NewsChannel 3 vs KSBY Microclimate Weather
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
NewsChannel 3
Get comprehensive weather updates for Santa Barbara and surrounding areas. Access current conditions, forecasts, severe weather alerts, and video reports from a dedicated weather team. Stay informed with VIPIR Radar and breaking weather headlines.
- Local weather information
- Current conditions
- Forecasts
- Severe weather alerts
- VIPIR Radar
- Video weather reports
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KEYT First Alert Weather delivers complete weather information for Santa Barbara, Santa Maria and surrounding communitues. The weather team from KEYT NewsChannel 3 and KCOY Central Coast News keeps you informed on current conditions and provides constant updates with VIPIR Radar, forecasts, severe weather alerts, video and headlines.
KSBY Microclimate Weather
Get hyper-local weather updates with 250-meter radar and high-resolution satellite imagery. This app provides current conditions, future radar, and hourly forecasts, with GPS integration for location awareness and severe weather alerts.
- 250 meter radar resolution
- High-resolution satellite imagery
- Future radar for severe weather tracking
- Current weather updates
- Save favorite locations
- Daily and hourly forecasts
- GPS for current location
- Severe weather push alerts
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The KSBY Microclimate Weather App includes: • Access to station content specifically for our mobile users • 250 meter radar, the highest resolution available • High resolution satellite cloud imagery • Future radar to see where severe weather is headed • Current weather updated multiple times per hour • Ability to add and save your favorite locations • Daily and Hourly forecasts updated hourly from our computer models • A fully integrated GPS for current location awareness • Opt-in push alerts to keep you safe in severe weather • Severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: KSBY Microclimate Weather at 4.7 against NewsChannel 3's 2.9. KSBY Microclimate Weather also leads on review sentiment (42% vs 17%) and ratings volume (1.7K vs 13). NewsChannel 3's advantage is iOS requirement (13.0 vs 15.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
KSBY Microclimate Weather holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 2.9. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: KSBY Microclimate Weather has 1.7K ratings behind it against 13, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 17% of NewsChannel 3's written reviews are positive against 42% of KSBY Microclimate Weather's.
NewsChannel 3 ships an update every 5 months, KSBY Microclimate Weather every 2 months. The most recent releases landed on June 22, 2026 and September 20, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | NewsChannel 3 | KSBY Microclimate Weather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.9 (13 ratings) | 4.7 (1.7K ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 16.7% of reviews | 42.1% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 13 | 1.7K — better |
| Update frequency | Every 5 months | Every 2 months — better |
| Ads | Yes | Yes |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 15.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 95 MB | 246 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | News-Press & Gazette Company | E.W. Scripps Company |
Customer experience
NewsChannel 3
KSBY Microclimate Weather
Bugs and requests
NewsChannel 3
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
KSBY Microclimate Weather
Reported bugs
2 issues- App freezes and crashes
- Inability to load weather data
Requested features
2 requests- Improved radar and precipitation tracking
- Customizable weather alerts and notifications
In-app purchases
NewsChannel 3
No in-app purchases
KSBY Microclimate Weather
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is NewsChannel 3 free?
Is KSBY Microclimate Weather free?
Which has better reviews, NewsChannel 3 or KSBY Microclimate Weather?
Do NewsChannel 3 or KSBY Microclimate Weather have ads?
Which is updated more often, NewsChannel 3 or KSBY Microclimate Weather?
Other comparisons
