The best desktop weather programs for Windows

Martin Brinkmann
Aug 24, 2014
Software
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52

The Internet has simplified how we access weather information. Before that, you had to rely on the newspaper, TV, or phone to get weather information. With the rise of the Internet came dedicated websites that provide you with the information you require in real-time at all time.

Nowadays, apps are available that run on your smartphone or tablet at all times to provide you with weather information.

If you are using a desktop PC, you may like to run a weather program on it as well to look up information whenever the need arises without having to load a website first to do so.

The following top list contains the best weather software programs for the Windows operating system.

As always, all programs had to meet the following set of requirements to be included in this list.

Requirements

  • A free version needs to be available.
  • It needs to be compatible with all recent 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows.
  • The program needs to be a dedicated weather app and not part of a collection of tools, e.g. Rainmeter.

The top list

The top list starts with a quick summary of each program that made it followed by a comparison table that you can use to compare features and recommendations in the end.

Earth Alerts

earth-alerts

The program provides you with information about natural hazards. It monitors locations that you add to it to inform you about earthquakes, tsunamis, fires, landslides or volcanic activities.

Some of the information the program makes available cover the United States only while others are available for other countries and locations in the world.

sWeather

sweather

The portable program sWeather displays current day weather information in its interface. While you can add multiple locations to it, only one is displayed by the application at a time. There is however an option to load an expanded view which displays information about all configured locations in a table that includes a weather forecast as well.

Information include highest, lowest and current temperature, humidity, visibility and barometer information, wind speed as well as sunrise and sundown time.

The Weather Channel Desktop

weather-channel

The official Weather Channel program for Windows requires the Microsoft .NET Framework 4.0, includes adware offers, and displays advertisement in the program interface.

The weather information that it makes available are extensive. You can add one or multiple locations to it and check out current weather conditions as well as hourly and 10-day forecast information.

Included in the software program is an option to stream weather-related videos and to check various maps as well.

Weather Agent

weather agent

The free program displays a five-day weather forecast of a single location on startup. You can change the default location Prague but it is not possible to add multiple locations to the app.

For each day, it displays high and low temperatures, wind speed, precipitation, sunrise and sunset, as well as moon phase.

Weather Exchange Network

weather exchange

The free program is powered by a community of weather enthusiasts. Information that it makes available for locations are extensive as you can see from the screenshot above.

Besides detailed information about temperatures or precipitation, it makes available advisories and alerts, and a five-day weather forecast.

WeatherBug Desktop

weatherbug

The program requires the .Net Framework 4.0, includes adware offers during installation, and uses a ton of memory when running.

While all of that speaks against it, the functionality that it makes available may appeal to some users. You can add as many locations as you want to the program to keep track of weather information for each.

The weather app displays the usual information such as humidity, felt temperature, sunrise or sunset, but also radar images, live cams and photos.

WeatherInfo

weatherinfo

WeatherInfo is not a lightweight application despite its looks. It uses a good chunk of memory which can be attributed mostly to it requiring the Microsoft .Net Framework.

The app itself displays weather information of a single selected location in its interface. It divides the information into a current tab which highlights current conditions and forecast, which displays information of the next five days.

You can configure it to display the current temperature in the system tray.

WeatherMate

weathermate

WeatherMate displays weather information for a location that you select in the program interface on startup. You can modify the information that it displays using the options menu. Here it is for instance possible to enable the detailed forecast or a weather radar image.

Regardless of whether you pick imperial or metric, the forecast is displayed in imperial units only which is problematic for anyone living outside the United States.

Information that it provides including the temperature, cloudiness, wind speed, humidity as well as sunset and sunrise for the current day.

 

YoWindow

The desktop version of YoWindow requires Flash for Internet Explorer to work. It displays detailed weather information for a select location on start, with options to add, remove and edit locations easily in the interface.

While it can only display information for a single location at a time, it is providing you with current weather information as well as forecasts for the next three days.

The program ships with a couple of other features such as using it as a screensaver and displaying background images based on the location you have selected.

Comparison

Program Name Sources Units Forecasts Other
Earth Alerts unknown Metric, Imperial no natural hazards monitoring
sWeather Yahoo Weather Metric, Imperial 10-day portable
The Weather Channel Desktop Weather Channel Metric, Imperial 10-day requires .NET Framework 4.0, adware installer, ads, video
Weather Agent unknown Metric, Imperial 5-day
Weather Exchange Network WEN Metric, Imperial 5-day ads
WeatherBug Desktop WeatherBug Metric, Imperial 9-day requires .NET Framework 4.0, adware installer, ads
WeatherMate Weather Channel Metric, Imperial 6-day text to speech engine
WeatherInfo World Weather Online Metric, Imperial 5-day requires .NET Framework
YoWindow Metar, Open Weather Map, yr.no, NSW Metric, Imperial 3-day requires IE Flash, multiple locations, screensaver

Recommendation

If you want a lightweight program that provides you with excellent forecasts and all the information you can possibly want, then sWeather is the first of this list that you should take for a test ride.

While it may be too bare bones for some, it makes up for that with low memory usage and being portable.

If you prefer fancy, I suggest you give YoWindow a try. It supports several weather sources but restricts forecasts to three days in the free version.

Now You: Did we miss a desktop weather program? Feel free to share it with all of us in the comments below.

Summary
The best desktop weather programs for Windows
Article Name
The best desktop weather programs for Windows
Description
The top weather program list for Windows lists the best desktop-based weather applications for the operating system.
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Comments

  1. Bill Bixby said on August 21, 2020 at 5:04 am
    Reply

    After doing hours of research, I can’t find a single weather app for Windows 10 laptop. It appears that all weather apps that used to be available for the PC are no longer available — creators of these apps are too lazy or stupid to make weather apps for the PC….now they only make them for ‘smart phones,’ etc. How much sense does it make to want to look at a weather app on a tiny screen (phone) but not on your PC or laptop. Amazingly-stupid and illogical…

  2. leland said on October 15, 2019 at 4:28 am
    Reply

    I did finally find the WOEID in some Yahoo API docs. What a pain! sWeather worked find with the proper ID number.

  3. leland said on October 15, 2019 at 4:27 am
    Reply

    Ravi updated Weather Mate to version 4.11 so it is now working properly again!

  4. leland said on October 12, 2019 at 2:33 am
    Reply

    Open Weather give me the same error as Weather Mate. sWeather just doesn’t help me find the WOEID necessary as Yahoo seems to have changed things around. So far the only one I found that worked was Weather Agent. I am sure some of the adware type programs function but that is not what I was looking for.

  5. leland said on October 11, 2019 at 11:38 pm
    Reply

    Weather Mate has developed an issue in the last two weeks where it won’t load. The error I am seeing is “Sorry, WeatherMate 4 was unable to start. The remote server returned an error: (403) Forbidden.” I wrote the author but no response as of yet.

  6. Bob said on July 6, 2019 at 7:26 am
    Reply

    Weather Exchange Network
    The writer say’s it’s free but it will not down load.
    Why

  7. Cl said on January 29, 2018 at 1:36 pm
    Reply

    Anyone use mr marvelais’s weather program ?

  8. Yih Dzelonh said on January 13, 2017 at 7:24 am
    Reply

    I’ve used “The Weather Channel” app for a very long time. Although, occasionally there are ‘bugs’ and it requires now and then ‘re-starting’ to update and sometimes even ‘re-installations,’ for the most part it is very functional and VERY high-tech and awesome in most every conceivable way: Backgrounds, ten-day forecasts (in HD display), all kinds of radar and other maps (in HD display). I have yet to find a desktop weather app nearly as professional-looking and cool-looking and organized…

  9. R3turnz said on December 10, 2016 at 6:58 pm
    Reply

    Hello,
    here is a quick overview over my weather application OpenWeather:
    -Comprehensive weather data and 5-days forecast
    -Completely AD-FREE and open source
    -Fahrenheit,Kelvin and Celsius are supported

    Requirements
    -Net Framework 4.0

    Source
    -OpenWeatherMap

    Take a look at the project website -> https://r3turnz.github.io/OpenWeather

  10. James C. said on September 12, 2016 at 12:29 am
    Reply

    Just a little update for anyone interested.

    I just discovered that the same issue which happened with The Weather Channel’s Desktop application on my Win 7 computer,and (like Steve and Sue experienced also)……is now occurring with Accuweather’s desktop application as well. I just tried it out and when you click on the “Extended forecast” or “Radar” links…it displays a page saying “Your browser version is no longer supported”, and to upgrade.

    Newsflash: I’ve had IE 11 on this Win 7 computer since it was released and it IS current!

    It seems obvious both The Weather Channel Desktop and now Accuweather’s Desktop application are deliberately screwing-over Windows 7 users. I also see no way to contact Accuweather for an explanation of this mess either.

  11. Anonymous said on July 29, 2016 at 2:37 am
    Reply

    I like Weather Underground, and I pay them $10 a year to receive no ads.

  12. Sue G. said on March 28, 2016 at 7:23 am
    Reply

    My Weather Channel desktop installation became corrupted. When I tried to re-install it on my computer running Windows 7, it will not work. You HAVE to install Windows 10 to get it. I’m not jumping on the “free” Windows 10 bandwagon. Windows 7 is still considered a current program by Microsoft. I think it’s unfair that Windows 7 users are now excluded from this desktop program. Just thought I’d mention this in case any other Windows 7 users visit here…

    1. Steve R said on June 19, 2016 at 8:45 pm
      Reply

      I have the exact same problem. Windows 10 caused my PC to crash and had to re-install 7. Now I can’t get the Weather Channel to work. Anyone know where I can get a PC weather app that displays the outside temp and has local radar too? (like the weather channel used to)

      1. James C. said on August 22, 2016 at 1:19 am
        Reply

        I encountered the same issue as both Sue & Steve on my Win 7 computer with The Weather Channel’s Desktop app. Their “Support Staff” was of absolutely NO help. I certainly have no intention of upgrading to Win 10 either. I finally just uninstalled it.

        Fortunately, I’ve also been using another application called, “Aeris Calendar”, by Esumsoft. (It’s a desktop program with both a decent calendar program and weather application combined).

        If interested, you can read more about it at the following link:

        http://www.esumsoft.com/products/aeris-calendar/

        Aeris Calendar is Shareware. It is free to try for 21 days to see if it meets your needs. Normal license cost is $19.95. At the moment (for a limited time), Esumsoft is offering a site-wide discount of 15% – so the cost would be less.

        Thus far, I’ve found it more than meets my own needs (both the calendar application and the weather program).

      2. dmacleo said on July 28, 2016 at 9:44 pm
        Reply

        I have used weather exchange for years as it shows stations 2 miles from me
        http://www.ambientweather.com/freedownload.html
        I use(d) it on win7 and also use it on win10

        have not yet tried ambientweathers new software, no reason as the linked one works well for me

  13. Phloo said on September 12, 2015 at 7:28 pm
    Reply

    I just finished developing the newest weather application.

    – it looks really good and has nice animations
    – provides good weather information using WorldWeatherOnline API (5 day forecast, hourly weather information, including temp, feels like, heat index, chances of rain, of fog, of ice, of snow….and much more)
    – can change desktop background depending on weather conditions
    – has voice description
    – has voice recognition (you can ask about weather, time, google searches, computer shutdown and many others)

    It is called Elements of Nature and you can download it from CNET:
    http://download.cnet.com/Elements-Of-Nature-Pro-Edition/3000-18555_4-76456647.html

    Also Softpedia made a nice review about it, guaranteed that is virus free and listed it on their website:
    http://www.softpedia.com/get/Internet/Weather-Home/Elements-Of-Nature-PRO-Edition.shtml

    Check my website for more SW:
    http://www.stackoverphloo.com/products.html

    1. ilo said on May 25, 2016 at 5:51 pm
      Reply

      It’s not a free app. This is spam by the developer.

  14. Anonymous said on September 8, 2015 at 4:23 am
    Reply

    been trying to get weatherbug to fix their lightning app(spark) for months and they seem to think only people in northern Kansas and southern Nebraska should have proper access. their support team sucks.

  15. george said on March 19, 2015 at 10:01 pm
    Reply

    what about weather network?

  16. Candace said on December 4, 2014 at 6:30 pm
    Reply

    I am with “Jim in White Plains” on this – had both WeatherPulse (it died) then Weathermate (no forecast available for weeks now).
    Both were great programs when they worked. Small, unobtrusive but everything I wanted to know on both.
    Have been trying out Weather Watcher Live but I really do not like it.
    Going to give sWeather a try next.

    1. Jim in White Plains said on December 4, 2014 at 11:20 pm
      Reply

      Candace, sWeather is pretty good. The only difference between sWeather and WeatherMate is an in-app radar image. There is a quick link to the Yahoo full forecast page. Unless Ravi (WeatherMate) or Brad (WeatherPulse) can re-link their RSS feeds, I am sticking with sWeather. Neither Ravi nor Brad have available time for updates — real life intrudes!

      1. Ken Mason said on December 4, 2014 at 11:48 pm
        Reply

        Jim I’ve been using Yahoo!’s Weather Widget for years. It’s not only pretty, it gives a 5-day forecast:

        http://www.filehippo.com/download_yahoo_widget/download/288a7b33c51ef93d530938590b2242c2/

  17. Jim in White Plains said on December 1, 2014 at 3:25 am
    Reply

    I used to use WeatherPulse, but their data source started charging for data feed — data generated by the US Government! WeatherMate was my go to desktop application, but their data source (weather.com) completely changed its feed so it’s now in limbo. I installed sWeather…looks good. It lacks in-app radar imagery, but has all of the other attributes of a low footprint/large content weather application. Some of the suggestions I’ve seen here miss the point (IMHO). If I wanted to open a dedicated weather web page, there are literally 100s of sites providing weather information for a a variety of uses (personal, aviation, marine, emergency alerts, etc.). Thanks for the comparison — very useful article.

  18. silat said on August 28, 2014 at 2:25 am
    Reply

    A bit off topic here.
    A great earth wind animation http://earth.nullschool.net/
    Click on the word “earth” in the bottom left corner to bring up options.

  19. Guest said on August 26, 2014 at 10:40 pm
    Reply

    My requirements:
    1. Must not be obnoxious.

    Oops, all those in the screenshots above fall short. The only way I know so far to have a small, out of the way desktop weather notification is to use Rainmeter.

    Also unrelated: “you are posting comments too quickly, slow down!”
    -wtf? I only commented once today so far. Add a captcha and reduce the post cooldown.

  20. Sean said on August 26, 2014 at 12:58 pm
    Reply

    Here’s one that I use… HTC Home Apis…

    http://www.htchome.org/en/features/

  21. Ken Mason said on August 26, 2014 at 12:33 am
    Reply

    Try the Yahoo! Weather widget, it’s not only pretty, it gives an easy-to-read, condensed 5-day display. It’s available at (amongst other sites) at:
    http://www.filehorse.com/download-yahoo-widgets/

  22. Herman Sherman said on August 25, 2014 at 5:44 pm
    Reply

    Weatherunderground’s classic display version [http://classic.wunderground.com/] has served me so well for years that I’m disappointed Weatherunderground itself is not on Martin’s list. In fact, I like it so much I don’t feel a need to check out anything on the list.

    1. Ustavio said on August 26, 2014 at 3:06 pm
      Reply

      Weather Underground has been my go to website for years. Its use of PWS (personal weather station) data can give reliable rapid update information from different spots all over town. Their mobile app has much improved as well. Most other sites give weather data that is less frequently updated and temperatures can be off by 10-15 degrees. I am even toying with the notion of setting up my own PWS.

  23. Hawk said on August 25, 2014 at 3:53 pm
    Reply

    I use the sWeather years.

  24. Anton Derbenev said on August 25, 2014 at 6:33 am
    Reply

    If one uses a calendar, in-calendar weather is best option IMO.

    Google has integrated one, and its URL can be added to Lightning.

    It uses Yahoo weather IIRC.

    Also Wunderground allows ical export. And probably some others.

  25. Dwight Stegall said on August 25, 2014 at 1:48 am
    Reply

    You’d be smart to stay away from weather widgets. They hog your system resources.

    I got around that by writing this page. The weather maps might not load if you live outside the USA.

    http://dwightstegall.com/qcweather.shtml

    If you have Firefox set to keep pages from reloading themselves you’ll have to disable that. The page auto reloads every 3 minutes.

    You can download it and convert it to your own area if you want.

  26. George P. Burdell said on August 24, 2014 at 6:10 pm
    Reply

    I follow the weather on the following web sites, among others. Some sites are updated every five minutes, others every few hours.

    While some of these are USA-centric, most have a world view, or can be zoomed to any area, like Europe. If you are not a USA taxpayer, maybe you can send a thank-you note of appreciation to your nearby US Embassy, or any Coca-Cola vendor.

    http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/data/comp/latest_cmoll.gif For the big picture

    http://www.intellicast.com/Global/Default.aspx Hundreds of maps – hours of exploring

    http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/ World-wide remote reporting from automatic ocean buoys

    http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ Storms at sea

    http://earthquake.usgs.gov/earthquakes/map/ Earthquakes (zoom out for world view)

    http://hint.fm/wind/ USA Wind Map (very artistic, can be zoomed in but not out)

    http://www.cocorahs.org/ USA Rain Map (volunteer reporting network)

    http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/ USA Radar Mosaic (animated)

    http://inciweb.nwcg.gov/ USA Forest Fires

    http://droughtmonitor.unl.edu/Home.aspx USA Drought Severity

  27. John said on August 24, 2014 at 3:47 pm
    Reply

    Earth Alerts appears to be using Weather Underground as its data source. There’s a link to their site when the app is open. Been using this weather app for several years now and quite pleased with it. Light on resources and continually updated with improvements.

  28. Oxa said on August 24, 2014 at 3:39 pm
    Reply

    WeatherBug is notorious for its pop-up adware. Someone installed it on a computer I was using and its popups drove me crazy.

    1. HallB said on August 7, 2015 at 7:58 am
      Reply

      The claim in this review of PC weather programs that PC WeatherBug allows unlimited number of monitored locations is false. I have the latest copy (per an attempt to download a new version that informed me I have it already) will only allow a maximum of 5 monitored locations. I have found no settings yet that allow me to expand that.
      The mobile app however does allow more than 5. I currently have 7 locations entered on my cell phone app and it appears I can add more.
      HallB

  29. Davin Peterson said on August 24, 2014 at 2:53 pm
    Reply

    Many TV station use the WeatherBug Network currently owned by Earth Networks (formally AWS). It has weather stations installed at local schools and businesses that we can tap into. For example, in the DC Metro Area, we have 650+ local weather stations. Other software rely just on the official reporting stations.

  30. Maelish said on August 24, 2014 at 2:31 pm
    Reply

    I am an avid follower of the Weather Underground here in the USA. Did you not see any apps using their site & data?

    1. Tee Kay said on September 1, 2016 at 1:40 am
      Reply

      WEATHER UNDERGROUND GOT BAD DROPPING 7 DAY FORECAST TO 5; ALSO WEATHER ICONS GOT UGLY CARTOON-LIKE; TOO MANY ADS ALSO~~~ESPECIALLY SHOVING RACIST, BIGOT TRUMP DOWN YOUR THROAT VS HILLARY.

      MANY REVIEW COMPLAINTS DEVELOPED~~ PRIMARILY REMOVING MANY NICE FEATURES!!

      SO FORGET ABOUT IT.

      ***WEATHERMATE AWESOME!!

      1. Qanon said on July 4, 2022 at 6:50 pm
        Reply

        6 years later, hows the weather bro?? They’ve been forecasting the Liberal World Order for years now… Was just wondering how that’s treatin ya on this fine Independence day!!!!

      2. nd said on April 18, 2018 at 2:27 pm
        Reply

        Hillary? you are as is said uneducated lib

    2. Peter Van Keuren said on April 26, 2015 at 11:09 pm
      Reply

      I’ve been using Weather Underground’s “classic” for over 10 years, and it was a great app, but they are shutting “classic” down, due to costs, they say. The new Weather Underground is a piece of crap – slow loading bloatware. I’m looking for another app to use.

    3. Martin Brinkmann said on August 24, 2014 at 3:04 pm
      Reply

      I only found mobile apps.

      1. tom2t said on August 24, 2014 at 4:21 pm
        Reply

        I do not really know how to respond. I have, for me this one page I like with weather underground. I can only get to it from and old bookmark. Hope it may be of interest to you. Enjoy your news letter.
        Tom
        http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/findweather/getForecast?brand=wxmap&zoom=11&query=navarre+32566&&theprefset=32566199999WS&theprefvalue=KFLNAVAR17

  31. Pants said on August 24, 2014 at 2:17 pm
    Reply

    sWeather is great – small, unobtrusive, and I have it here, but never use it.

    Instead, i have two custom rainmeter panels
    – one is the current temp, description, barometer, humidity, and sunrise/sunset times – it scrapes weather.yahooapis.com
    – the other is a five day forecast (today and the next four), which list the temp highs/lows and forecast – it scrapes weather.com

    both can be configured to use C or F and any weathercode (location)

    FYI: (from my UserVariables.inc file)
    =WeatherCode Instructions: =
    = GO HERE: http://www.edg3.co.uk/snippets/weather-location-codes/ =
    = OR go to http://weather.yahoo.com/ and search for your city =
    = When you have found it, mouse over the RSS feed to see the url =
    = Example: http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=FRXX0076&u=f =
    = The code you want will be the FRXX0076 part =
    = The above example was for Paris, France =

    examples (enter into a web browser)
    http://weather.yahooapis.com/forecastrss?p=FRXX0076&u=c (use =f for Farenheit)
    http://xml.weather.com/weather/local/FRXX0076?cc=*&unit=m&dayf=6 (Celcius)
    http://xml.weather.com/weather/local/FRXX0076?cc=*&unit=i&dayf=6 (Farenheit)

    1. theMike said on August 24, 2014 at 9:51 pm
      Reply

      also rainmeter just for the weather app

    2. Ray said on August 24, 2014 at 5:03 pm
      Reply

      Rainmeter user here as well! :)

    3. Martin Brinkmann said on August 24, 2014 at 3:05 pm
      Reply

      If you use Rainmeter already, then this is without doubt the best option. Thanks!

  32. bob said on August 24, 2014 at 2:02 pm
    Reply

    What about weather watcher? It use to be the best?

    1. Martin Brinkmann said on August 24, 2014 at 3:02 pm
      Reply

      I checked it out but it seems paid only.

      1. Hans van Aken said on August 24, 2014 at 5:10 pm
        Reply

        It’s free as Firefox-Add-On, I am using it for years, it’s small, but very nice.
        Needs some configuration, but that’s easy to do.
        https://addons.mozilla.org/de/firefox/addon/weather-watcher-live/?src=search

      2. owl said on October 12, 2019 at 5:11 am
        Reply

        @Hans van Aken said on August 24, 2014 at 5:10 pm
        I also the same,
        It’s free as Firefox-Add-On, I am using it for years, it’s small, but very nice.
        Needs some configuration, but that’s easy to do.
        However the add-on is different:
        Forecastfox (fix version) | Get this Extension for 🦊 Firefox (en-US)
        https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/forecastfox-fix-version/
        This add-on uses “AccuWeather” weather data.
        AccuWeather | Wikipedia
        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AccuWeather

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