James Roddie was impressed with the interface and global stretch of the Mountain-Forecast app.
The Mountain-Forecast app is a weather app specifically aimed at people spending time in the mountains, with a huge number of forecasts available for summits across the world.
James Roddie recommends
Overall, this is an excellent forecast app that can be used to great effect in many areas of the world.- Reliable forecasting
- Forecasts for a huge number of summits globally
- Navigation features
- No weather radar map
- Uneven distribution of forecast locations
| Quick specs |
|---|
| Cost: Free (6 day forecasts). £24.99 yearly or £3.99 monthly subscription for 16 day forecasts and offline forecasting/mapping (available from the App Store) Platforms: iPhone, Android, Web browser Maps: OpenStreetMap with terrain and satellite layers. Features: Individual summit forecasts globally. Hourly forecasts. Offline mapping available with subscription. Offline? Yes, with subscription mountain-forecast.com |
However it should be noted that there is an un-even distribution of forecasts globally, with a higher concentration of forecasts for Western Europe and North America for example.
Whilst all of the forecast locations given are summits, I was surprised for find forecasts for ‘summits’ as low as 50m above sea level in the English Midlands. As a result, this app can also be used for weather forecasting for low-lying, non-mountainous areas, but only in regions with a high density of forecast locations.
Forecasts are also given for summit and mid-level altitudes of many mountains. This is really handy for backpacking in mountainous areas, where you might not visit any summits, but be moving through mid-level terrain.
I have found forecasting to be generally very reliable, particularly for wind speed and freezing levels. This app seems to accurately predict significant weather changes or poor weather ‘events’ with great accuracy in my experience. The free version of the app provides 3 hourly forecasts for up to 6 days ahead, with a more detailed hourly forecast for the current date.
Online OpenStreetMap mapping is also available internationally. The paid subscription costs £24.99 annually or £3.99 monthly. It gives hourly forecasts for 6 days ahead, and then 3 hourly forecasts for an additional 10 days, along with offline forecasts and map downloads.
One feature I really miss is a weather radar map, showing predicted precipitation and cloud cover. The lack of this makes it a harder to get an overview of the forecast weather over a wider region.
Overall however, this is an excellent forecast app, that can be used to great effect in many areas of the world.
How we tested
James tested these apps across the Scottish Highlands, Patagonia and the Balkans. Tests were performed on an iPhone with an up-to-date version of iOS. Weather forecasting apps were tested in both mountainous and lowland locations. You can compare this with other in our guide to the best hiking apps.
This review was first published in the July issue of The Great Outdoors.
