Comparison

Storm Radar vs Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Storm Radar

This app provides advanced weather radar and storm tracking with real-time alerts for rain, severe weather, and lightning. It offers detailed visualizations of weather patterns, future radar projections, and customizable map layers for tracking storms like hurricanes and tornadoes.

Highlights
  • Expanded weather map layers (wind, lightning, tropical tracks)
  • High-resolution single site radar
  • AI Weather Assistant for real-time insights
  • Smarter storm alerts (rain, NOAA warnings)
  • 6-72 hour future radar projections
  • Live local storm warnings and advisories
  • Lightning alerts
Features
Read full description

Welcome to the NEW Storm Radar, the next generation of weather radar and storm tracking. We’ve re-imagined the app with smarter insights, powerful tools, and a fresh design built on the trusted accuracy of The Weather Channel. Track incoming rain with future radar, watch storm movement and timing on a live map, and follow every storm with accurate live radar. POWERFUL WEATHER & RADAR FEATURES • Expanded weather map layers: Overlay precipitation, hail, wind, lightning, tropical tracks, and storm intensity on detailed maps • Advanced high-resolution single site radar — accurate live radar to track storms in crystal-clear detail • AI Weather Assistant™: Your personal meteorologist for real-time insights • Smarter storm alerts: Rain alerts, NOAA severe weather warnings, and more PLAN AHEAD WITH POWERFUL WEATHER INTELLIGENCE • Visualize changing weather patterns and incoming wind and rain in vivid detail • Track incoming rain and know exactly when and where the storm will hit, with 6 hours of global future radar and up to 72 hours of future radar in the US • Get real-time precipitation alerts before the rain begins STAY SAFE WITH REAL-TIME STORM TRACKING • Receive live local storm warnings, watches, and advisories • Watch lightning strikes and storm cells on the live map, with lightning alerts for your location • Customize map layers to track severe conditions like hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, and cyclones • Use Storm Tracks to see storm movement, timing, and intensity on the map, with up to 30 advanced tracking features SEE MORE WITH DETAILED WEATHER DATA • Add overlays such as wind speed, temperature, and more to your weather radar GO PREMIUM FOR FULL STORM & WEATHER POWER Unlock the complete Storm Radar experience to level up your storm tracking experience, with: • High-res Single Site Radar • Advanced map layers • 72-Hour Future Radar • Expanded access to the AI Weather Assistant • Customizable weather widgets If you choose to purchase the Premium version of Storm Radar, subscription payments will be charged to your App Store account at confirmation of your purchase. • Storm subscription auto renews annually. • Cancel anytime in Settings > AppleID at least 24 hours before your renewal date to avoid charges. • Subscription payments will be charged to your account at confirmation of your purchase and upon commencement of each renewal term. PRIVACY • Our Privacy Policy can be viewed here: https://weather.com/en-US/twc/privacy-policy • Our Terms of Use can be viewed here: http://www.weather.com/common/home/legal.html FEEDBACK • Your feedback is important to us! If you love our weather app, please rate and review us in the App Store. • If you have any questions or suggestions, please email us at twcstormradar@weather.com

About

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

This app provides near real-time wildfire tracking using satellite data from multiple authoritative sources. It offers detailed worldwide and US-specific layers, including fire detections, perimeters, smoke plumes, and air quality. Users can monitor multiple map areas and access detailed incident information.

Highlights
  • Satellite hotspot detections
  • Worldwide and US-specific fire layers
  • Active fire perimeters
  • Smoke plume tracking
  • Air Quality Index monitoring
  • Live fire camera feeds
  • Push notifications for new incidents
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Track wildfire activity in near real-time on a single, layered map, and get fire alerts when satellites detect a new hotspot near the places you watch. Fireguard pulls data from NASA, NOAA, NIFC, NWS, and other authoritative sources so you can see what's burning, where it's headed, and how conditions are changing. WORLDWIDE LAYERS • Satellite hotspot detections from Suomi-NPP, NOAA-20, NOAA-21 (VIIRS 375 m) and Terra (MODIS 1 km) • Satellite ground-track overlays showing upcoming sensor passes • Low-confidence hotspot filter to reduce false positives UNITED STATES LAYERS • GOES geostationary fire detections • Active fire perimeters and WFIGS interagency boundaries • InciWeb incidents, wildland dispatch reports, and new-start ignitions • ICS-209 large-incident tracking with assigned resources • Satellite-derived emerging fire polygons • Cal Fire California incidents • NOAA smoke plume areas • Red Flag Warnings, Fire Weather Watches, and SPC Day 1 Outlook • Dry thunderstorm risk areas • Air Quality Index (AQI) monitoring stations with PM2.5 and ozone • Live fire camera feeds (ALERTCalifornia) • Real-time traffic conditions INTERNATIONAL LAYERS • Canada active wildfires by province (NRCan CWFIS) • Australia NSW Rural Fire Service major incidents • Europe, Mediterranean, and Middle East fire perimeters (EFFIS) DESIGNED FOR EVERYONE • No account, login, or subscription required • Monitor up to 3 map areas at once — pick a city or use your current location • Tap any marker or polygon for a detailed breakdown with source links • Toggle layers on or off to build the view you need Anyone in or near a fire-prone area — residents, first responders, ranchers, travelers, or people watching out for family — gets a clearer picture of what's happening, faster. Fire alerts follow satellite passes: detections typically arrive 1–4 hours after a fire starts. Fireguard is not an official warning system. Always follow instructions from local authorities.

Screenshots

Storm Radar4 screens
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker4 screens

Verdict

The call

Storm Radar and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker both sit at 4.5 stars, but that hides the real split: 65% of Storm Radar's written reviews are positive against 8% of Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's. Storm Radar also leads on price (Free vs $9.99) and ratings volume (136K vs 5). Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 7) and ads (none vs shown). On rating, 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Storm Radar is free to download; Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99 up front. Storm Radar sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Fireguard Wildfire Tracker asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.5 for Storm Radar against 4.6 for Fireguard Wildfire Tracker. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Storm Radar has 136K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 65% of Storm Radar's written reviews are positive against 8% of Fireguard Wildfire Tracker's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Storm Radar ships an update every 2 weeks, Fireguard Wildfire Tracker weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard8 real differences · 3 level
Storm Radar versus Fireguard Wildfire Tracker: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStorm RadarFireguard Wildfire Tracker
PriceFree — better$9.99
Rating4.5 (136K ratings)4.6 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews — better8.3% of reviews
Number of ratings136K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeksWeekly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank#18 — better#183
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.216.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size313 MB28 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Weather Channel InteractiveQvyshift LLC

Customer experience

Storm Radar

All ratings130,788 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral2.7%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews2,358 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral5.7%
Negative29.7%

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

All ratings5 ratings
Positive80.0%
Neutral20.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive8.3%
Neutral8.3%
Negative83.3%

Bugs and requests

Storm Radar

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • App crashes frequently
  • Radar and forecast data not loading properly
  • Saved locations not working
  • Inconsistent performance across devices
  • Issues with weather alerts and notifications

Requested features

5 requests
  • Bring back old Storm app features
  • More customization options
  • Improved radar and storm tracking
  • Better integration with other weather data sources
  • Ability to view weather history and trends

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

7 purchases

Storm Radar

Subscriptions7
  • Remove Ads$0.991 Month
  • Storm Premium$1.997 Days
  • Storm Premium$3.991 Month
Show 4 more
  • Storm Premium +$4.991 Month
  • Storm Premium7 Days trial$19.991 Year
  • Storm Premium1 Month trial$19.991 Year
  • Storm Premium +7 Days trial$29.991 Year
None

Fireguard Wildfire Tracker

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Storm Radar free?
Storm Radar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Fireguard Wildfire Tracker free?
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Storm Radar or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Fireguard Wildfire Tracker is rated higher. Storm Radar averages 4.5 out of 5 from 136K ratings, while Fireguard Wildfire Tracker averages 4.6 from 5 ratings.
Do Storm Radar or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker have ads?
Storm Radar shows ads; Fireguard Wildfire Tracker does not.
Which is updated more often, Storm Radar or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Storm Radar ships an update every 2 weeks, and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker weekly. Most recently, Storm Radar was updated on November 1, 2026 and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker on October 30, 2026.
Which is more popular, Storm Radar or Fireguard Wildfire Tracker?
Storm Radar currently peaks at #18 in the App Store charts, and Fireguard Wildfire Tracker at #183. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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