VNL Weather vs MDSS
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
VNL Weather
Get hyper-local weather updates with high-resolution radar and satellite imagery. Receive daily and hourly forecasts, severe weather alerts, and personalized location tracking. Stay informed and safe with real-time weather information.
- 250 meter radar
- Future radar
- High resolution satellite imagery
- Current weather updates
- Daily and hourly forecasts
- Favorite locations
- Severe weather alerts
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Valley News Live , is proud to announce a full featured weather app for the iPhone and iPad platforms. Features • Access to station content specifically for our mobile users • 250 meter radar, the highest resolution available • Future radar to see where severe weather is headed • High resolution satellite cloud imagery • Current weather updated multiple times per hour • Daily and Hourly forecasts updated hourly from our computer models • Ability to add and save your favorite locations • A fully integrated GPS for current location awareness • Severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service • Opt-in push alerts to keep you safe in severe weather
MDSS
This app provides mobile access to winter maintenance decision support for transportation agencies. It offers route-specific recommendations, weather and pavement forecasts, and observational data. Access is restricted to preauthorized users.
- Route-specific winter maintenance recommendations
- Weather and pavement forecasts
- FAA/NWS and RWIS observations
- Weather maps
- Camera images
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The MDSS app is a mobile application for the Pooled Fund Study Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS). It is designed to provide mobile access to information that supports transportation winter maintenance decision making, including route-specific winter maintenance recommendations, weather and pavement forecasts, and observational data to include FAA/NWS and RWIS observations, weather maps, and camera images. Account access is required. Organizations can subscribe to the MDSS service through DTN to enable access for their personnel. Contact DTN for subscription information.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: VNL Weather at 4.6 against MDSS's 2.6. VNL Weather also leads on review sentiment (36% vs 11%) and ratings volume (9K vs 20). MDSS's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, in-app purchases, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
VNL Weather holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: VNL Weather has 9K ratings behind it against 20, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 36% of VNL Weather's written reviews are positive against 11% of MDSS's.
VNL Weather ships an update every 2 months, MDSS monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 26, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | VNL Weather | MDSS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.6 (9K ratings) — better | 2.6 (20 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 36.3% of reviews — better | 11.1% of reviews |
| Number of ratings | 9K — better | 20 |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | Monthly — better |
| Ads | Yes | No — better |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 242 MB | 81 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Gray Television Group, Inc. | DTN, LLC |
Customer experience
VNL Weather
MDSS
Bugs and requests
VNL Weather
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login screen freezes
- Incompatible with older devices
- Radar doesn't update
- Radar twitches and scrolling malfunctions
Requested features
4 requests- Localize the weather alerts
- More details on daily like rain amount
- Dark mode option
- Advanced analytics dashboard
MDSS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
VNL Weather
No in-app purchases
MDSS
No in-app purchases
