RainViewer: Live Weather Radar
Storm Tracker: Map & Alerts
Free · In-App Purchases · Designed for iPad
Live weather radar with rain alerts, local forecast, and hurricane tracker. The most accurate radar map - made for people who need accurate weather, right now.
Going outside, planning a day out, flying a drone, or watching a storm approach? Rain Viewer shows the actual rain on the map. Data goes from radar to your screen in seconds - direct from the source, not a third-party feed. Our radar pipeline runs in millions of installs and feeds several major weather brands.
THE RADAR MAP YOU ACTUALLY USE
• Tap the map to see rain intensity at any point. Tap satellite for cloud top temperature. Tap an alert zone for the full advisory.
• Live indicator shows when you are seeing the most recent scan. New frames appear automatically.
• 48-hour history. 2-hour rain forecast updated every 10 minutes. 60fps vector map with precipitation arrows.
• Coverage in 80+ countries across the Americas, Europe, Asia (Japan, India, Thailand, China, South Korea), and Oceania.
HOURLY AND 14-DAY FORECAST
Temperature, weather conditions, and chance of precipitation hour by hour for 72 hours. Wind direction and speed too, with units you choose: km/h, mph, m/s, knots, or Beaufort. Models: ICON, GFS, HRRR, ECMWF, and WRF-ROMS Thailand.
MINUTE-BY-MINUTE PRECIPITATION
When rain is on the way, the forecast screen shows when it starts, peaks, and stops. Live Activity puts the same graph on your Lock Screen.
RAINFALL TOTALS (QPE)
See how much rain has actually fallen. Pick a window - 1, 3, 12, 24 or 48 hours - and tap any spot on the map for the exact amount in millimetres or inches, plus a Trace to Extreme rating. Built on QPE (quantitative precipitation estimates) from our radar pipeline. Included with any Rain Viewer subscription (Essential or Pro).
RADAR SCAN AGE
Tap the map to see exactly when each area was last scanned. Parts of a radar frame can be minutes apart, so the timing tells you whether to leave now or wait out the rain. Saved locations show freshness at a glance.
RAIN ALERTS YOU CAN RELY ON
Set custom alerts for your locations. Get national severe weather alerts from the US, most of Europe, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, and more. Set thresholds so you only get notified for what you care about.
HURRICANE AND STORM TRACKER
Get timed alerts that show exactly when a storm reaches you. Choose hurricane wind speed units: mph, km/h, m/s, or knots.
AI WEATHER INSIGHTS
Our AI reads the radar images near you and writes a short summary of what to expect in the next few hours. Like a pocket meteorologist.
APPLE WATCH (FREE)
Standalone app with radar map, satellite, forecast, severe alerts, and complications. Works without your iPhone nearby.
WIDGETS AND LIVE ACTIVITIES
Radar and minute-by-minute rain widgets for Home Screen and Lock Screen. Live Activities show rain intensity as it changes.
PRO RADAR (US + MOST OF EUROPE, 22 COUNTRIES)
Doppler products on all tilts - reflectivity, velocity, spectrum width, and the differential measurements used by meteorologists.
PRIVACY
No data collection. No data sales. Location is used only for local forecast and rain alerts.
Free to download. Upgrade for the radar archive, AI insights, and Pro Doppler products.
PRO Plan: Monthly: $8.99 | Quarterly: $19.99 | Annual: $39.99 (Auto-renewal can be disabled in App Store settings).
Privacy: https://rainviewer.com/privacy.html
Terms: https://rainviewer.com/terms.html
more SMOOTHER ON EVERY LAYER
Radar used to jump from frame to frame. Now every layer flows as one continuous animation — the way weather actually moves.
· Fluid 60fps playback across radar, satellite, temperature, the 72-hour forecast, and Pro Radar products like velocity and ZDR
· Tap any spot, even mid-animation, to read the exact value there
· Subscribers can turn on "Exact Frames" to step through frame by frame, no animation
Enjoying Rain Viewer? A quick review helps more people find it.
7.21 2 days ago
DRIZZLE ALERTS
Drizzle is too light to trigger a rain alert, yet wet enough to ruin a walk. Rain notifications now have a "Drizzle" intensity – a new level above "Light".
· Select "Drizzle" for any saved place to be notified about the lightest rain
· New places use "Drizzle" by default; existing settings are unchanged
ALERT RELIABILITY
One failed network request during setup could mean rain alerts never arrive. The app now retries until the server confirms registration.
FIXES
· Lock screen Live Activity no longer stops updating after 15 minutes
· Widget shows precipitation at the same size as the main map
· Shared GIF and video files no longer include the search bar
· The searched location pin is no longer hidden behind a favourite pin
· Settings and Favourites fit the screen with long languages and large text
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app's Settings > Send Feedback.
7.20.1 9 Jun
NEW
· Too many rain alerts? Now you can choose how many you get each day — 3, 6, or no limit
· A fresh app icon, with light, dark and tinted versions to match your Home Screen
· Search now drops a pin on the map, so you can see exactly where a result is
· New to Rain Viewer? A quick guided tour shows you around the map
FIXES
· Tapping the map in a severe weather alert area now shows radar details again, even with Pro Radar on
· Returning subscribers no longer hit an "Offer Not Available" message at checkout
· Settings text is no longer cut off in longer languages
· Paywall text is now centred correctly on iPad
Enjoying Rain Viewer? A quick review helps more people find it.
7.20 2 Jun
RAINFALL TOTALS (QPE)
Weather radar shows what's falling right now - not how much has already fallen. Did your area get a soaking last night, or barely a sprinkle? Should you reschedule the trail run after the storm, or is the ground dry enough?
The new "Rainfall Totals" layer puts a measured number on the map: real rain, totalled across the window you choose - built from weather radar, not forecasts or satellite estimates.
· Premium feature for Pro subscribers, available wherever radar coverage exists
· Choose a window of 1, 3, 12, 24 or 48 hours
· Tap any spot for the exact amount, in millimetres or inches based on your locale
· Colour scale classifies intensity from Trace to Extreme at a glance
Have a question or suggestion? Get in touch via the app's Settings > Send Feedback.
7.19 21 May
MUTE FOR TODAY
Got a rain alert at the wrong moment? You can now silence it without opening the app. Every notification includes a "Mute for Today" action.
NOTIFICATIONS
We've removed the "accuracy" setting and changed the default, so light rain and drizzle reach you too — not just heavy downpours.
FIXES
· Lock Screen Live Activity no longer shows "Sunny" while it's actively raining
· Hourly forecast scrolls and responds to taps immediately — no extra tap needed
· Weather layout stays correct when Larger Text is enabled in iOS settings
· Search no longer jumps while typing in Arabic
ALSO IN 7.18
Tap any point on the radar to see exactly when that area was last scanned — so you know whether to wait out the rain or head out now.
Have a question or suggestion? Get in touch via Settings > Send Feedback in the app.
7.18.1 14 May
RADAR SCAN AGE
Radar data is never truly live. The map combines hundreds of stations into a single frame, and parts of it can be minutes older than the timestamp shown on the player. Should you head out now, or wait out the rain? The answer depends on how old the radar is where you are.
· Tap any point on the radar layer to see when that spot was last scanned
· Saved locations display a green, amber, or red freshness label next to your current conditions
· Player time labels switch from "Scan" to "Frame" on non-radar layers
LIVE ACTIVITIES
· The rain duration Live Activity now appears automatically when rain is on the way, even if the app is closed (iOS 17.2 and later)
FIXES
· Map layers redraw in the correct order after the app returns from the background
· The animation now auto-plays on launch instead of stalling on the first frame
· "Hourly Forecast" and wind direction sections are now visible on iPadOS
· Onboarding artwork scales correctly on iPad
· The "Close" button on the radar station card responds on the first tap on Mac
Got a question or suggestion? Get in touch via the app's Settings > Send Feedback.
7.18 11 May
ONBOARDING
· Reworked first-launch onboarding
IMPROVEMENTS
· Tapping the name of your selected radar now opens the "Nearest Radars" list without clearing your selection
· Your selected radar appears in the list with a tick, even when it's no longer among the nearest stations
· Tapping the selected radar in the list deselects it
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.17 30 Apr
FIXES
· Precipitation renders immediately after the app returns from the background
· Your current location pin no longer drifts when Pro Radar and "Nearest Radars" are both enabled
· Opening a storm push notification now keeps the map centred on the storm instead of returning to your current location
· Player time in "Live" mode displays fully at the maximum font size with bold text enabled
· Search bar has balanced left and right padding on iPad and Mac
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.16.2 22 Apr
FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
· "Hurricane Tracking" alerts now follow your "Tracking Area" setting
· Tapping a storm push notification opens the storm details screen
· Push notification links now open correctly when the app starts from closed
· Wind speed on the forecast screen now matches the widget
· In-app help articles open the correct page in all supported languages
· The map no longer recentres when you select a radar from "Nearest Radars"
· Fixed the "Share with Friends" option on iPad
· "Timeline Markers" are enabled by default for new users
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.16.1 17 Apr
SEARCH ON MAP
A new search button lets you find any location, address, or place of interest directly from the map.
· Tap a result to jump straight to that location, with its name displayed at the top
· When the radar layer is active, the same search finds nearby radar stations instead
IMPROVEMENTS
· Improved algorithm for finding the closest radar stations to your current map view
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.16 8 Apr
LAYER OPTIONS
· Incompatible overlays are now automatically disabled when a specific radar station is selected
FIXES
· "Nearest Radars" list no longer becomes empty after deselecting a radar station
· Favourite locations list now updates correctly after removing a location
· Push notifications now display correctly based on your subscription type
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.15 2 Apr
UNIFIED RADAR SELECTION
Radar and Pro Radar layers are now merged into a single map control. One toggle activates all radar station pins directly on the map — no more switching between separate layers.
· "Nearest Radars" button shows the 3 closest stations to your current map centre
· Button label updates dynamically to display the selected radar name
· Redesigned product dropdown with cleaner selection lists
· Colour scheme and smoothing remain active until you select a specific radar station
PLAYER & TIMELINE FIXES
· Relative time offset labels (-48h, +2h) restored in the player date display
· "Live" indicator now correctly hidden when a radar station is offline
· Wider timeline slider thumb for easier scrubbing
STABILITY
· Resolved a crash on macOS when returning from background with Pro Radar enabled
Have a question or suggestion? Contact us via the app Settings > Send Feedback.
7.14 25 Mar
WIND ON HOURLY FORECAST
Hourly forecast chart now shows wind direction and speed. The arrow rotates to show where the wind is blowing, and the colour bar indicates intensity on the Beaufort scale. Choose your preferred unit in Settings: km/h, mph, m/s, knots, or Beaufort.
FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
· Fixed Apple Watch complications display and previews
· Fixed push notification radius calculation for miles
· Removed "new" badge from pro radars
· Reduced duplicate network requests for faster data loading
Stay tuned.
7.13 15 Mar
LIVE WEATHER TRACKING
New Live indicator on the timeline shows when you're viewing the freshest radar and satellite data:
· Red means the data is fresh and updated within the last 15 minutes.
· Grey means the latest available frame is older than 15 minutes.
When Live is active, new frames appear automatically — no need to refresh. Move to any other position to view the selected time as usual.
UPDATED PLAYER DESIGN
· Frame time is now displayed below the main clock for better readability.
· Time range labels moved to the top of the player.
· Updated indicator and progress bar design for a cleaner look.
WIDGET FIX
· Fixed an issue where widgets showed a blank area instead of the precipitation map when using Clear or Tinted appearance.
FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
· PRO radar layer now loads correctly on start when "Hide past data" mode is active.
· Switching from PRO radar to standard Radar no longer causes missing data.
Stay tuned! Wind direction coming in the next update.
7.12 2 Mar
TAP ON MAP – NOW ON ALL LAYERS
Tap anywhere on the map to see weather data. Each layer shows relevant information:
· Radar – precipitation intensity in dBZ and description (light rain, heavy snow, hail, etc.)
· Satellite – cloud top temperature
· Pro radars – values for velocity, correlation coefficient, differential reflectivity, and other products
First-tap responsiveness fixed – no more delays or missing pins on initial use.
RADAR STABILITY AFTER BACKGROUNDING
· Wind arrows now restore correctly when returning from background. Previously, arrows were calculated correctly but not displayed.
· Layer state, colour scheme, and smoothing settings no longer reset after switching between apps.
· Fixed dBZ markers accumulating on repeated taps.
FIXES AND IMPROVEMENTS
· Resolved "Cannot Connect to Server" error on fresh install or update, with added fallback and retry logic.
· Reduced radar tile memory usage by 15% with per-source cache limits and optimised background handling.
· "PRO" is now "Pro" across the app. Same features, cleaner look.
Stay tuned.
7.11 23 Feb
TAP ON MAP REFINEMENTS
Redesigned interface for platform guideline compliance. First tap after install now responds instantly instead of being silently dropped during cold start.
· Pin renders above location indicator with grey fill for contrast in both themes
· Values refresh live during replay and forecast playback without re-tapping
· 72h forecast no longer falsely shows "No coverage" in modelled areas
· Dark theme loading overlay matches colour scheme
· RTL layout corrected for Arabic and Hebrew alert details
· Onboarding banner no longer persists after version updates
· Translation corrections across locales
Stay tuned!
7.10.1 11 Feb
TAP ON MAP
Stop guessing precipitation intensity from colours. Tap anywhere on the radar to see exact dBZ values. Know precisely how strong that storm cell is, whether it's light drizzle or a severe hail threat. Satellite layer reveals cloud top temperature – colder tops mean taller, more powerful storms. Temperature layer shows surface readings from weather models. Hybrid layer adapts to show relevant data based on tap location. Tap alert zones to see full details. Toggle in Settings.
Stay tuned!
7.10 2 Feb
GPU-ACCELERATED LAYER RENDERING
All weather layers now use MapLibre GPU-based colourisation. Smoother animations, reduced CPU load, consistent colour accuracy across all tiled overlays.
STABILITY FIXES
· Settings (Opacity, Layer, Units) no longer reset after app restart
· Fixed multiple MapLibre crashes in style source handling
· Improved crash diagnostics with MetricKit integration
Happy New Year! We're thrilled to kick off 2026 with you. Thanks for being part of the journey!
7.9 7 Jan
We’ve squashed some bugs and made a few tweaks to keep things running smoothly.
Got a question or an idea? Just head to Settings in the app and tap ‘Send Feedback’ to let us know.
7.8.2 26/12/2025
STABILITY FIXES
· Map layers no longer disappear after returning from background
· Fixed crash on app startup during network status changes
· Fixed MapLibre style source crash
· Premium banner now hides correctly after subscription restore on reinstall
Stay tuned.
7.8.1 11/12/2025
GPU-ACCELERATED RENDERING ENGINE
Radar and 72-hour precipitation now render directly on your device's GPU using Metal shaders. Experience instant map responsiveness with data that loads exactly when needed – no more waiting for bulk animation preloading.
· Zero loading delays as you pan and zoom – frames appear on demand
· Crystal-clear radar imagery at every zoom level – native resolution rendering eliminates blur
· Instant colour scheme switching – changes apply immediately without reprocessing
· Smarter data loading – automatic zoom caps prevent unnecessary tile requests beyond meaningful detail
· Frame-accurate coverage maps show precise local model boundaries for each timestamp
· Cleaner animation display with optimised arrow density
LOCALISATION FIX
Manual location search during onboarding now displays correctly in all 33 supported languages. Character encoding resolved for Ukrainian, Japanese and other non-Latin scripts.
INTERFACE POLISH
Hourly forecast times no longer clip in the German locale. Settings toggles wrap properly in French and German. Colour scheme previews fill completely on iPad and Mac. Consistent spacing across all settings panels.
NOTIFICATION SETTINGS RESTORED
Custom notification configurations lost in the 7.4–7.7 updates have now been recovered. Migration restores your radius and intensity preferences from any previous version. New installs default to a 10km radius with a moderate intensity threshold.
Update now for the smoothest radar experience yet!
7.8 04/12/2025
We’ve squashed some bugs and made a few tweaks to keep things running smoothly.
Got a question or an idea? Just head to Settings in the app and tap ‘Send Feedback’ to let us know.
7.7.3 24/11/2025
TIMELINE PLAYER ENHANCEMENTS
The radar timeline player interface has been completely redesigned with precision controls for weather tracking.
• LIVE mode indicator now activates when you're viewing the most recent radar frame, updating automatically as new data arrives. When radar updates lag beyond 15 minutes, it displays the relative time since the last update. After 30 minutes without updates, it switches to LATEST with a timestamp to indicate the data's gone stale.
• Timeline markers visually indicate each available radar frame directly on the slider with up to 40 position markers, making it clear which moments have actual data. Markers are off by default – enable them in Map Settings for enhanced timeline visualisation.
• Synchronised timeline ranges across layers – forecast ranges now persist when switching between radar, satellite, and composite layers. Separate synchronisation groups maintain appropriate timescales: 72-hour precipitation and temperature layers sync together, whilst real-time radar and satellite layers maintain their own ranges.
• Resolved timeline switching bugs where manually selected frame positions would reset incorrectly when changing between radars with different update intervals. The player now correctly maintains position context across radar transitions.
• Fixed haptic feedback rate limiting at 32Hz – the hardware maximum – eliminating feedback interruptions during rapid scrubbing.
INTERACTIVE WEATHER CHALLENGE
Discover five legendary weather events hidden across the map. Tap map markers to explore historic storms and unlock exclusive rewards. Coming soon to select users – keep an eye out for this unique experience.
NOTIFICATION PERMISSION FLOW
Fixed a premature system notification dialogue appearing before users completed the onboarding preferences screen. Permission requests now trigger only after you've explicitly engaged with notification settings during onboarding.
REGRESSION TESTING & STABILITY
Comprehensive testing across core features validates update stability. Interface consistency, data integrity checks, and performance validation completed across iPhone, iPad, and macOS platforms.
7.7.1 13/11/2025
TIMELINE PLAYER ENHANCEMENTS
The radar timeline player interface has been completely redesigned with precision controls for weather tracking.
• LIVE mode indicator now activates when you're viewing the most recent radar frame, updating automatically as new data arrives. When radar updates lag beyond 15 minutes, it displays the relative time since the last update. After 30 minutes without updates, it switches to LATEST with a timestamp to indicate the data's gone stale.
• Timeline markers visually indicate each available radar frame directly on the slider with up to 40 position markers, making it clear which moments have actual data. Markers are off by default – enable them in Map Settings for enhanced timeline visualisation.
• Synchronised timeline ranges across layers – forecast ranges now persist when switching between radar, satellite, and composite layers. Separate synchronisation groups maintain appropriate timescales: 72-hour precipitation and temperature layers sync together, whilst real-time radar and satellite layers maintain their own ranges.
• Resolved timeline switching bugs where manually selected frame positions would reset incorrectly when changing between radars with different update intervals. The player now correctly maintains position context across radar transitions.
• Fixed haptic feedback rate limiting at 32Hz – the hardware maximum – eliminating feedback interruptions during rapid scrubbing.
INTERACTIVE WEATHER CHALLENGE
Discover five legendary weather events hidden across the map. Tap map markers to explore historic storms and unlock exclusive rewards. Coming soon to select users – keep an eye out for this unique experience.
NOTIFICATION PERMISSION FLOW
Fixed a premature system notification dialogue appearing before users completed the onboarding preferences screen. Permission requests now trigger only after you've explicitly engaged with notification settings during onboarding.
REGRESSION TESTING & STABILITY
Comprehensive testing across core features validates update stability. Interface consistency, data integrity checks, and performance validation completed across iPhone, iPad, and macOS platforms.
7.7 12/11/2025
CRITICAL FIXES
• Fixed a startup crash that occurred when reopening the app after last viewing the Favourites screen. We've eliminated the race condition in map initialisation by properly sequencing dependencies.
• Sorted out the Apple Watch subscription restore feature following our billing system migration. Purchase verification through StoreKit now works properly with extended 120-second timeouts for more reliable network responses.
• Storm tracking lines now stay put after backgrounding. We've enforced map layer state restoration through lifecycle management, ensuring your premium features remain visible when switching between apps.
IMPROVEMENTS
• Optimised onboarding screens for iPhone SE users. Layout adjustments prevent images from getting clipped and text from being squashed on compact displays, whilst keeping everything looking great on larger devices.
7.5.2 03/11/2025
SMOOTHER ON EVERY LAYER
Radar used to jump from frame to frame. Now every layer flows as one continuous animation — the way weather actually moves.
· Fluid 60fps playback across radar, satellite, temperature, the 72-hour forecast, and Pro Radar products like velocity and ZDR
· Tap any spot, even mid-animation, to read the exact value there
· Subscribers can turn on "Exact Frames" to step through frame by frame, no animation
Enjoying Rain Viewer? A quick review helps more people find it.
more Version 7.21 2 days ago
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