Why Weather vs RawWeather
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Why Weather
This app goes beyond basic forecasts to explain the science and uncertainty behind weather. It features an AI meteorologist named Sky that answers your weather questions and provides daily narrative summaries of upcoming conditions. It highlights discrepancies between forecasts and real-time observations.
- AI meteorologist for answering weather questions
- Daily narrative weather stories
- Forecast uncertainty and disagreement flagging
- Ground truth badge for real-time observation discrepancies
- Animated radar and nowcast
- Morning weather story notifications
- Severe weather alerts
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Other weather apps give you the play-by-play. Why Weather adds the color commentary. Meet Sky, your AI weather guide. Sky pulls the models, the radar, and the forecaster's own notes into one weather story—and explains the why. Ask anything about your forecast, in plain words. FORECAST IN FLUX When forecasters flag doubt or the models split, you'll know—and see why. See how the model runs divide, and what the forecasters are saying. RADAR READ (PREMIUM) Sky watches the live radar and tells you what's actually happening: rain on its way, rain passing you by, or nothing close at all. It cross-checks nearby weather stations, and says so when the forecast and the radar disagree. ADAPTIVE GLANCE Quiet skies keep the forecast front and center. When something's brewing, the map eases up. When it's serious, the radar takes the lead. RAIN ON YOUR LOCK SCREEN (PREMIUM) Live Activities on your lock screen and in the Dynamic Island show what the rain is doing over the next hour. WIDGETS Home and lock screen widgets, with a daily headline from Sky. SKY ALMANAC (PREMIUM) How this week stacks up against 30 years of history—and the climate story behind it. THE AIR TODAY (PREMIUM) Humidity and pressure, translated. Sky turns the air's numbers into how your day will actually feel. ALSO INSIDE • Your weather story every morning • Radar, plus wind and temperature maps (Premium) • The next 24 hours and the days ahead, with how the week compares to normal • Severe weather alerts (US) and a heads-up before rain starts • Choose your source: NOAA, Foreca, Apple WeatherKit and more (Premium) FREE AND PREMIUM Why Weather is free to download, with 3 questions to Sky a day. Premium adds unlimited Sky, Radar Read, Live Activities, the Sky Almanac, The air today, wind and temperature maps, future radar, the full 10 days, and every forecast source. Available as a monthly or yearly subscription. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/
RawWeather
Get live weather updates for your current location, including hourly and 7-day forecasts. View active severe weather alerts and an interactive radar map powered by the National Weather Service. Enjoy an ad-free experience without needing an account.
- Live weather updates
- Hourly and 7-day forecasts
- Severe weather alerts
- Interactive NEXRAD radar
- Ad-free experience
- No account required
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Live weather for your location. Current conditions, hourly & 7-day forecasts, active severe weather alerts, and interactive NEXRAD radar — all from the National Weather Service. No ads, no account required.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is in-app purchases: RawWeather at none against Why Weather's 2. RawWeather also leads on update cadence (daily vs every 5 days). Why Weather's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, rating, ratings volume 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
Both are free to download. Why Weather sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. RawWeather asks for nothing beyond the download.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Why Weather against 5.0 for RawWeather. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 3 and 2 respectively.
Why Weather ships an update every 5 days, RawWeather daily. The most recent releases landed on October 28, 2026 and October 25, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Why Weather | RawWeather |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 5.0 (3 ratings) | 5.0 (2 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 100.0% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 3 — better | 2 |
| Update frequency | Every 5 days | Daily — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | Yes | No — better |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.0 — better | 17.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 15 MB | 1 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Christopher Edward Risdon | Mark Kaufmann |
Customer experience
Why Weather
RawWeather
In-app purchases
Why Weather
- Why Weather Premium Monthly$4.991 Month
- Why Weather Premium Annual$29.991 Year
RawWeather
No in-app purchases









