Comparison

FEMA vs Weather & Radar

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

Head to head
About

FEMA

This app provides essential tools and information for disaster preparedness, safety, and recovery. Receive real-time alerts, access guidance on emergency plans and kits, and find information on disaster assistance.

Highlights
  • Real-time weather and emergency alerts
  • Disaster preparedness guidance
  • Actionable safety advice
  • Disaster recovery assistance information
  • Location-based alerts
  • Accessibility features
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

The official FEMA mobile app provides essential tools and information to help you prepare for, stay safe during, and recover from disasters. Empower yourself and your loved ones with critical resources at your fingertips. Key Features: - Timely and Relevant Alerts: Receive real-time weather and emergency alerts from the National Weather Service (NWS) and Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), tailored to your specified locations (up to five), utilizing zip code precision. Stay informed about potential hazards affecting the areas you care about. - Comprehensive Preparedness Guidance: Access clear, concise information on how to prepare for various disasters. Learn how to develop a family emergency communication plan and build an effective emergency kit. - Actionable Safety Advice: Understand immediate steps to take to protect yourself and your family during different types of emergencies. - Disaster Recovery Assistance: Find answers to frequently asked questions about the disaster assistance process and locate FEMA Disaster Recovery Centers nearby. - Accessibility Focused: Designed with accessibility in mind, the app is compatible with screen reader technology and adheres to federal accessibility standards. Be proactive in ensuing your safety and resilience. Download the official FEMA App today to access vital information and resources when you need them most. It’s a free and essential tool for every individual and family. If you have any questions, comments or ideas, we’d love to hear them. Contact us at fema-app@fema.dhs.gov. Important: Tornado alerts are a moving target using polygon tracking for accuracy. Real-time tornado alerts based on your current location are not currently offered in the FEMA app.

About

Weather & Radar

Visualize current and future weather conditions with detailed radar maps, including rain, clouds, lightning, and temperature. Plan your day, travel, or outdoor activities with forecasts up to 14 days ahead and receive timely alerts for significant weather changes.

Highlights
  • Live weather radar map
  • Up to 14-day forecasts
  • Minute-by-minute short-term changes
  • Severe weather alerts
  • Air quality index (AQI)
  • Weather webcams
  • Home screen widgets
Features
Read full description

Never get caught off guard by the weather With Weather & Radar, you see the weather at a glance — with one WeatherRadar that brings rain, clouds, sun, lightning, fog, and temperature together on one map. Wondering if rain is moving in, the sun will break through, or a thunderstorm is building nearby? WeatherRadar shows how sun, rain, clouds, fog, thunderstorms, lightning, and temperature are developing now, over the next few hours, and up to 4 days ahead: minute by minute for short-term changes, for your local forecast in the US and around the world. Your weather for everyday life, travel, and plans • Weather for every plan: drive to work, walk the dog, go for a jog, take the kids to the park, camp, hike, fish, or plan a BBQ. • Watch live as rain, storm cells, clouds, lightning, fog, and wind develop, where they are moving, and what that means for outdoor plans — from pop-up thunderstorms to hurricane-season weather. • The 14-day weather forecast and daily forecasts help you plan outdoor activities, road trips, vacations, and game day weather. Everything you need at a glance From RainRadar and free 4-day WeatherRadar to temperature, wind speed, lightning tracker, UV index, and air quality index (AQI) — everything is clear, current, and easy to understand. The AQI view focuses on how pollution may affect your health. With the weather widget, you can bring your local weather, current weather, weather today, and daily forecast straight to your Home Screen. We keep you updated We monitor the weather around you and send weather alerts when a change matters for your day: severe storm alerts, thunderstorms, first snow, extreme heat, strong wind, or other significant conditions. No hype, no panic — just clear updates from our meteorologists so you know what is happening and what to consider next. Forecasts, observations, webcams For everyday planning and weather enthusiasts alike: get details for temperature, air pressure, wind speed, wind direction, humidity, rainfall amounts, and hours of sunshine. Check weather webcams, water temperatures where available, moon phases, and mountain weather and popular US ski regions with snow forecast and slope data for popular regions. You can also record and share videos of interesting weather near you with the Weather & Radar community. One look and you know what’s coming No guessing, no complicated menus, no digging through layers — just local weather, live radar view that updates in real time and forecast information on your app home screen and in WeatherRadar. Open the app and see what is happening outside right away. Now, in the next few minutes, and up to 14 days ahead. Go Ad-Free Use the weather app free of advertising with the in-app purchase and personalize your main page! Terms of Use Weather & Radar Ad-free is a subscription service that will be renewed on either a monthly or a yearly basis. Payment for the subscription will be charged to the user’s Apple Account at confirmation of purchase. The subscription automatically renews unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. The user’s Apple account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. Apple will identify the cost of the renewal. Subscriptions may be managed by the user and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to the user's Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of the Weather & Radar Ad-free, free trial period will be forfeited when the user purchases a subscription thereof. Terms and Conditions: http://www.weatherandradar.com/ios/terms-of-use/ Send your questions and feedback to info@weatherandradar.com Weather & Radar. Your clear view of the weather.

Screenshots

FEMA4 screens
Weather & Radar4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Weather & Radar at 4.7 against FEMA's 3.7. Weather & Radar also leads on update cadence (every 2 weeks vs every 2 months) and ratings volume (306K vs 1K). FEMA's advantage is in-app purchases (none vs 2) and ads (none vs shown). On price, review sentiment, chart position 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Weather & Radar sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $1.49 per month. FEMA asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Weather & Radar holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 3.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Weather & Radar has 306K ratings behind it against 1K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 69% of FEMA's written reviews are positive against 75% of Weather & Radar's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FEMA ships an update every 2 months, Weather & Radar every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 8, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard7 real differences · 4 level
FEMA versus Weather & Radar: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFEMAWeather & Radar
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (1K ratings)4.7 (306K ratings) — better
Positive reviews68.9% of reviews75.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings1K306K — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNo — betterYes
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
MonetizationFree — betterFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#22#12 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Requires iOS14.0 — better18.4
Further details — not scored
Size18 MB257 MB
Age rating4++4
DeveloperFederal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)WetterOnline - Meteorologische Dienstleistungen GmbH

Customer experience

FEMA

All ratings1,025 ratings
Positive62.8%
Neutral9.0%
Negative28.2%
Written reviews251 reviews
Positive68.9%
Neutral8.8%
Negative22.3%

Weather & Radar

All ratings306,166 ratings
Positive93.3%
Neutral4.2%
Negative2.5%
Written reviews1,798 reviews
Positive75.1%
Neutral6.1%
Negative18.9%

User reviews

FEMA

From 1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Accurate and timely weather alerts
  • 👍 Helpful preparedness information
  • 🚨 Essential for emergency situations
  • ⚠️ Valuable real-time updates
  • 🗺️ Ability to monitor multiple locations

Room to improve

  • 🔁 Repetitive and excessive notifications
  • 🔍 Difficulty finding/accessing alerts
  • 🐛 Bugs causing app crashes or issues
  • 🤔 Confusing or unintuitive interface
  • 🗺️ Limited location tracking capabilities

Weather & Radar

From 306K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🌟 Accurate weather forecasts
  • 📊 Detailed weather information
  • 🗺️ Comprehensive radar maps
  • ⏱️ Timely updates
  • 🔍 Localized weather data

Room to improve

  • 🌐 Location issues and inaccuracies
  • 📢 Intrusive ads
  • 🔍 Limited customization options
  • 🕰️ Slow response times
  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes

Bugs and requests

FEMA

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Alerts not showing up in the app
  • Locations being repeatedly deleted
  • Inability to add or update locations
  • Notification badge not clearing properly

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Customizable notification settings
  • Ability to view past/archived alerts
  • Integration with other weather/emergency apps
  • Improved mapping and location services

Weather & Radar

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • Radar map not updating correctly
  • Temperature readings not matching other sources
  • Notifications not working as expected

Requested features

5 requests
  • Dark mode option
  • Ability to change temperature units
  • More detailed weather history
  • Improved widget functionality
  • Better integration with other weather services

In-app purchases

None

FEMA

No in-app purchases

2 purchases

Weather & Radar

Subscriptions2
  • Monthly14 Days trial$1.491 Month
  • Yearly14 Days trial$8.991 Year

Questions

Is FEMA free?
FEMA is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Weather & Radar free?
Weather & Radar is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, FEMA or Weather & Radar?
Weather & Radar is rated higher. FEMA averages 3.7 out of 5 from 1K ratings, while Weather & Radar averages 4.7 from 306K ratings.
Do FEMA or Weather & Radar have ads?
Weather & Radar shows ads; FEMA does not.
Which is updated more often, FEMA or Weather & Radar?
FEMA ships an update every 2 months, and Weather & Radar every 2 weeks. Most recently, FEMA was updated on November 6, 2026 and Weather & Radar on November 8, 2026.
Which is more popular, FEMA or Weather & Radar?
FEMA currently peaks at #22 in the App Store charts, and Weather & Radar at #12. Chart position reflects recent download velocity rather than total install base.

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