Tropical Hurricane Tracker vs PCB Surf Flags
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Tropical Hurricane Tracker
Stay informed about hurricanes and tropical storms with real-time tracking maps, NOAA forecasts, and push notifications. This app simplifies complex storm data into an easy-to-navigate interface, offering essential preparedness information for hurricane-prone areas.
- Hurricane Tracking Maps by Region
- NOAA Forecasts
- Interactive Global Map
- Push Notifications
- Ensemble Models
- Saffir-Simpson Scale
- Safety & Preparedness Information
Read full descriptionHide full description
Tropical Hurricane Tracker provides the most up-to-date information about hurricanes, tropical storms, and disturbances. Most apps are overly complicated and cluttered with information. Tropical Hurricane Tracker offers the unique ability to easily navigate through multiple data points to find the information you need to keep track of these potentially devastating storms. At JPL Tech, we are committed to learning and improving. We welcome feedback that will help us continue to develop this app to best suit the needs of our users. Our goal is to create an app that is easy for everyone to access, especially those in hurricane-prone areas. If there is a feature you would like to see, please let us know by contacting us within the app. Features Include: • Hurricane Tracking Maps by Region (Central Pacific, Eastern North Pacific, Atlantic) • NOAA Forecasts • Interactive Global Map • Push Notifications • Ensemble Models • Historic Seasonal Maps • Historic Storm Tracks • Saffir-Simpson Scale • Safety & Preparedness Information ----- Privacy & Feedback If you have any questions or suggestions about our service, please do not hesitate to get in touch at 'hurricane@jpltech.com'. Privacy Policy, https://jpltech.com/privacy-policy Terms of Use, https://jpltech.com/terms-of-use
PCB Surf Flags
Get instant updates on rip current risk at Panama City Beach with this app. It uses the familiar color-coded flag system and offers multiple ways to stay informed, including home screen widgets and Apple Watch complications.
- Rip current risk alerts
- Color-coded flag system
- Home screen widget
- Banner notifications
- Apple Watch complication
- Live beach webcam
Read full descriptionHide full description
The Panama City Beach, Florida - Surf Flags Advisory App This app allows you to quickly see the currently advised risk of rip current at Panama City Beach, using the familiar color-coded flag system. So quick, you don't even need to open the app! Offering several ways see, pick whichever you prefer: - A widget to place on your Home Screen - Banner notifications when the flags change - A complication and app for the Apple Watch Plus, the app offers information for additional ways to track the status: - How to receive text notifications - Links to the official webpages - A webcam to see the beach live
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: PCB Surf Flags at none against Tropical Hurricane Tracker's 2. PCB Surf Flags also leads on ads (none vs shown). Tropical Hurricane Tracker's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 6 weeks) and ratings volume (2.4K vs 1). On price, rating, review sentiment and device support 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. Tropical Hurricane Tracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year. PCB Surf Flags asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Tropical Hurricane Tracker against 5.0 for PCB Surf Flags. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tropical Hurricane Tracker has 2.4K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 96% of Tropical Hurricane Tracker's written reviews are positive against 100% of PCB Surf Flags's.
Tropical Hurricane Tracker ships an update weekly, PCB Surf Flags every 6 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Tropical Hurricane Tracker | PCB Surf Flags |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (2.4K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 95.6% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 2.4K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Weekly — better | Every 6 weeks |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 56 MB | 11 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | JPL Technical Solutions, LLC | Michael Howard |
Customer experience
Tropical Hurricane Tracker
PCB Surf Flags
Bugs and requests
Tropical Hurricane Tracker
Reported bugs
2 issues- Notification long-press feature not working consistently
- Filter settings not persisting between app sessions
Requested features
3 requests- Add spaghetti models and more forecast models
- Ability to customize notification settings
- Retain notification history after launching the app
PCB Surf Flags
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Tropical Hurricane Tracker
- No Ads (annual)$1.991 Year
- No Ads (forever)$6.99
PCB Surf Flags
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Tropical Hurricane Tracker free?
Is PCB Surf Flags free?
Which has better reviews, Tropical Hurricane Tracker or PCB Surf Flags?
Do Tropical Hurricane Tracker or PCB Surf Flags have ads?
Which is updated more often, Tropical Hurricane Tracker or PCB Surf Flags?
Other comparisons
