Report updated May 28, 2026
StormTracker 13
For residents of the West Virginia, Kentucky, Ohio, and Colorado regions who require localized, real-time severe weather monitoring.
StormTracker 13 is an established weather app that is completely free. With a 3.2/5 rating from 215 reviews, it shows polarized user reception.
What is StormTracker 13?
StormTracker 13 is a regional weather utility app for the Tri-State area, providing severe weather alerts and meteorologist-led forecasts on iOS and Android.
Users hire the app for hyper-local, personality-backed safety alerts that national weather apps lack, ensuring they receive actionable warnings before severe weather impacts their specific location.
Current Momentum
v6.9 · 28mo ago
Zombie- Ships stability updates for Android.
- Maintains regional meteorologist-led content.
Active Nemesis
WSOC-TV Channel 9 Weather App
By Cox Media
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
WeatherNo ranking data
Rating Pulse 🇺🇸
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
How Is The App's Momentum Right Now?
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What Are The Key Features?
1-to-10 ranking system for tornado probability in approaching storms, provided via push alerts.
Interactive map with 250-meter resolution, including past and future radar layers.
GPS-based push notifications for lightning and severe weather, triggered up to 15 minutes before impact.
How much does it cost?
- Free app with ad support
Ad-supported model relies on high-frequency utility usage to generate inventory for local and regional advertisers.
Who Built It?
Nexstar Broadcasting
Delivering hyper-local news, weather, and sports updates to US regional markets through a network of station-branded mobile utilities.
Portfolio
13
Apps
Who is Nexstar Broadcasting?
Nexstar Broadcasting leverages its position as a major US television station owner to maintain a massive, decentralized portfolio of hyper-local news and weather utilities. Their primary advantage is the integration of existing broadcast newsrooms with mobile distribution, creating a 'digital town square' moat that is difficult for pure-play digital competitors to replicate at a regional level. The current strategic challenge is managing technical stability and ad-load friction across a template-based architecture that serves over 100 distinct markets simultaneously.
Who is Nexstar Broadcasting for?
- Local residents in specific US markets seeking real-time regional updates
- Severe weather alerts
Portfolio momentum
High-frequency maintenance across a vast portfolio, with 337 releases in the last 6 months and 93% of apps remaining active.
What other apps does Nexstar Broadcasting make?
What do users think recently?
Analysis in progress, available soon
What is the competitive landscape for StormTracker 13?
How's The Weather Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
Head to Head
The target must pivot toward hyper-local community engagement and exclusive meteorologist-led content to differentiate from the scale of this larger competitor.
What sets StormTracker 13 apart
Deep integration with local meteorologist Spencer Adkins provides a unique, trusted personality-driven brand connection
Focused regional scope allows for more specialized, hyper-local forecasting than a broader media group app
What's WSOC-TV Channel 9 Weather App's Edge
Significantly higher review count and rating indicate a more mature, battle-tested product development cycle
Superior technical infrastructure supports higher concurrent user loads during severe weather events without performance degradation
Contenders
Utilizes proprietary Nearcast AI modeling to provide more accurate, localized forecasts than standard public weather models
Includes specialized lightning detection features that provide a safety edge for outdoor-focused or professional users
Includes dedicated school closure and delay tracking which is a high-value feature for local family demographics
Supports favorite location management, allowing users to track weather across multiple regions within a single interface
St. Cloud Live StormTRACKER
★4.6 (7)Forum Communications Company
This app mirrors the target's branding and feature set, directly competing for the same regional user base in the local news market.
Maintains a more consistent release cadence, ensuring the app remains optimized for the latest mobile operating systems
Focuses on high-resolution radar performance as a core value proposition to attract users during severe weather events
Weather ++++
★4.7 (190)Touchberry
This app targets the aesthetic-conscious weather user, competing for screen time through superior visual customization and widget support.
Offers deep home screen widget integration that keeps the app relevant without requiring users to open it
Visual-first design language prioritizes user interface aesthetics over the raw data-heavy approach of the target app
Peers
Prioritizes live streaming video content, keeping users engaged with meteorologist commentary during breaking weather events
Maintains a large, established user base that provides significant data for refining local forecast accuracy
Provides asset-specific weather warnings that allow users to monitor risks for precise locations or business properties
Includes 360-degree lightning tracking, offering a level of precision that exceeds standard consumer-grade weather applications
Integrates a live FPREN radio stream, providing critical audio updates during power outages or network instability
Operates as a public service tool, building trust through academic backing rather than commercial broadcasting incentives
Post Bulletin StormTRACKER
★4.7 (83)Forum Communications Company
This is a direct peer in the local media weather space, utilizing similar naming conventions and feature sets for regional audiences.
Features dynamic forecasting models that adapt to changing local conditions faster than static daily forecast updates
Provides robust location awareness that automatically triggers alerts based on the user's current geographic position
New Kids on the Block
Enables offline access to forecasts, a critical feature for travelers moving through areas with poor connectivity
Turbulence Forecast - Flight+
★5.0 (3)Brite Technologies
This app disrupts the general weather space by providing niche, high-value data for aviation-focused users.
Provides route-based turbulence forecasts and live PIREP data, offering specialized utility that general weather apps lack
The outtake for StormTracker 13
Strengths to defend, gaps to attack
Core Strengths
- Trusted meteorologist-led brand connection in the Kanawha Valley
- Hyper-local forecasting scope
- Exclusive Baron Tornado Index alert system
Critical Frictions
- 0.8★ Android-iOS rating gap
- Aging interface design
- Lack of multi-location tracking support
Growth Levers
- Integration of school closure tracking
- Expansion of wearable device support
- B2B partnerships with local emergency services
Market Threats
- AI-driven forecast accuracy from TempestOne
- Superior radar responsiveness in WSOC-TV
- Aesthetic-focused widget integration from competitors
What are the next best moves?
Ship school closure tracking because it is a high-value feature for local families → capture family-demographic segment.
Competitor KXLY Weather successfully uses school closure tracking to attract family demographics.
Trade-off: Pause the radar UI refresh — school closures have a higher immediate impact on regional user acquisition.
Audit Android UI performance because of the 0.8★ rating gap → reduce churn among Android users.
The Android rating is significantly lower than the iOS rating, indicating platform-specific technical friction.
Trade-off: Deprioritize new feature development for the next two sprints to focus on technical debt.
A counter-intuitive read
The app's regional focus is its primary defense, as national weather apps cannot replicate the hyper-local trust that the StormTracker 13 meteorologist team commands.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- School closure and delay tracking (available in KXLY Weather but absent here)
- Multi-location favorite management (available in KXLY Weather but absent here)
- Offline forecast access (available in Roam Weather but absent here)
Key Takeaways
StormTracker 13 holds its regional lead through trusted meteorologist content but bleeds users to modern, responsive competitors, so revenue growth hinges on tightening the UI friction and adding high-value local utilities like school closures.
Where Is It Heading?
Mixed Signals
The local weather market is consolidating around apps that offer high-resolution radar and multi-location utility. StormTracker 13 remains exposed due to its static feature set, so the PM must prioritize technical parity to prevent further erosion of the Android user base.
The Android-iOS rating gap indicates persistent technical friction on the Android platform, which erodes user trust and limits growth in that segment.
The exclusive Baron Tornado Index provides a unique safety utility that keeps the app relevant for high-intent users during severe weather events.