Comparison

Tropical Hurricane Tracker vs VortexWeather

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Hurricane Tracking Maps by Region
  • NOAA Forecasts
  • Interactive Global Map
  • Push Notifications
  • Ensemble Models
  • Saffir-Simpson Scale
  • Safety & Preparedness Information
Features
Read 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

About

VortexWeather

Access detailed weather data including hurricanes, radar, satellite, and forecast models. Offers free basic features and paid subscriptions for advanced capabilities like 3D viewers and extended forecast data.

Highlights
  • Live storm tracks and forecast cones
  • NEXRAD radar and satellite imagery
  • Forecast radar and satellite animation
  • Numerical forecast models (GFS, ECMWF)
  • Real-time lightning detection
  • 3D hurricane and radar viewers (Pro)
Features
Read full description

VortexWeather turns raw NOAA data into fast, interactive weather maps — hurricanes, radar, satellite, lightning, and full numerical models, all in one app. Free to download and use. Features marked (Basic) or (Pro) require a paid auto-renewable subscription — see Subscriptions below. Available in English, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional) and Thai. TROPICAL & HURRICANES • Live storm tracks and forecast cones from the National Hurricane Center • Wind radii and tropical watches/warnings • Spaghetti plots from 35+ forecast models (Basic) • Historical storm tracks (Basic) • Storm wind and precipitation animation with max wind swath and rain totals (Pro) • GPU-accelerated 3D hurricane viewer with wind particle animations and isosurfaces (Pro) RADAR & SATELLITE • National and single-site NEXRAD radar (reflectivity & velocity) • Forecast radar: loops continue into the HRRR model's forecast (Basic) • 3D NEXRAD volume scan viewer with cross sections, cell isolation, and tornado rotation tools (Pro) • GOES and Himawari satellite imagery • Satellite animation (Basic) • Real-time lightning FORECAST MODELS • GFS and ECMWF surface temperature, dewpoint, pressure, humidity, and wind — free with a VortexWeather account • Animated surface wind particle flow — free with a VortexWeather account • Upper-air heights and winds, CAPE, precipitation, cloud cover, and more (Basic) • High-resolution HRRR model and animated wind barbs (Basic) SEVERE, AVIATION & MORE • SPC outlooks, WPC forecasts, and live NWS alerts (Basic) • Aviation hazards: SIGMET/AIRMET/PIREP and METARs (Basic) • USGS earthquakes SUBSCRIPTIONS VortexWeather is free to download, with ads. A paid subscription removes ads and unlocks the features marked above: • VortexWeather Basic — $4.99 per month or $50.90 per year • VortexWeather Pro — $9.99 per month or $99.99 per year; includes everything in Basic plus the features marked (Pro) Payment is charged to your Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled at least 24 hours before the end of the current period, and your account is charged for renewal within 24 hours before the period ends. Manage or cancel anytime in your App Store account settings. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Terms of Service: https://vortexweather.com/terms Privacy Policy: https://vortexweather.com/privacy VortexWeather is provided for informational and educational purposes only. Always rely on official sources such as the National Weather Service and National Hurricane Center for life-safety decisions.

Screenshots

Tropical Hurricane Tracker4 screens
VortexWeather4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ratings volume: Tropical Hurricane Tracker at 2.4K against VortexWeather's 2. On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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

Both are free to download. Tropical Hurricane Tracker sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year and VortexWeather sells 4 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Tropical Hurricane Tracker against 5.0 for VortexWeather. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Tropical Hurricane Tracker has 2.4K ratings behind it against 2, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Tropical Hurricane Tracker ships an update weekly, VortexWeather fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
Tropical Hurricane Tracker versus VortexWeather: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterTropical Hurricane TrackerVortexWeather
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (2.4K ratings)5.0 (2 ratings) — better
Positive reviews95.6% of reviews—
Number of ratings2.4K — better2
Update frequencyWeekly — betterFortnightly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.615.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size56 MB66 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperJPL Technical Solutions, LLCVORTEXWEATHER LLC

Customer experience

Tropical Hurricane Tracker

All ratings2,403 ratings
Positive99.0%
Neutral0.4%
Negative0.6%
Written reviews137 reviews
Positive95.6%
Neutral1.5%
Negative2.9%

VortexWeather

All ratings2 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

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

VortexWeather

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

2 purchases

Tropical Hurricane Tracker

Subscriptions1
  • No Ads (annual)$1.991 Year
One-time1
  • No Ads (forever)$6.99
4 purchases

VortexWeather

Subscriptions4
  • Basic Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Pro Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Basic Annual$50.901 Year
Show 1 more
  • Pro Annual$99.991 Year

Questions

Is Tropical Hurricane Tracker free?
Tropical Hurricane Tracker is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is VortexWeather free?
VortexWeather is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Tropical Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather?
VortexWeather is rated higher. Tropical Hurricane Tracker averages 4.9 out of 5 from 2.4K ratings, while VortexWeather averages 5.0 from 2 ratings.
Do Tropical Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather have ads?
Both Tropical Hurricane Tracker and VortexWeather show ads.
Which is updated more often, Tropical Hurricane Tracker or VortexWeather?
Tropical Hurricane Tracker ships an update weekly, and VortexWeather fortnightly. Most recently, Tropical Hurricane Tracker was updated on November 11, 2026 and VortexWeather on November 6, 2026.

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