14 DAY TRIAL // The number of apps in the Windows Store has skyrocketed in the last six months and Windows 8, 8.1, and 8.1 Update users can now choose from more than 160,000 programs that can be used right in the Modern UI of their desktops and tablets.
As far as weather apps are concerned, there are plenty of options out there in the store, some of which are available with a small fee, but all promising to bring the weather forecast on the Start screen and thus make it easier for everyone to check out the temperature with just a few taps.
Today we're going to presented you five of the best weather apps in the Windows Store, all available with a freeware license and all working on both desktops and tablets, including here Windows RT devices such as Microsoft's very own Surface RT.
If you want to download any of these apps, it's enough to simply click on their names and then check out the Windows 8 link published on the product page. Microsoft's Bing Weather app
Redmond is already offering its own weather app pre-installed on the majority of Windows 8 versions, so if this is exactly what you want, there's no need to search the store for any other alternatives.
And, to be honest, the Windows 8 Weather apps is quite advanced, bringing 10-day and hourly forecasts, historical weather averages, world weather, support for multiple locations, maps, severe weather alerts, live tile support to display the current conditions on the Start screen and more.
At the same time, the app can show the weather in ski resorts across the world, displaying snow forecast, ski trail maps, ski deals & news, web cams and 360 degree panoramas. This feature, however, is only available in specific countries. AccuWeather
If you've been living under a rock for the past two years and you've never heard of AccuWeather, then it's worth mentioning that this is one the most popular weather apps on all mobile platforms, including iOS and Android.
On Windows 8, it comes with a pretty eye-candy interface with backgrounds that change according to the forecast, severe weather alerts, support for multiple tile sizes to display the current temperature on the Start screen, plenty of details such as humidity percentages, visibility, UV index, wind speed, direction and wind gusts, and RealFeel, as well as Bing Maps support with radar support.
Just like AccuWeather, The Weather Channel is a very popular app on several mobile platforms, so it's no surprise that it's also one of the best programs on Windows 8 as well.
It has basically everything you'd ever need to stay up to date with weather conditions, including severe weather alerts, personalized videos, beautiful background imagery, search and location management, live tile support, maps and radar for better accuracy when trying to track storms.
As compared to all aforementioned apps, Elements Weather Forecast doesn't excel in terms of looks, but instead comes with an accurate 7-day forecast for any location in the world. At least, that's what the developer behind the app promises.
It also comes with detailed hourly forecasts for any day, a quick summary to see all your weather forecast on one screen, sunrise, sunset, and moon information, support for both metric and imperial units, weather maps with temperature, precipitation chance, cloud cover and humidity, and GPS support to display the weather when you travel.
This one comes with a completely different concept. Breezy adopts a minimalistic interface with simple icons that only serve one purpose: show you the weather forecast.
It also features live tile support to see the weather on your start screen, push toast notifications to stay up to date with the latest forecast, support for both metric and imperial units, a 5-day forecast, and GPS options to find your location automatically.
At the same time, it can also display detailed weather information on the lock screen, but you obviously need to grant the app access to the lock screen from the PC settings menu of Windows 8.