# WeatherWatch

> New Zealand's leading private weather forecaster with advanced local data and alerts. (iPhone/iPad app by WeatherWatch.co.nz.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/weatherwatch/id654001251 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [WeatherWatch.co.nz](https://appshunter.io/developer/654001254)
- Category: Weather, News
- Price: Free with in-app purchases (on sale, was $3.99)
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.1 · 35 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2013-07-12
- Data updated: 2026-09-02
- Monetization: free with in-app purchases
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/weatherwatch/id654001251/reviews.md

## What is WeatherWatch?

WeatherWatch.co.nz is New Zealand's most popular private forecaster, with more local weather data than any other NZ provider. Powered by the most accurate weather forecaster on the globe, The Weather Company, we have every part of NZ covered, with weather alerts to ensure your local forecast is brought to life and you have fewer nasty surprises.

ALERTING
Our new paid LIGHTNING PLUS and PRO tiers bring the weather directly to your phone screen - receive push notifications based on warning criteria you get to set for your local area(s). Our PRO tier is all about helping your small business, farm or orchard - or just to help you better plan any event outdoors. Temperature alerts can help you with advanced notice of frost or summer heat, rainfall alerts, wind alerts, fog alerts - you set the criteria (and can easily adjust to fine tune it specifically to your local part of NZ). Alerts in our PRO tier can be for 10 locations.

LIGHTNING PLUS
Is our newest feature with access to NZ's official lightning network - it's also a low cost, ad free, way to save more locations and have a more personalised experience. Live real time alerts - and you set the distance from your location to receive alerts about active thunderstorms all pinged to your phone. This is not a forecast - it is real time alerting and display for actual thunderstorms. 

METSERVICE PUSH NOTIFICATIONS
Official MetService Warnings and Watches (via https://www.metservice.com/warnings/home) - automatically pushed to your phone via WeatherWatch PRO. If official warnings are critical to you, don't go looking for them - let the official warnings notify you via our exclusive alerting mechanism, all part of PRO.

MORE MAPS AND DATA
We have local, hourly and 10 day forecast data. We've got all of New Zealand covered, from the central cities to our most remote rural communities and beaches. We also now have free access to our lightning maps (with a slight delay).

OUR TEAM
We're a small New Zealand owned business with a large footprint. We're proud to be innovating, and the support you give us via our paid tiers of our app is reinvested back into the app to create even new products - such as our new Lightning maps and alerts. Thank you for supporting our journey. 

DISCLAIMER
WeatherWatch is NZ’s largest private forecaster. We are not an official warnings provider, but we partner with the Government’s MetService to display their official warnings and now their lightning data.

## Key features

- Extensive local weather data for NZ
- More maps than other NZ providers
- Customizable weather alerts
- AI-powered forecast accuracy
- MetService warnings and watches pushed
- Real-time rain radar (future)

## Pricing and in-app purchases

Base price: Free.

**Subscriptions**

| Subscription | Price | Period |
| --- | --- | --- |
| WeatherWatch Pro | $3.99 | per month |
| WeatherWatch Lightning Plus | $0.99 | per month |
| WeatherWatch Lightning Plus | $12.90 | per year |


## Recent user reviews (10 of 50)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/weatherwatch/id654001251/reviews.md

### 1/5 — Terrible app

*2025-12-30, version 4.0.87*

Forecasting is one of the worst I’ve experienced. As you can see from previous responses to reviews the developer is condescending and tries to shift blame for their ineptitude.

### 1/5 — Terrible for accuracy

*2025-04-19, version 4.0.67*

Along with the IBM weather app, this sadly is the worst I have found for accuracy when informing of rainfall or potential rainfall ahead. Says 6mm in Katikati/Tahawai so far today, reality 38mm. Few days ago it said total predicted would be 80 total over 2 days, got 200plus. Even when looking at my own areas recordings (always wrong) they show as 0 today recorded, but been raining nearly all day so far. It’s so far off my own weather station rain gauge. I have found its so useless its better to look out the window. Wish I could inform the app of recorded rain amounts for my area as the 3 they show are so far off my own, it may help fill in the obvious gap in data.

### 2/5 — Was a great app

*2025-04-13, version 4.0.67*

This was my go to for all weather forecasting. It was pretty accurate and I loved the hourly forecasts days in advance. Then the new version came out. No more long range hourly forecasts, and no longer accurate for my area. I’ve tried to get use to it, but I find myself now reaching first for the hated and also inaccurate MetService. I’m sorry, but this while it has more data is a backwards step in accuracy and usability. And no, I’m not paying a monthly subscription for anything, I can’t afford that. I’d rather watch ads.

### 5/5 — Jack

*2024-01-23, version 4.0.55*

Best weather app out there. Most information and the most accurate, can’t recommend enough!

### 1/5 — Robbery

*2024-01-08, version 4.0.51*

Why are people always looking at grabbing money.
The WW app worked well. I always had my location plus 2 other locations. No they want $7 / month so I can have more than one location! Not likely! I’ll use Apple’s free built in app.

### 2/5 — New update over complicated with no 24 hour forecast (that I can find)

*2024-01-05, version 4.0.50*

I have sworn by this app for years, but the new update is over complicated and seems to have no 24 hour forecast… there was nothing wrong with the old app……

### 1/5 — Have to login to a weather app?

*2024-01-02, version 4.0.50*

Only a 1 star review now as for whatever reason you now have to add your email and login with yet another password just to use it and see what the forecast is. No longer gonna bother with this one. A shame as it was decent with a few quirks.
Hated the rain forecast as it was nearly ALWAYS wrong, we quite often got massive downpours when app said only light to min rain in area. Seems like their reporting stations arent close enough so miles off in forecasts. They need to fix this issue.

### 1/5 — Regret upgrading to the latest version

*2024-01-01, version 4.0.50*

Now only have 1 favourite weather location without being pushed to upgrade and more pop up messages interfering with the experience. Absolute trash. DO NOT UPGRADE. This app is poorly designed. I love Philip Duncan’s updates but this app goes in the bin. Yahoo weather is much more usable and free for multiple locations.

### 1/5 — Increasingly inaccurate, sad

*2023-11-19, version 3.2.4*

.61 mm rain, today, in Tauranga, seriously ? Please fix your tragically broken app. 
Back to met service I go….

### 1/5 — The format is good, but…

*2023-11-18, version 3.2.4*

C’mon folks! I love this app, but eg it says for Tauranga today so far, zero rain… um sorry, we’ve had 5-6 mls, depending on your location within Tga….
So sadly I’m depending more on the three other apps….
Please fix this! Second time in a couple of weeks there have been errors…I note my previous comment no longer shows however… you said it was 20 degrees at 6am…. Sheesh

## Frequently asked questions about WeatherWatch

### What does this weather app do?

This app provides New Zealand's most detailed local weather forecasts, offering more data and maps than other providers. It uses advanced AI for accuracy and includes customizable alerts to notify you of specific weather conditions, helping you plan effectively.

### What are the key features of this weather app?

Key features include extensive local and hourly forecast data, more maps than competitors, AI-driven accuracy improvements, and a unique alerting system that notifies you when user-defined weather criteria are met. It also pushes MetService warnings and watches directly to your phone.

### Is this app free to use?

The app is free to download and use, with options for in-app purchases. While the core forecasting and alerting features are available, future enhancements like real-time rain radar and lightning alerts may be part of premium offerings.

### What kind of alerts can I set up?

You can customize alerts to be notified when specific weather criteria are met, such as temperature thresholds, wind speeds, or rainfall amounts. This is particularly useful for businesses like farms and orchards, or for planning outdoor events, helping you avoid unexpected weather surprises.

### Who is this app designed for?

This app is primarily designed for New Zealand residents who need accurate and localized weather information. It's especially beneficial for small businesses, farmers, orchard owners, and anyone who frequently engages in outdoor activities and needs to plan around the weather.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 4.1.18 — 2026-08-30

- New Lightning Plus tier added
- Lightning Plus is ad-free with 5 saved locations
- Free official lightning map
- Paid lightning push notifications 
- Fog/low cloud alerts added to Pro
- Pro alerts extended from 4 days out to 8 days out
- Fixes for map panning and zooming on some Android devices
- Various fixes and enhancements

### 4.1.14 — 2026-08-10

- New Lightning Plus tier added
- Lightning Plus is ad-free with 5 saved locations
- Free official lightning map
- Paid lightning push notifications 
- Fog/low cloud alerts added to Pro
- Pro alerts extended from 4 days out to 8 days out
- Fixes for map panning and zooming on some Android devices
- Various fixes and enhancements

### 4.1.13 — 2026-07-26

- New Lightning Plus tier added
- Lightning Plus is ad-free with 5 saved locations
- Free official lightning map
- Paid lightning push notifications 
- Fog/low cloud alerts added to Pro
- Pro alerts extended from 4 days out to 8 days out
- Fixes for map panning and zooming on some Android devices
- Various fixes and enhancements

### 4.1.12 — 2026-07-15

- New Lightning Plus tier added
- Lightning Plus is ad-free with 5 saved locations
- Free official lightning map
- Paid lightning push notifications 
- Fog/low cloud alerts added to Pro
- Pro alerts extended from 4 days out to 8 days out
- Various fixes and enhancements

### 4.1.10 — 2026-07-04

- New Lightning Plus tier added
- Lightning Plus is ad-free with 5 saved locations
- Free official lightning map
- Paid lightning push notifications 
- Fog/low cloud alerts added to Pro
- Pro alerts extended from 4 days out to 8 days out

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## Related topics

[metservice rural weather](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/metservice-rural-weather) · [metservice nz weather](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/metservice-nz-weather) · [metservice](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/metservice) · [metservice nz](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/metservice-nz)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-09-02.*