Report updated Apr 10, 2026
WQOW 18 StormTrack
For local residents of the Chippewa Valley and surrounding areas who require reliable, hyper-local weather tracking and severe weather alerts.
WQOW 18 StormTrack is an established weather app that is completely free. With a 3.7/5 rating from 206 reviews, it shows polarized user reception. Users particularly appreciate reliable weather alerts, though app stability and freezing remains a common concern.
What Is WQOW 18 StormTrack?
Which Momentum?
v6.1.602
Bug fixes and performance improvements
Active Nemesis
WEAU First Alert Weather
By Gray Television Licensee
Other Rivals
7-Day Rank Pulse 🇺🇸
No ranking data
Recent User Mood 🇺🇸
What makes this app unique?
What Does It Look Like?
What Is The App Momentum?
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What Are The Key Features?
High-resolution radar imagery for precise weather tracking
Predictive radar modeling to visualize the path of severe weather
Real-time notifications from the National Weather Service with opt-in push capabilities
Who is it for & how much does it cost?
Target Audience
Local residents of the Chippewa Valley and surrounding areas who require reliable, hyper-local weather tracking and severe weather alerts.
Pricing
Free- Fully free application supported by the station
The app serves as a utility extension of the WQOW broadcast station, focusing on audience engagement and brand loyalty rather than direct monetization through the app store.
Who Built It?
Enrichment in progress
Publisher profile available very soon
What other apps does Allen Media Broadcasting make?
User Sentiment
iIndependent intel reports to help builders create better apps. Accuracy improves every day. For informational purposes only.High confidence · 206 reviews available
What is the recent mood?
“Recent user voice shows a mixed sentiment. Users appreciate reliable weather alerts, but report app stability and freezing and excessive ads and navigation.”
What Users Love
I love how every time there is storms, it informs me.
WQOW is so quick to inform you on their app.
What Frustrates Users
Used to be the best app, now it just sits there frozen
This last week this app does nothing but freeze. Doesnt load daily or hourly.
not accurate and ads are prioritized over information. I have to scroll past ads just to see the current temp
What is the competitive landscape for WQOW 18 StormTrack?
How's The Weather Market?
Market outlook for this category
Available very soon
Weather Market Trend
Weather market trend & dynamics
Available very soon
The rivals identified
The Nemesis
Head to Head
WEAU holds the strategic edge due to superior technical stability and its position as the market leader in broadcast news. WQOW's 3.1 rating and declining sentiment suggest it is losing the local utility battle to WEAU's more reliable platform.
What sets WQOW 18 StormTrack apart
- +
Specific marketing of 250-meter radar resolution, which is higher than many standard local templates
- +
Simpler, less cluttered interface for users who only want the 'StormTrack' radar features
What's WEAU First Alert Weather's Edge
- -
Significantly higher user engagement and rating volume (150+ vs 19 on iOS)
- -
Better app stability; WQOW users report frequent freezing and navigation issues that are less prevalent in the Gray Television ecosystem
Contenders
Proprietary 'Foreca' and IBM GRAF modeling for global-leading accuracy
Extensive lifestyle indices (allergy, flu, boat/beach) that local apps lack
Peers
Weather Underground: Local Map
★3.9 (31K)Weather Underground, LLC
Popular among weather enthusiasts in rural Wisconsin due to its network of over 250,000 personal weather stations.
Hyper-local data from neighborhood weather stations rather than just airport sensors
Interactive 'Wundermap' with customizable data layers
Windy.com
Windyty, SE
A high-end visualization tool used by the same 'weather geek' demographic that appreciates WQOW's high-res radar.
Professional-grade visualization of multiple models (ECMWF, GFS, NAM)
Superior wind and pressure gradient mapping
New Kids on the Block
Extremely fast load times for radar loops
Advanced aviation-specific weather layers and satellite tracking
CARROT Weather: Alerts & Radar
★4.7 (84K)Grailr LLC
Disrupting the utility space by combining high-quality data (Apple Weather/Foreca) with a unique, personality-driven user experience.
AI-driven 'personality' and gamification elements
Highly customizable interface that can be stripped down to a professional radar view
The outtake for WQOW 18 StormTrack
SWOT Analysis
Core Strengths
- 250-meter high-resolution radar imagery
- Strong local brand trust and broadcast integration
- Reliable real-time severe weather push alerts
Critical Frictions
- Critical app freezing and loading failures
- Ad-heavy UI that obstructs core weather data
- Loss of features (livestream, dew point) in recent updates
Growth Levers
- Restore livestreaming to capture severe weather viewers
- Integrate local social media feeds to match competitor engagement
- Optimize radar loading speed to compete with MyRadar
Market Threats
- User migration to WEAU's more stable platform
- National apps offering superior lifestyle indices
- Declining sentiment trend impacting app store visibility
What are the next best moves?
Prioritize a hotfix for the 'App Freezing' bug
This is the #1 high-frequency complaint and prevents users from accessing daily/hourly forecasts, rendering the utility useless.
Redesign the main dashboard to prioritize 'Current Temp' above the fold
Users report frustration with having to scroll past ads to see basic info, a UI regression noted in recent sentiment data.
Restore the livestream and dew point data fields
Specific user evidence indicates these features were lost in recent updates, leading to direct negative reviews on Android and iOS.
Feature Gaps vs Competitors
- Integrated social media feeds (available in WEAU First Alert Weather)
- Skycam network integration (available in News 8 Now Weather)
- Lifestyle indices like allergy/flu (available in The Weather Channel)
Key Takeaways
WQOW 18 StormTrack is currently trading on its local brand equity while its technical foundation crumbles. While the 250m radar is a legitimate differentiator, the app is at high risk of losing its audience to WEAU unless the PM team immediately addresses the freezing issues and rebalances the ad-to-content ratio on the home screen.
Where Is It Heading?
Declining
Recent updates (v6.1.602/701) triggered widespread reports of app freezing and loading failures.
User mood is 'Mixed' with specific complaints about the loss of previously available features like livestreams.
Active maintenance (updated Mar 2026) suggests the developer is aware, but fixes haven't addressed core stability.