms: </strong><a title="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" target="_blank">iPad</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" target="_blank">iPhone</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/swackett/id418554305?mt=8" target="_blank">iPod Touch</a><br /> <strong>Cost: </strong>Free
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- The popular WeatherBug is a strong app, though it could use some more details and features for locations outside the U.S. Basic details available are daily high and low temperatures, dew point, humidity, wind direction and speed, "feels like" temperature, per cent chance precipitation, hourly forecast, seven-day forecast and UV index (U.S. only) Celsius and Fahrenheit are available. One thing we love is the ability to drop a pin onto the map to get weather details on a new location. Live weather cams and videos also are U.S.-only. WeatherBug Elite adds weather alerts like lightning proximity and dangerous thunderstorm notifications. Overall, it's a nice-looking, straightforward app without many bells and whistles.<br /> <br /> <em>Wish list:</em> All details and functionality available outside U.S.<br /> <br /> <strong>Platforms: </strong><a title="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aws.android&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5hd3MuYW5kcm9pZCJd" href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aws.android&feature=nav_result#?t=W251bGwsMSwxLDMsImNvbS5hd3MuYW5kcm9pZCJd" target="_blank">Android</a>, <a title="https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/760/" href="https://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/760/" target="_blank">Blackberry</a>, <a title="https://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.weatherbug.weatherwindow" href="https://developer.palm.com/appredirect/?packageid=com.weatherbug.weatherwindow" target="_blank">HP Touchpad</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/weatherbug/id281940292?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/weatherbug/id281940292?mt=8" target="_blank">iPad</a>, <a title="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/weatherbug/id281940292?mt=8" href="http://itunes.apple.com/ca/app/weatherbug/id281940292?mt=8" target="_blank">iPhone</a><br /> <strong>Cost: </strong>Free (Weatherbug Elite $1.99)
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