Rainbow Weather: Storm Radar (formerly Rainbow.ai) is an Android weather app from Weather Forecast Technologies built around a rain radar and AI rain forecasts for the next 2 hours.
Quick verdict
If you mainly want to know whether rain is coming in the next couple of hours, and you like an app that looks good, Rainbow Weather fits. Many reviewers praise the design, and several say the forecasts are accurate, with a few singling out rain. The biggest complaint is money: many reviewers object to the paywall, the price or being asked to pay before trying it, mostly in 2024 but several again in 2026. Several reviewers say forecasts or the radar were wrong for them, including a few who say the app showed no rain while it was raining. Don’t rely on a single app for severe weather warnings.
Rainbow Weather at a glance
| Developer | Weather Forecast Technologies |
|---|---|
| Store listing | Rainbow Weather: Storm Radar on Google Play |
| Price | Free, with in-app purchases ($1.99 – $99.99 per item) |
| Ads | None listed on Google Play |
| Play Store rating | 4.5 stars from about 3,808 ratings |
| Downloads | 500,000+ |
| Version / last updated | 3.26.0 / October 2, 2026 |
| Requires | Not in our data |
| First released | July 26, 2022 |
| Data checked | October 17, 2026 |
What is Rainbow Weather?
Rainbow Weather is a weather app focused on rain. The listing describes high-resolution rain radar, minute-by-minute rain forecasts for the next 2 hours, and “hyperlocal” forecasts for areas as small as 1 square km, using what it calls AI radar. It also shows current temperature, feels-like, minimum and maximum temperatures and conditions up to 24 hours ahead, and it adds a hurricane tracker and home-screen widgets. The app is free to download. Google Play lists in-app purchases, and reviewers and developer replies describe a paid subscription with more features.
Key features
- Rain radar and maps: high-resolution rain radar for tracking rain and snow, a choice of green NOAA radar colors or blue Rainbow Weather tiles, and a global view. The listing says you can tap the map for weather conditions anywhere in the world.
- Short-range rain forecasts: rain and snow forecasts for the next 2 hours, minute-by-minute rain intensity and duration on the map, and forecasts for areas as small as 1 square km.
- Conditions: current temperature and feels-like, minimum and maximum temperatures, and conditions such as sunny, cloudy, windy, thunderstorms, sleet and hail, up to 24 hours ahead, with temperature graphs.
- Alerts: rain alarms, weather alerts, and notifications for morning updates, severe weather alerts and live weather changes.
- Hurricane tracker: active storms with wind speed, central pressure and trajectory, alerts about new storms and changes in category, and a choice of regions: Australia and South Pacific, Atlantic and East Pacific, North Indian, West Pacific, and South Indian.
- Widgets and display: home-screen widgets in various styles showing current temperature and upcoming rain, a light or dark mode, and what the listing calls optimization for slow internet connections.
Rainbow Weather vs. what a weather app should have
The Status column shows where we found each feature. “Listed” means the Google Play listing names it. “Partial” means the listing covers part of it. “Not listed” means the listing doesn’t name it. “Reviews only” and similar values mean we found it in reviews, developer replies or the permissions list instead. The listing doesn’t say which features are free and which need the subscription. This checklist is a first version for weather apps and will change as we review more of them.
Must have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Current conditions and feels-like | Listed | Actual and feels-like temperature |
| Hourly forecast | Listed | Conditions up to 24 hours ahead; minute-by-minute rain for 2 hours |
| Daily forecast of 7+ days | Reviews only | Not in the listing; one reviewer in October 2026 mentions a 7-day forecast |
| Chance of precipitation | Partial | Rain intensity and duration are listed; a percentage chance isn’t |
| Wind, humidity, UV index | Partial | “Windy” conditions and hurricane wind speed are listed. One reviewer says UV, humidity and wind are no longer in the free version |
| Severe weather alerts | Listed | One UK reviewer says Met Office warnings for their area weren’t shown |
| Radar map | Listed | |
| Home-screen widgets | Listed | One reviewer says only one widget is free since the redesign |
| Current location and search | Partial | Location permissions, and tapping the map for conditions anywhere; a 2024 reviewer says there was no way to search for locations |
| Unit options (°F/°C) | Reviews and developer replies | Not in the listing; a 2024 developer reply says Fahrenheit can be set in settings |
Should have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notification or lock-screen weather | Partial | Morning update notifications are listed; one reviewer asks for a status bar notification |
| Air quality | Not listed | |
| Multiple saved locations | Not listed | A few reviewers in 2023 and 2024 asked for search, saved or other locations |
| Choice of data source | Not listed | The map color choice is listed, not a choice of forecast source |
| Layout customization | Partial | Map colors are listed; one reviewer says the AI section can’t be removed or adjusted |
| Light and dark themes | Listed | |
| Sunrise, sunset, moon phase | Reviews only | One reviewer says moon info is no longer in the free version |
| Multiple languages | Not listed |
Nice to have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Animated wind or global map | Partial | Global rain map; animation isn’t mentioned in the listing |
| Side-by-side provider comparison | Not listed | |
| Photography times (golden/blue hour) | Not listed | |
| Weather photos | Not listed | |
| Pollen | Not listed | |
| Lightning strike information | Not listed | Thunderstorm conditions only |
| Custom temperature alerts | Not listed | One reviewer would like a high-temperature notification |
| Rain-incoming notifications | Listed | Rain alarms; one reviewer praises the rain notifications |
| Written forecast summary | Reviews only | Two reviewers describe a one-line or AI text description of the forecast |
Common problems and fixes
The developer replies to most reviews in our sample. Each reply in the last column answers the review in the same row. Replies are dated, the app has been redesigned since many of them, and menu names may differ in your version.
| Problem | What reviewers report | Developer reply |
|---|---|---|
| A payment screen appears before you can use the app | Several reviewers say the app asked for payment or card details before they could try it. A reviewer in December 2023 says the pop-up can be closed with an “x” at the top right that isn’t easy to see. | Several replies in 2024 say to close the subscription window with the cross in the corner and keep using the free version. A June 10, 2024 reply says the free version has “limited options” but “still with precipitation and forecast.” |
| Temperature looks wrong | A reviewer in April 2024 saw 19 degrees when it was 65 out | April 15, 2024: the reply suggests switching to Fahrenheit “in the application settings (gear icon at top-right corner on the main screen).” |
| AI text shows Celsius | One reviewer says the AI text description of the forecast is always in Celsius | February 9, 2026: the team is “aware of the issue” and “already working on improving this.” |
| You don’t like the new design | One reviewer in December 2025 calls the new design terrible and asks to keep the old one | December 10, 2025: “in the app settings there is an option to turn off the new design” and keep using the previous interface. |
| Too many notifications | One reviewer in March 2024 got notifications like “hey it’s the weekend time to check the forecast” | March 23, 2024: “you can turn off morning notifications in the settings.” |
| Forecast or radar wrong for your area | Several reviewers, from 2024 to 2026. A few say the app showed no rain while it was raining, including in India and on Pohnpei (Micronesia). | Replies in 2026 ask reviewers to email [email protected] with their location and screenshots. A January 9, 2026 reply says “Cloud and rain detection can vary by region.” A June 3, 2024 reply about Pohnpei says “Currently we are working on covering this area.” |
| No lifetime purchase | One reviewer in October 2026 asks for a lifetime option | October 8, 2026: “Lifetime is currently unavailable on Android.” |
Whatever weather app you use, don’t rely on one app alone for severe weather warnings. Check official alerts from your national weather service too.
Pros (from user reviews)
- Design: many reviewers praise how the app looks, calling it beautiful, well designed or a great UI, or praising its visuals. Two like the vertical timeline for scrolling through the forecast. On the other side, a few reviewers dislike the interface, including one who calls it not intuitive and one who calls the new design terrible.
- Accuracy: several reviewers say the forecasts are accurate or precise, though several of them hedge with words like “so far,” “seems” or “reasonably,” and one had used it for a day. A few single out rain or snow forecasts. One reviewer in Southern Finland says it seems as accurate as the national FMI forecast. Several others say it was wrong for them; see Cons.
- Simple and to the point: several reviewers like that it is simple, gives the essentials, or is easy to understand. Two others call it too limited.
- Radar: a few reviewers praise the radar, and one calls the 4-hour radar “perfect.” Several others report radar problems; see Cons.
- Heads-up on weather: two reviewers say it tells them when bad weather is coming, and one praises the rain notifications.
- No ads now: Google Play lists no ads, and one reviewer in 2025 noticed there were none. The developer’s reply says they don’t include ads.
Cons (from user reviews)
- Paywall and price: many reviewers complain about paying, mostly in 2024, and several again in 2026. Several say features are locked or the free version shows little; two in 2026 say most or all features are behind the paywall. Several call it too expensive or not worth the money. One reviewer, on the other side, says the subscription is money well spent.
- Payment before trying: several reviewers say the app asked for payment or card details before they could try it, and two say they felt tricked into the subscription or the trial. The developer’s 2024 replies say the payment window can be closed to use the free version.
- Wrong forecasts: several reviewers, from 2024 to 2026, say forecasts were wrong. A few say rain was falling but the app showed none, two say it showed rain or heavy rain that didn’t happen, and two say the temperature was off. One reviewer says the developer promised a radar fix for their region months ago and it is still bad.
- Radar and map: several reviewers report radar problems, such as a blurry radar, a map that one says can’t be zoomed or moved, and radar data that is wrong or missing for their area. One wants watches and warnings shown on the radar.
- Short forecasts (older reviews): several reviewers in 2023 and 2024 say the forecast range was too short, such as only 2 hours. A 2024 developer reply says they were working on a longer range, and the listing now describes conditions up to 24 hours ahead. A few reviewers want more detail for each hour or day.
- Ads (2024): several reviewers in 2024 complained about ads. No reviewer in our sample complains about ads after 2024.
- Nagging: a few reviewers in 2024 say the app asked for a rating within seconds of opening it, and a few complain that it asks for or needs location access.
- Locations and widgets: a few reviewers in 2023 and 2024 say they couldn’t search, save or change locations. A few want resizable or wider widgets.
Rating breakdown
| Stars | Ratings | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 3,044 | 80.5% |
| 4 | 262 | 6.9% |
| 3 | 69 | 1.8% |
| 2 | 69 | 1.8% |
| 1 | 339 | 9.0% |
Source: Google Play ratings histogram, checked October 17, 2026. Shares are of the 3,783 ratings in the breakdown; the listing shows 3,808 ratings in total.
Most ratings are 5 stars, and 1- and 2-star ratings together are 10.8% of the breakdown. Our review sample includes extra low-star reviews, most of them from 2024, so complaints are overrepresented in it compared with the rating breakdown.
Pricing
You can download Rainbow Weather for free; Google Play lists in-app purchases from $1.99 to $99.99 per item. The listing doesn’t give subscription prices or say what the subscription adds. Two reviewers mention a 3-day trial, and a 2024 developer reply mentions a “3-days-trial period.” In October 2026 the developer replied that a lifetime purchase is “currently unavailable on Android.” Several reviewers call the app too expensive, and one reviewer in 2026 mentions a “£15.99 annual subscription.” Prices may differ by country and change over time, so check the store before you subscribe.
Privacy and permissions
We couldn’t read the Google Play data safety section for Rainbow Weather, so we make no claim about what data it collects or shares. The permissions list includes precise location (GPS and network-based), approximate location (network-based), full network access, receive data from Internet, view network connections, view Wi-Fi connections, run at startup, prevent device from sleeping, and control vibration. A few reviewers complain that the app asks for or needs location access. One reviewer objects to Google and Amplitude trackers; the developer replied that it aims “to minimize the amount of data collected.” The listing links to a privacy policy at rainbow.ai.
Who it’s for
Rainbow Weather fits you if you want a good-looking rain radar and short-range rain forecasts, or if you track hurricanes in the regions the listing names. It works best if you’re willing to pay for the subscription, or if what the free version shows is enough for you. It’s a weaker fit if you want a full free forecast, multi-day detail, or a radar you can rely on in a region where reviewers say coverage is poor. If you need official warnings, keep a national weather service app as well.
FAQ
Is Rainbow Weather free?
It’s free to download, and Google Play lists in-app purchases from $1.99 to $99.99 per item. Several reviewers say features are locked behind the subscription. Developer replies from 2024 say you can close the payment window and keep using a free version with fewer options.
Does Rainbow Weather have ads?
Google Play lists no ads for the current app. Several reviewers complained about ads in 2024, but one reviewer in 2025 noticed there were none, and the developer’s reply says they don’t include ads.
How far ahead does Rainbow Weather forecast?
The listing describes minute-by-minute rain and snow forecasts for the next 2 hours and conditions up to 24 hours ahead. It doesn’t mention a multi-day forecast, though one reviewer in October 2026 refers to a 7-day forecast in the app. Several older reviews from 2023 and 2024 say the forecast range was too short.
Does Rainbow Weather have a widget?
Yes. The listing describes home-screen widgets in various styles that show current temperature and upcoming rain. One reviewer praises a 4×2 widget with a map, a few want resizable or wider widgets, and one says only one widget is free since the redesign.
How this review was put together
We haven’t tested Rainbow Weather ourselves. This review is built from the Google Play listing, the app’s public rating breakdown, the permissions list, the developer’s replies, and 156 user reviews dating from August 2022 to October 2026. We took the latest 100 reviews plus the latest 40 for each star level, newest first, and removed duplicates. Most of the sample is from 2024 to 2026, and most of the 1- and 2-star reviews are from 2024. Feature descriptions come from the store listing, and we checked the bigger claims against what reviewers report. Where reviewers disagreed, we’ve said so. Older reviews may describe earlier versions of the app. Information was checked October 17, 2026, and features, prices and ratings can change, so check the store listing for current details.
