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pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
IBM bought WeatherUnderground, and consequently pulled all 3rd party API support, so now, no other weather apps (E.g. Hello Weather, BeWeather, etc.) can use it as their source.

I'm aware of the reasons of the new owner of Weather Underground IBM which took down this API. I only put a small note at Weather Underground app about the BeWeather 2 use previously. Indeed it seems Hello Weather also had it as an API before which I didn't knew. I only started using that app since recently. It's my favorite alternative now with AerisWeather and the Weather Company being the best alternatives as far as weather source is concerned for my area.
 

AZhappyjack

macrumors G3
Jul 3, 2011
9,600
22,688
Happy Jack, AZ
I updated my earlier post with all the detailed source and added ofcourse CARROT Weather and also Forecast Bar and also the fact that the API of The Weather Company also doesn't seem to allow 3rd party use anymore either in weather apps.

Yeah, @MakerOfCARROT stated that in the release notes for one of his recent betas...

IMG_0957.jpeg
 
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pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
So unfortunate that IBM decided to close the API for both Weather Underground and now The Weather Channel for 3rd party weather apps it was so reliable but I hate to use their own apps. I'm glad Carrot now added a couple of good alternative weather sources. Some of the other apps will hopefully offer more weather sources in the near future soon as well because Dark Sky is a no go weather source here.
 
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pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
I've noticed that there is another app/widget apart from the earlier mentioned apps that uses a lot of weather sources which is:

Windy - free, no ads, optional donate and has 5 weather sources: Arome, Nems (by Meteoblue.com), Icon (by German DWD), ECMWF, GFS (by National Weather Service - NWS) see also details here. The app is mostly focused on wind as the name suggests already, however also offers regular weather forecast in app and widget.

I'm currently using the Nems source and will compare it with my other weather apps which I have and the various sources I have selected in those to compare it.
 

travisc555

macrumors member
Jul 6, 2019
36
9
Looks like BeWeather 3 is back on the App Store.

I’ve never used BeWeather, but I would highly recommend Weather Mate as mentioned earlier in this thread. They have a free app you can try and get Weather Mate Pro (one time purchase) if you like it. However you may be happy with BeWeather 3, just throwing this out there if willing to try something new.
 

pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
Looks like BeWeather 3 is back on the App Store.

I’ve never used BeWeather, but I would highly recommend Weather Mate as mentioned earlier in this thread. They have a free app you can try and get Weather Mate Pro (one time purchase) if you like it. However you may be happy with BeWeather 3, just throwing this out there if willing to try something new.

One weather source (NOAA) only right? Isn't as accurate for us here in Europe I think. I've tried the free version before.
 

travisc555

macrumors member
Jul 6, 2019
36
9
One weather source (NOAA) only right? Isn't as accurate for us here in Europe I think. I've tried the free version before.
No, Weather Mate gets weather data from The Weather Channel, Weather Underground and also uses personal weather stations and airport weather stations.
 

pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
No, Weather Mate gets weather data from The Weather Channel, Weather Underground and also uses personal weather stations and airport weather stations.

Then there is a big chance this will soon no longer be possible since the API for Weather Underground stopped working earlier this year and as far as the The Weather Channel I understood this is really expensive and therefore also apps such as Carrot Weather (had to) remove it as a source.
 

C DM

macrumors Sandy Bridge
Oct 17, 2011
51,390
19,458
First BeWeather stops working and then disappears only to appear with a single paid new version. Now Weather Underground resigns their app and completely gets rid of the widget without any mention of the change.

The search of a weather app that has a good widget (that shows not only the current conditions but also the forecast and precipitation probabilities and amounts for the next few days or at least 24 hours) starts again.
 

Super Spartan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2018
630
272
Dubai
Why does anyone look for any other apps? Why is there an app store?

Stock app doesn't feature the same stuff these other apps do, simple
It was a genuine question just to see if there's something I'm missing so I would switch too. Anyway, I just bought Carrot Weather and deleted the stock app.
 
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bumbo

macrumors 6502
May 6, 2009
443
148
Cool - I used Carrot for a while but stuck with Dark Sky. First party apps rarely exploit their full potential
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,022
So unfortunate that IBM decided to close the API for both Weather Underground and now The Weather Channel for 3rd party weather apps it was so reliable but I hate to use their own apps. I'm glad Carrot now added a couple of good alternative weather sources. Some of the other apps will hopefully offer more weather sources in the near future soon as well because Dark Sky is a no go weather source here.

Carrot weather user here - on my Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch. Love it. Love supporting an active developer.

I too was furious when WU was bought by IBM and closed all APIs - I was a huge fan of WU and knew people with weather stations that loved it too.

Weather apps have really gone downhill and I hate to have an app full of ads reporting every breath I take just so I can check the weather.

CARROT Weather for me for the foreseeable future. My wife and I gladly pay the $.
 
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pacorob

macrumors 68020
Apr 8, 2010
2,095
500
the Netherlands
Carrot weather user here - on my Mac, iPad, iPhone, Apple Watch. Love it. Love supporting an active developer.

I too was furious when WU was bought by IBM and closed all APIs - I was a huge fan of WU and knew people with weather stations that loved it too.

Weather apps have really gone downhill and I hate to have an app full of ads reporting every breath I take just so I can check the weather.

CARROT Weather for me for the foreseeable future. My wife and I gladly pay the $.

I'm also mainly using Carrot weather at the moment with Tier 1 and for me the source MeteoGroup.
I still hope though that the widget of Carrot gets extended (show % and mm of rain per hour today + showing this for the upcoming days as well but then per day of course like Partly Sunny and BeWeather 3 did but their only source Dark Sky is not reliable here at all) and UI change in the widget that will remove the dots.
 

Super Spartan

macrumors 6502a
Mar 10, 2018
630
272
Dubai
I'm also mainly using Carrot weather at the moment with Tier 1 and for me the source MeteoGroup.
I still hope though that the widget of Carrot gets extended (show % and mm of rain per hour today + showing this for the upcoming days as well but then per day of course like Partly Sunny and BeWeather 3 did but their only source Dark Sky is not reliable here at all) and UI change in the widget that will remove the dots.
I'm kinda not liking the robotics sounds and not so cute comments that Carrot Weather uses to tell me about the weather. IMO it's too childish. Any other suggestions? I don't want any monthly or yearly subscriptions but I am fine paying once for a good Weather app.
 

BigMcGuire

Cancelled
Jan 10, 2012
9,832
14,022
I'm kinda not liking the robotics sounds and not so cute comments that Carrot Weather uses to tell me about the weather. IMO it's too childish. Any other suggestions? I don't want any monthly or yearly subscriptions but I am fine paying once for a good Weather app.

You can change the settings so it is a normal weather app without snarky comments - and turn off the sound... I've used most of the weather apps out there and I haven't found anything I like. I guess Dark Sky would be #2 to Carrot for me.
 
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Cogsworth

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2015
379
271
I'm kinda not liking the robotics sounds and not so cute comments that Carrot Weather uses to tell me about the weather. IMO it's too childish. Any other suggestions? I don't want any monthly or yearly subscriptions but I am fine paying once for a good Weather app.
Switch her personality to "Professional" and it gets rid of the snarky comments and stuff.

Weather Mate Pro is one of the few decent "pay once" weather apps left since they've mostly gone to subscription models like everything else. It is very powerful and allows a lot of customization, but it really needs an interface update. The graphics are a bit outdated IMHO. Also, it still does not support dark mode which is really annoying if you use the widget.

I don't fully understand Carrot's situation with Weather Channel since there are still several apps that use their data. Even the brand new version of Weatherline released a few weeks ago. It will be a sad day if they ever do truly discontinue their API since their data is the most consistently accurate (for my area at least) but their "redesigned" app is garbage.
 
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Paco II

macrumors 68020
Sep 13, 2009
2,288
706
Weather Line indicates they use The Weather Company. Is that the same thing as The Weather Channel?

I don't fully understand Carrot's situation with Weather Channel since there are still several apps that use their data. Even the brand new version of Weatherline released a few weeks ago. It will be a sad day if they ever do truly discontinue their API since their data is the most consistently accurate (for my area at least) but their "redesigned" app is garbage.
 

Cogsworth

macrumors 6502
Feb 7, 2015
379
271
Thanks for confirming. I can see how it is easy to confuse Weather Channel and Weather Company, but they are indeed separate sources. @Cogsworth Weather Line uses the Weather Company.
I know this is confusing but I believe for online data The Weather Company and Weather Channel are basically one in the same, both owned by IBM. Only the actual broadcast television channel is owned by NBCUniversal.

If you launch the Weather Channel app, the logo splash screen says IBM...because the app is pulling data from The Weather Company. Also, if you compare data from Weatherline and Weather Channel apps, it all matches because they are pulling from the same API.

Also, per Wikipedia: "The website weather.com and most of the Weather Channel's digital assets were sold to IBM in January 2016."
 
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