HemsWX vs Aurora Notifier
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
HemsWX
This weather system provides pilots with access to weather cameras, forecasts, and local measurements for mission planning. It is intended for use by partner organizations like emergency services and the military, with access granted through specific management channels.
- Access to weather cameras
- Weather forecasts from met.no
- Local pressure and temperature measurements
- Mission planning tools for pilots
- Partner access for emergency services
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The weather camera system HemsWX has been developed and financed by the Norwegian Air Ambulance Foundation, in close collaboration with Norsk Luftambulanse AS, and gives pilots access to their own weather cameras, webcams, weather forecasts from met.no and local pressure / temperature measurements for planning assignments. The app can, in this version, be used by partners such as helicopter operators, the Armed Forces, the emergency services and the Meteorological Institute. Employees at these must contact their own management for login info. Other individuals who believe they need access to HemsWX can apply for access to SNLA. The app is used at your own risk and by agreement with the developer.
Aurora Notifier
Receive alerts for potential aurora sightings with configurable thresholds for Kp-index and solar wind parameters. See user-submitted photos and real-time observation locations on a 3D globe. A premium version offers advanced technical data and hidden features.
- Aurora sighting notifications
- Configurable alert thresholds
- User-submitted aurora photos
- Real-time observation map
- Kp-index and solar wind data
- Premium version with advanced features
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Aurora notification app with observation reports. Finally available for iOS. This aurora notification app shows notifications when it may be possible to see the northern lights (aurora borealis / australis)! It provides configurable thresholds for local aurora probability, Kp-index (Hp30), solar wind parameters (Bz/Bt) and Kp-level forecast for the evening. It also allows you to be alerted when other app users nearby have seen the aurora light display. For the alert feature to work, other app users register aurora reports when they are successful hunting and get to see the aurora light display. This has proven to be quite successful. Many of the app users also upload pictures of northern lights when they see them, and in this app you can see these pictures. You can also see dots on a 3d-globe animation showing where people have just observed the light show. There are users in the US, Canada, Europe, Australia and New Zealand who regularly report their observations and upload pictures. Although the chances are greater if you live in Alaska, northern Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the southern tip of New Zealand etc, there are also regular opportunities in places like Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, Montana, Michigan, Chicago, New York, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, the Baltics etc. The premium version which can be bought within the app itself offers some more technical information and graphs of Kp-index predictions, cloud cover and solar wind parameters - and some hidden features. The app has an associated X account (@aurora_notifier - https://x.com/aurora_notifier) and an Instagram account (@auroranotifierapp - https://www.instagram.com/auroranotifierapp). Consider following those.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Aurora Notifier at 4.5 against HemsWX's 4.0. Aurora Notifier also leads on update cadence (every 5 days vs every 3 weeks) and ratings volume (6 vs 1). HemsWX's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2). On price, ads, device support and iOS requirement 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. Aurora Notifier sells 2 one-off in-app purchases. HemsWX asks for nothing beyond the download.
Aurora Notifier holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.0. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Aurora Notifier has 6 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
HemsWX ships an update every 3 weeks, Aurora Notifier every 5 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 9, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | HemsWX | Aurora Notifier |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.0 (1 ratings) | 4.5 (6 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | — | 0.0% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 1 | 6 — better |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks | Every 5 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No — better | Yes |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 17.0 | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 145 MB | 20 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Stiftelsen Norsk Luftambulanse | Naturfakta AS |
Customer experience
HemsWX
Aurora Notifier
In-app purchases
HemsWX
No in-app purchases
Aurora Notifier
- Premium upgrade$2.99
- Premium$3.99









