Lightning Tracker vs Hanalei River
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Lightning Tracker
Visualize real-time lightning strikes across North and South America on a dynamic map. Receive predictive alerts for strike patterns and intensity, with estimated arrival times for your location. Monitor current and historical lightning activity to stay informed and protected.
- Live lightning map
- Real-time strike visualization
- Predictive lightning alerts
- Estimated time of arrival (ETA) for strikes
- Monitor saved locations
- 6-hour strike history
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Stay safe from lightning! Lightning Tracker delivers real-time lightning strike data for North and South America, keeping you and your loved ones protected. Live Lightning Map: Watch real-time strikes across the Americas with color-coded visuals to track lightning movement. Lightning Alerts: Predict strike patterns and intensity, with ETAs for your location. Monitor Anywhere: Check strikes near you or saved spots, like home or family, in one tap. 6-Hour Strike History: Analyze past lightning trends to stay one step ahead. Protect what matters most with Lightning Tracker. Download now to track strikes and stay safe!
Hanalei River
Monitor river gauge heights and road conditions on Kaua'i during heavy rains. Access real-time data from USGS river gauges and view traffic camera feeds to check road accessibility. Future updates will include push notifications for rising river levels.
- USGS river gauge height monitoring
- Hanalei Initiative road camera access
- All Kaua'i river gauge data
- Push notifications for rising rivers (upcoming)
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The Hanalei River decides a lot of days on the North Shore. This app tells you where it stands, in one number, plus everything you need to read it. THE RIVER RIGHT NOW Open the app and the river's height sits at the top of the screen, in feet, next to what it means against the 5 ft flood stage: Normal, Elevated, Near flood stage, or Flood stage. A trend chip says whether the river is rising, falling, or holding, and by how much in the last hour. Every reading is stamped with its age, and when a gauge goes quiet or the USGS equipment fails, the app says so. An old number never gets dressed up as a live one. THE LAST FEW DAYS AT A GLANCE A stage chart plots recent gauge history, with the flood line drawn in whenever the river is anywhere near it. You see a squall's rise and fall, not just this minute's reading. LIVE ROAD CAM The Hanalei road cam, streaming live, courtesy of the Hanalei Initiative. The app finds the current stream on its own, so it keeps working when the broadcast restarts. WEATHER THAT LEADS WITH WHAT MATTERS Watches, warnings, and advisories in force for the North Shore come first, not buried in a technical narrative. Under that, the seven-period NWS forecast with temperature, wind, and chance of rain, and the full forecast discussion from NWS Honolulu when you want the reasoning behind it. Active flood alerts show up on the river screen too. TIDE AND DISCHARGE A tide curve for the day ahead with the next high or low called out, plus the river's discharge in cubic feet per second. EVERY GAUGE ON KAUAI One tab, one row per river: current level, direction, and a sparkline of recent readings. Hanalei, Wailua, Waimea, and the rest — the whole island in a few seconds of scrolling. ON YOUR WRIST The Apple Watch app keeps current height, reading time, discharge, and the next tide a glance away. NO ACCOUNT, NO ADS Nothing to sign up for. Pull to refresh, or just reopen the app and it updates itself. Full dark mode, so a 2 a.m. check doesn't light up the room. Readings come from the USGS gauge on the Hanalei River, tide predictions from NOAA, and alerts and forecasts from the National Weather Service. A gauge reading is not a road report. The app can tell you the river has reached flood stage; it cannot tell you whether water is over the road. Follow county and emergency guidance, and never drive through moving water.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is price: Lightning Tracker at Free against Hanalei River's $0.99. Lightning Tracker also leads on ratings volume (574 vs 22) and review sentiment (76% vs 67%). Hanalei River's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 1) and ads (none vs shown). On 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
Lightning Tracker is free to download; Hanalei River costs $0.99 up front. Lightning Tracker sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Hanalei River asks for nothing beyond the download.
Hanalei River holds the better App Store score, 4.5 against 4.3. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Lightning Tracker has 574 ratings behind it against 22, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 76% of Lightning Tracker's written reviews are positive against 67% of Hanalei River's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Lightning Tracker ships an update every 4 months, Hanalei River every 4 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Lightning Tracker | Hanalei River |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free — better | $0.99 |
| Rating | 4.3 (574 ratings) | 4.5 (22 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 75.6% of reviews — better | 66.7% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 574 — better | 22 |
| Update frequency | Every 4 months | Every 4 weeks — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases — better | Paid |
| Best chart rank | — | #125 — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 13.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 127 MB | 18 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Elecont LLC | ONOSOL LLC |
Customer experience
Lightning Tracker
Hanalei River
Bugs and requests
Lightning Tracker
Reported bugs
3 issues- App not detecting lightning strikes even when visible
- Frequent crashes and freezes
- Issues with app updates and functionality changes
Requested features
4 requests- Add distance/radius information for lightning strikes
- Implement push notifications/alerts for lightning within a certain radius
- Provide historical data and the ability to view past lightning activity
- Improve overall app stability and performance
Hanalei River
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Lightning Tracker
- Remove Ads & Limits$2.99
Hanalei River
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Lightning Tracker free?
Is Hanalei River free?
Which has better reviews, Lightning Tracker or Hanalei River?
Do Lightning Tracker or Hanalei River have ads?
Which is updated more often, Lightning Tracker or Hanalei River?
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