Comparison

Storm Radar vs Tidecast

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

Tidecast

Easily check tide times, water levels, and weather forecasts for coastal activities. Plan beach walks, tidepooling, or photography with tide charts and custom alerts. Access information offline and customize your view with light/dark modes and seasonal colors.

Highlights
  • Tide charts with sunrise, sunset, and moon phases
  • Integrated weather forecasts on tide charts
  • Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets
  • Customizable tide level alerts
  • Tidepooling mode with daylight and duration options
  • Wind, wave, and water temperature data
  • Offline tide and condition information
Features
Read full description

Tidecast helps you answer one simple question: is the tide right for our plan? Maybe you are taking kids to tide pools, meeting a friend for a beach walk, setting up a picnic, taking coastal photos, or waiting for a path to open at a lower water level. Tidecast puts the next tide change, current height, and the water level you care about where you can see them fast. At a glance: - A bright, easy-to-see tide chart shows the next few days, with sunrise, sunset, night, the moon, and a marker for right now. - When weather is in the forecast, clouds, rain, or snow can appear right on the chart, so the tide and sky tell one story. - Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets keep tide height, next high or low, and a tiny chart handy without opening the app. - Custom tide level widgets can watch for the water height you care about. - Local alerts can remind you before a good tidepooling window or before the tide falls to your chosen level. Plan around the water: - Let Tidecast find a nearby NOAA tide prediction location, choose one on the map, or save favorites. - Turn on Tidepooling Mode to highlight windows that match your low-tide goal, daylight choices, and how long you want to visit. - Add your own low-tide line for beach walks, sandbars, launches, photo spots, or any place where "low enough" matters. - Check wind, waves, water temperature, and marine and coastal alerts before you head out. Features: - Easy to skim chart with: rising or falling tide, next high or low, current height, and tide windows. - Lockscreen and Springboard widgets make quick checks feel like peeking out the window. - Tidecast can keep recent tide and condition info on hand when service gets spotty. - Light and Dark looks follow your phone, with seasonal colors that feel a little different through the year. Tidecast uses trusted public tide and weather data, including NOAA tide predictions and National Weather Service alerts and forecasts, and nearby aviation METAR reports. Tidecast is for planning, the ocean can change quickly. Always check local signs, official forecasts, closures, and the water in front of you.

Screenshots

Storm Radar4 screens
Tidecast4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Storm Radar at Free against Tidecast's $3.99. Storm Radar also leads on ratings volume (137K vs 5) and chart position (#21 vs unranked). Tidecast's advantage is rating (5.0 vs 4.5) and in-app purchases (none vs 7). On update cadence, 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; Tidecast costs $3.99 up front. Storm Radar sells 7 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Tidecast asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Tidecast holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Storm Radar has 137K ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Storm Radar ships an update every 2 weeks, Tidecast every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 8, 2026 and October 31, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
Storm Radar versus Tidecast: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStorm RadarTidecast
PriceFree — better$3.99
Rating4.5 (137K ratings)5.0 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews64.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings137K — better5
Update frequencyEvery 2 weeks — betterEvery 3 weeks
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFreemium — betterPaid
Best chart rank#21 — better—
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.217.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size313 MB11 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperThe Weather Channel InteractiveMy Dog Hates Technology LLC

Customer experience

Storm Radar

All ratings130,788 ratings
Positive88.2%
Neutral2.7%
Negative9.1%
Written reviews2,370 reviews
Positive64.6%
Neutral5.8%
Negative29.7%

Tidecast

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

Tidecast

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

Tidecast

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Storm Radar free?
Storm Radar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Tidecast free?
Tidecast costs $3.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Storm Radar or Tidecast?
Tidecast is rated higher. Storm Radar averages 4.5 out of 5 from 137K ratings, while Tidecast averages 5.0 from 5 ratings.
Do Storm Radar or Tidecast have ads?
Storm Radar shows ads; Tidecast does not.
Which is updated more often, Storm Radar or Tidecast?
Storm Radar ships an update every 2 weeks, and Tidecast every 3 weeks. Most recently, Storm Radar was updated on November 8, 2026 and Tidecast on October 31, 2026.

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