If you're looking for weather information, Roku has you covered, with channels that provide live video reporting, current local conditions, forecasts, local and regional radar, and national weather maps. Not everyone will agree on what is "best" because not everyone is looking for the same thing in a weather app. With that in mind, here is our selection of the best Roku apps for whatever type of weather coverage you're looking for.
Our first selection doesn't provide as much weather information as the other apps in this list, but it's our most-used Roku weather app. Weather Screensaver displays local weather conditions and a 5-day weather forecast for any location you select while your Roku is idle. The app displays current actual and "feels like" temperatures, sky cover, and wind speed and direction, along with sunrise and sunset times. Also displayed is a slideshow of scenic images that correspond to your current local weather. If it's raining out, you'll see a rainy-day photo. Unless it's nighttime, when you'll see a rainy-night photo. Beautiful blue sky at your location? Your Roku will be showing a beautiful sunny day. Note that this screensaver costs $0.99/month; we normally prefer to highlight free apps, but we feel that this one is well worth the small monthly fee. Read our full review of Weather Screensaver here.
Weather4us - Weather4us is still our overall top pick for a Roku weather app because of the detailed weather information it provides. This is the app for weather geeks. If the lack of live reporting isn't a deal-killer, you'll find a wealth of information on Weather4us, including a detailed 7-day full-text forecasts, easy access to hourly forecasts, weather alerts, and time-lapse local and regional radar. The app includes lots of NWS graphics and climate information as well. All of this is available in the free ad-supported version of Weather4us, but you can purchase an ad-free version that also includes a Roku screensaver that displays more than two dozen NWS graphics while your Roku is idle. Read our full review of Weather4us here.
WeatherNation - If you're looking for live weather reporting and video on demand featuring regional forecasts, WeatherNation is the channel you need. It offers a live stream of weather reporting and forecasting along with video on demand that includes Space & Science, Top Weather Videos, and Weather Remix. Probably of most, interest, though, is the Weather On Demand category that includes Top Stories, Headlines, Top Severe, Extended Outlook, Beach Forecast, and four regional forecasts. In addition to the 24/7 live broadcast and VOD, you can also view very 36-hour and 7-day forecasts and current weather advisories. Ten images and weather maps are also available, including Radar, Satellite, Advisories, and current temperatures, winds, dew points, and more. Read our full review of WeatherNation here.
The Weather Network - The Weather Network offers current weather conditions, forecasts, and maps along with video on demand, but you'll find the available information to be much more limited than what is found on WeatherNation. You'll find graphical 36-hour, hourly, and 14-day forecasts, along with current precipitation potential (POP) and wind speeds. Read our full review of The Weather Network here.
The original 24-hour weather broadcaster, The Weather Channel, is included on our latest list of the best weather apps on Roku, but after a 10-minute trial period it's available only to those who already get The Weather Channel through a participating pay TV provider. If you fall into that category, you'll find this app to be useful on TVs not connected by cable to your TV service, and it also provides 7-day daily and hourly forecasts along with VOD content. Read our full review of The Weather Channel here.
It's not one of our top picks, but you can also find weather maps and charts on the free Weather Radar private channel. In addition, many local news channels, found in the News & Weather category of the Roku channel store, also offer local weather forecasts.
This article was originally published in February 2015 but is regularly updated to reflect current channel information.
