There are lots of weather apps available for iOS. Some are free and some come at a price. However, if you'd like to get a terrific, detailed report on conditions and the forecast straight from the U.S. government and have it appear just like an app on your iPad/iPhone, all for free, here's how to do it.
1. In Mobile Safari on your iPad or iPhone, go to www.weather.gov.
2. On the top left of the page, enter your city and state, or, preferably, your U.S. ZIP code. You'll get a customized page for that region with details of the current conditions, both a graphical and text forecast for the next five days and nights, and severe weather alerts.
3. Next, tap the share button on the top left and you'll see a popup like this:
4. Tap "Add to Home Screen." You can then tap and edit the default description to something simple and meaningful, such as "My town's WX." The long URL, customized for your ZIP is saved as part of the Home Screen icon.
Finally, Click "Add" on the top right, and you'll now have an icon on your iOS device's home screen that looks just like an app. In the future, when you tap it, it'll launch Safari and get you the latest weather data and forecast.
Free is good. But when it's this detailed and this easy, as direct as it can be from the National Weather Service, that's even better. And even better than that?
No ads.