The British Broadcasting Corporation televised its first weather forecast almost a century ago in 1922.
The BBC was also the first to use weather maps as essential weather forecast elements back in 1936. Since then, it has consistently been at the forefront of TV weather forecasting and launched the BBC Weather in 2013. Today it is among the most downloaded weather apps in the United Kingdom.
However, it's not just UK weather that's its focus. The app will forecast what's happening with the weather wherever you are based on your location.
So if you need to know whether it's a day for the beach, good picnic weather, or merely whether you need an umbrella, then the BBC Weather app has you covered.
Because forewarned is, as they proverbially say, forewarned. Now you can be prepared for whatever the weather, no matter how changeable it can be in your neck of the woods. The forecasts are easy to understand and range from hourly updates to long-range weather forecasts.
● At-a-glance information about the weather
● Hourly and 14-day long-range forecasts for the UK and major international cities
● `Feels like' temperatures that factor in humidity, wind chill, and heat index
● Get personalized Met Office weather warnings for your location
● Supports text-to-speech, which has been optimized for iOS VoiceOver
The app serves up weather forecasts based on your physical location. But you can turn this option off should you wish via Settings.
However, even if you choose to leave this setting on, your privacy is protected. The app does not supply your precise location to the BBC. What happens is that the app chooses the closest weather station to your location instead.
To get your favorite forecasts with a tap, you can add a widget to your home screen. And share forecasts and weather warnings via Twitter, Facebook, and email.
● A straightforward interface that's easy to read
● Intuitive interface
● It's free
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● Other apps do a more thorough job of weather forecasting internationally
● Not particularly innovative compared to rival weather apps
● Only available in English
BBC Weather is downloadable from Google Play and Apple's App Store. Android users will need to run Android 5.0 or later. Other requirements vary by device.
iOS users, meanwhile, need to have 67.2 MB's worth of free storage space available and be packing at least iOS 13.0 or later.
User reviews tend to be a mixed bunch. Not so much about bugs as complaints about the accuracy. But what weather app is 100% accurate all the time? Weather forecasting is hardly an exact science, even with today's cutting-edge technology and satellites.
The app earns a healthy 4.4 out of five from Android users at Google Play. Over at the App Store, iOS users have given BBC Weather a resounding 4.7 out of five on the basis of more than three times the number of Google Play reviews.
Suffice to say, then, that overwhelming majority of users are awarding the app five stars.
