Weather apps can't handle complex winter storms, experts say

Smartphone weather apps have significant limitations during complex winter storms because they oversimplify forecast data, according to meteorologists interviewed by The Associated Press. As a multistate winter storm brought heavy snow, ice and subzero temperatures across the United States, experts recommended consulting human forecasters via local news broadcasts, online streams or detailed weather service websites rather than relying on apps’ simplified icons and numbers.

The challenge highlights why smartphone apps—designed for sunny days and mild weather—struggle when storms combine multiple types of precipitation that require human interpretation to forecast accurately for specific locations.

Smartphone weather apps designed for forecasting sunny skies and mild temperatures fall short when storms bring multiple types of precipitation—heavy snow, sleet and freezing rain—simultaneously, according to meteorologists. As a multistate winter storm swept across the United States this week, experts highlighted the gap between what these simplified digital tools display and what human forecasters can interpret.

The Core Problem

“Weather apps are really bad at storms that have multiple types of precipitation and it really makes messaging hard,” said Marshall Shepherd, a meteorology professor at the University of Georgia and past president of the American Meteorological Society. “Apps don’t understand the details of why snow, sleet or freezing rain happens.”

The challenge is partly technical. Weather apps typically display data with bright icons and eye-catching numbers designed for quick scanning. But during extreme weather events, those simplifications can be dangerously misleading. Conditions change rapidly as storms develop. A few miles of difference in storm location can shift the precipitation type from snow to sleet to freezing rain—each with vastly different hazards and preparation needs.

Why Apps Struggle With Complexity

Many weather forecast apps use artificial intelligence to generate their own forecasts or to adapt larger regional forecasts to specific locations. This approach introduces potential for significant error, according to Jason Furtado, a meteorology professor at the University of Oklahoma.

“For extreme weather events, it is especially important to know there are human forecasters interpreting the data and making the best localized forecasts for your area,” Furtado said. “Unfortunately, many of the weather forecast apps use AI methods to either make the forecast or ‘interpolate’ from larger grids to your hometown, introducing the potential for significant errors.”

Victor Gensini, a meteorology professor at Northern Illinois University, noted that many weather apps “oversimplify uncertainty and present highly precise-looking numbers that imply more confidence than actually exists.” This type of storm is where apps are weakest because they cannot capture the nuances that determine whether a region receives snow or dangerous ice.

What Better Apps Look Like

Not all weather apps perform equally. Those that pair National Weather Service data with human meteorologist expertise have advantages over those relying solely on raw computer modeling.

The Weather Channel app, which saw heavy traffic during the winter storm, uses information from the National Weather Service, more than 100 weather models from the U.S. and Europe, input from over 100,000 citizens, and its own proprietary model. The company synthesizes this data with artificial intelligence, but crucially, human meteorologists have the final say.

“It’s an all-hands-on-deck kind of approach that we take,” said James Belanger, vice president of The Weather Company. “One of the things that has been a lesson and a principle that we’ve adopted is that it’s the combination of advancements in technology with the human oversight” that allows accurate forecasting, especially during dangerous storms.

Cory Mottice, a National Weather Service meteorologist since 2014, developed an app called EverythingWeather to provide the public with easy access to the latest forecasts from professional meteorologists at the National Weather Service’s more than 125 regional offices. The strength of that approach, he said, is that the information comes directly from meteorologists “looking at the data, adjusting it, making the forecast as needed” rather than from raw computer models with no human oversight.

Getting Information You Can Trust

As people seek weather information during storms, they increasingly turn to social media platforms where, experts warn, misinformation spreads rapidly.

“Weather is complex, and social media tends to reward confidence and drama, not nuance,” Gensini said. “That mismatch is a real challenge during major events like this.”

Kim Klockow McClain, an extreme weather social scientist at the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research, said people are “getting misled by hyped forecasts.” Research suggests that continuous exposure to worst-case scenarios erodes public trust in weather forecasts over time, she added.

During dangerous winter storms, meteorologists recommend seeking information directly from the National Weather Service, through local television and radio newscasts, or from online services that display official forecasts with explanation from credentialed forecasters. The detail and context provided by human expertise can be the difference between adequate preparation and dangerous overconfidence in simplified icons and numbers.