Comparison

SKY WACH vs ScoutWx

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

Head to head
About

SKY WACH

This weather application provides detailed, high-resolution radar and satellite imagery, along with current conditions and hourly/daily forecasts. It offers severe weather alerts and customizable location saving for users on iPhone and iPad.

Highlights
  • 250 meter high-resolution radar
  • Future radar for severe weather tracking
  • High-resolution satellite imagery
  • Current weather updates
  • Daily and hourly forecasts
  • Save favorite locations
  • Severe weather alerts
Features
Read full description

WACH 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

About

ScoutWx

This app provides advanced weather data for meteorologists, storm chasers, and aviation professionals. It offers raw radar, atmospheric soundings, 17 forecast models, and live alerts for severe weather events.

Highlights
  • Raw Level II NEXRAD and TDWR radar
  • 140+ European radars
  • Atmospheric soundings and skew-T diagrams
  • 17 synchronized forecast models
  • Live storm tracks and NWS alerts
  • Dual-polarization radar products
  • High-resolution aviation charts
Features
Read full description

ScoutWx is built for meteorologists, storm chasers, pilots, and weather enthusiasts. Interrogate storms with raw Level II NEXRAD and TDWR radar and 140+ European radars at every tilt, over high-resolution FAA charts, launch skew-T soundings anywhere on Earth, and run 17 forecast models on one synchronized map. VOLUMETRIC RADAR & DUAL-POL Step through every elevation angle at native resolution, with SAILS and MRLE rescans as the radar sweeps, in loops up to 120 scans long. • Reflectivity: Super-resolution base reflectivity at every tilt, composites, and TDWR long range. • Velocity & Shear: NWS-dealiased velocity, storm-relative velocity with NWS cell motion or custom vectors, and spectrum width. • Dual-Polarization: Differential reflectivity (ZDR), correlation coefficient (CC) to isolate tornadic debris, specific differential phase (KDP), and hydrometeor classification. • Severe Products: Vertically integrated liquid (VIL), enhanced echo tops, rain rates, MRMS rotation tracks, and hail size. THE NEXT TWO HOURS • ScoutWx Now+: Loops run past the newest scan, the radar carried forward along its own motion: up to 90 minutes on the U.S. and European mosaics, 60 on a single radar. • Any Place: Long-press anywhere or open a saved place for when rain or snow starts or stops, and how heavy. ATMOSPHERIC SOUNDINGS & SKEW-T • Observed Radiosondes: Decoded flights from 800+ upper-air stations worldwide, with balloon drift. • Model Soundings: Native HRRR and GFS column soundings anywhere on the map. • Skew-T & Parcel Math: Interactive Skew-T log-p diagrams with SB, ML, and MU parcels, CAPE, CIN, LCL, LFC, EL, and a zoom on the lowest 3 km. • Hodographs & Indices: SPC shear layers, 0–1 km and 0–3 km SRH, Bunkers vectors, Corfidi vectors, STP, SCP, SHIP, DCAPE, and Dendritic Growth Zones. STORM TRACKS & NWS ALERTS • NWS Cell Tracking: 15-minute projected paths, severe hail probabilities, core heights, and TVS and mesocyclone signatures. • Live Polygons: Tornado, Severe Thunderstorm, Flash Flood, and Special Marine warnings as they stood at each scan. • Discussions: SPC and WPC discussions. Tap any alert for full text. LIGHTNING & SATELLITE • Flashes & Ground Strikes: GOES GLM optical flashes and NLDN cloud-to-ground strikes across the lower 48 plotted within about a minute, with fading trails. • GOES Multispectral: Visible, infrared, water vapor, and cloud cover loops over the Americas, every 5 minutes. 17 FORECAST MODELS • Regional & Convective: HRRR (3 km), RRFS (3 km), NBM (2.5 km), Canadian RDPS (10 km) and HRDPS (2.5 km). • Global & Ensembles: ECMWF IFS and AIFS (AI), NOAA GFS and AIGFS (AI), DWD ICON, ECCC GDPS, plus GEFS, ECMWF ENS, AIFS ENS, and REFS ensembles with spaghetti contours and probabilities. • Hurricanes: HAFS-A and HAFS-B with moving 2 km storm nests. • Diagnostics: Simulated reflectivity, precipitation type, CAPE, helicity, vorticity, jets, and totals out to 16 days. AVIATION CHARTS • VFR & IFR: High-resolution FAA VFR sectionals with terminal area, flyway, and helicopter route charts, and IFR enroute charts, under live radar and sharp at every zoom. • Plates & Diagrams: Every airport's procedures, with approach plan views and airport diagrams on the map. DUAL-VIEW & GROUND TRUTH • Dual Maps in Step: Two synchronized maps side by side on iPad and iPhone Duo, such as radar beside the HRRR. • Precision Gate Inspector: Long-press anywhere to sample exact dBZ, velocity, hydrometeors, and beam height. • Airports & Stations: Decoded METARs and TAFs with change groups and flight categories, plus live Dank Weather personal weather stations. • Follow Me & Private: The map stays on you and switches radars as you travel; your location never leaves your device, and nothing tracks you.

Screenshots

SKY WACH3 screens
ScoutWx4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: ScoutWx at every 2 weeks against SKY WACH's every 3 months. ScoutWx also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8). SKY WACH's advantage is ratings volume (149 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ScoutWx holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SKY WACH has 149 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SKY WACH ships an update every 3 months, ScoutWx every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 11, 2026 and November 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 5 level
SKY WACH versus ScoutWx: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSKY WACHScoutWx
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (149 ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings149 — better1
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size241 MB21 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperSinclair Broadcast Group, IncDrake Apps

Customer experience

SKY WACH

All ratings147 ratings
Positive95.2%
Neutral2.0%
Negative2.7%

ScoutWx

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SKY WACH

No in-app purchases

None

ScoutWx

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SKY WACH free?
SKY WACH is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ScoutWx free?
ScoutWx is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SKY WACH or ScoutWx?
ScoutWx is rated higher. SKY WACH averages 4.8 out of 5 from 149 ratings, while ScoutWx averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do SKY WACH or ScoutWx have ads?
Neither SKY WACH nor ScoutWx shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SKY WACH or ScoutWx?
SKY WACH ships an update every 3 months, and ScoutWx every 2 weeks. Most recently, SKY WACH was updated on November 11, 2026 and ScoutWx on November 10, 2026.

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