Like a whole lot of other Apple users, I was drawn to Dark Sky when Apple bought it a couple of years ago. As that app is reminding you, come January 1st, Dark Sky will go dark.
When I first heard about this many months ago, I started searching for a replacement. This was a very frustrating, fruitless process. First there are thousands of apps. Second most are full of ads to the point, there is minimal screen space for weather. And probably most importantly, I am a very impatient person.
But I did get pointed at an app named “Weather” – they are multiple apps named “Weather” - so some work is needed. You want to app from Apple. If you look carefully at the app icon, pick the one with a cloud and sun and no lines to indicate rain or rays of sunlight. If you are unsure, read the information about apps and find the one that shows Apple as the Developer.
The only feature I long for is current location radar which I find useful for time until rain stops, starts or changes intensity. The Apple watch version of Weather in my view is superior to Deep Sky.
Here is a screen shot from the App Store listing which shows the App icon in the upper left corner.
Likely a lot more out there than these I use, but these handle weather for me wherever we wander. I keep an eye on the tides too, make sure I’m still above sea level…
I believe that Apple integrated most of Dark Sky app into their Apple Weather app (shown as WEATHER in the app store).
I recommend that you also look at WEATHERBUG, which has long been my go-to radar map. MYRADAR and CLIME, as well as a host of other apps, provide very good radar information.
It seems like I have been living by Dark Sky since I found it several years ago. I have another seven weather apps on my phone that I downloaded, but the one I use is Dark Sky. And I am not at all pleased with its imminent demise.
Do you realize that the weather app you describe is from Apple? It is the app they tell us now incorporates the technology from Dark Sky. In fact, I’m pretty sure it comes preinstalled on every iPhone. Too bad it doesn’t follow that wonderful (to me) interface too.
I was using Dark Sky well before Apple bought it, and the announcement of its looming demise confirmed my worries about it being bought.
Now it appears that Apple has relented, and at least for the moment Dark Sky will continue to work. The warning that used to show that it was going away as of 1/1/23 is gone. In its place is a link to encourage the use of Apple Weather, saying they integrated they integrated the Dark Sky forecast technology into the all-new Apple Weather app. As much as I appreciated the forecast, what I really have liked about Dark Sky is the simplicity and functionality of the user interface. And, for at least a bit longer, I get to keep using it.
A couple of months after the anticipated closure was mentioned, I looked at Weather and it was not good. Last August/September when I started seeing notices of January’s termination, I looked again and was pleasantly surprised. I did bit the bullet and start using Weather. During Sept & October things improved. It is not everything thing Darksky was - but today I think it is the best option. I have added MyRadar and that combination actually is better for my uses/desires than Darksky.
I’m sure a lot of it is just that I have had so many years of getting used to Dark Sky. I’ll look into My Radar.
I keep one weather app on the iPhone’s front screen; I changed that from Dark Sky to Weather. Next to it I have a collection (terminology?) called Weather, which has a mix of weather and loosely related - in my mind at least - other apps, spread over two “pages”.
Need to add a slight correction – I just saw the article linked below and this caused me to check radar on Weather. It has improved a lot since I started using MyRadar on November 17th.
I was not aware of Tides being present. I did notice the radar screen (right most of the three in a row) and immediately opened Weather, returned to home screen and saw a good radar window.
Sorry for the confusion. That said a few decades ago, I did a bit of blue water sailing on vacations. If the internet had existed then, I would have used a tidal app – whole lot easier than working from tide tables.
There has been a Dark Sky API used by other applications. That is still in operation until March 23 (or 31, sources differ), 2023, when that shuts down too. Apple has something called WeatherKit API as a replacement, but looking at a list that relates the two APIs to each other the match is far from perfect.
Having just gotten a Tesla solar installation last month, with a couple of Powerwalls, I have been obsessing a bit about cloud cover. I found an app, that I assume will stop working in March, that proudly proclaims Powered by Dark Sky which more than fulfills my desire for that information. Clear Outside was written for astronomers, who really care about clouds. It shows numbers for Low, Med, High and Total clouds, something quite new to me. It defaults to opening at the location of the HQ of the company that created it: FLO* of Exeter, Devon, UK. Perhaps that is adjustable, but if so they hide it well. Temperatures are all in C, not Fahrenheit.
*FLO, aka First Light Optics, sells astronomy equipment. So their app is a promotion as well as a tool, which would explain why it defaults to their location.
This sounds a little bit of going “overboard”. I mean what are you going to do if you don’t get some sun for your beloved Tesla? I use weather apps all the time to determine whether or not to get up an play golf the next morning. If it’s predicted to rain I don’t set the alarm clock and just sleep in that day. No big deal.
As an aside I wish I had a nickel for every time the app said 80% rain and it turned out to be a beautiful day. Oh, well.
If you really want something for your Tesla brand solar system, I suggest you look at the Tempest Weather station. It will give you Watts per Square Meter in your back yard.
Really, I’m still figuring out the capabilities of the system, and the variables of my situation. At my last home I had a three day outage after a storm. If I pay too much attention for a while I figure I will know what my options are if that happens here.
