WindAlert is a free iPhone app from WeatherFlow for checking wind speed and direction, built on live reports from weather stations and several forecast models. It has 4.8 stars from 4,744 App Store ratings, and many of its reviewers use it to plan time on the water.
Quick verdict
WindAlert is for people whose plans depend on the wind: sailing, kiting, fishing, flying or trucking. Many reviewers call it accurate, and several like that it shows conditions at specific spots. The complaints that come up most are about money. Several reviewers say features that used to be free went behind the paywall in 2023, and a few paid for a membership and say they got nothing more. A few also report trouble with saved favorites.
WindAlert at a glance
| Developer | WeatherFlow |
|---|---|
| Store listing | WindAlert on the App Store |
| Price | Free; Plus, Pro and Gold memberships add more stations and forecast locations (prices not in our data) |
| Ads | Not stated in the listing; a few reviewers mention ads or upgrade prompts |
| App Store rating | 4.8 stars from 4,744 ratings |
| Downloads | Not in our data |
| Version / last updated | 7.15 / November 10, 2026 |
| Requires | iOS 15.0 or later |
| First released | June 11, 2009 |
| Data checked | November 12, 2026 |
What is WindAlert?
WindAlert puts wind ahead of general weather. The listing says it pulls observations from WeatherFlow’s own Tempest Weather Systems and from public sources such as NOAA, NWS, METAR, ASOS and CWOP, “creating over 125,000 unique stations in one focused wind app.” On top of the live readings you get forecasts, wind and radar maps, tides and custom wind alerts.
Key features
- Live station reports: readings from over 90,000 Tempest Weather Systems plus public stations, including major airports, the listing says.
- Forecasts: WeatherFlow’s “AI-enhanced Nearcast” forecast for temperature, wind gust, speed, direction, humidity, dew point, precipitation rate, probability of precipitation and cloud cover, plus the HRRR, NAM, GFS, CMC and ICON models.
- Wind alerts: a free subscription for unlimited wind alerts with your own thresholds, sent by email, text or in-app.
- Maps: live and forecast wind, forecast temperature, radar, satellite, precipitation and clouds, and nautical charts. You can set the map up around an activity, such as drone flying, farming, trucking, kayaking or surfing.
- Marine data: the NWS Marine Forecast, tide charts, wave height and period, and water temperature.
- Wind history: historical wind statistics, windy days per month and wind direction distribution.
- Favorites: your own list of favorite stations.
- Apple Watch: the listing says the app is compatible.
- Memberships: Plus, Pro and Gold open more stations and forecast locations, and Pro and Gold add hurricane-proof stations at high-risk coastal spots. The same part of the listing also names sea surface temperatures and currents and more detailed wind history, without saying which tier includes them.
Where the data comes from
All of this comes from the listing.
| Data | Source (from the listing) | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Live observations | Tempest Weather Systems; NOAA, NWS, AWOS, ASOS, METAR and CWOP reports | Free, with more stations on Plus, Pro and Gold |
| Hurricane-proof coastal stations | WeatherFlow Networks | Pro and Gold |
| Forecasts | Nearcast; HRRR, NAM, GFS, CMC and ICON models | More forecast locations on paid tiers |
| Marine forecast | NWS Marine Forecast | Not stated |
One reviewer says the paid “yellow” stations near them in Florida are much better than the free ones, and another says several useful stations had been down for over a year. Don’t rely on a single app for severe weather warnings; check official alerts too.
WindAlert vs. what a weather app should have
“Listed” means the App Store listing names the feature, “Partial” means it covers part of it, and “Reviews only” means reviewers describe it but the listing doesn’t. “Not listed” means the listing doesn’t name it.
Must have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Current conditions and feels-like | Partial | Live station readings; feels-like isn’t listed |
| Hourly forecast | Reviews only | One reviewer says it shows the hour the wind will start and stop |
| Daily forecast of 7+ days | Not listed | A few reviewers in 2022 and 2023 say the forecast they could see was cut to a day or two |
| Chance of precipitation | Listed | Probability of precipitation in the Nearcast forecast |
| Wind, humidity, UV | Partial | Wind and humidity; UV not listed |
| Severe weather alerts | Partial | Custom wind alerts; official severe weather alerts aren’t listed |
| Radar map | Listed | One reviewer in January 2023 said the radar page wasn’t working |
| Home-screen widgets | Not listed | One reviewer asks for widgets |
| Current location and search | Partial | Favorite stations are listed; current location and search aren’t |
| Unit options | Not listed |
Should have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Notification or lock-screen weather | Partial | In-app wind alerts |
| Air quality | Not listed | |
| Multiple saved locations | Listed | Favorite station list; a few reviewers report trouble with favorites |
| Choice of data source | Partial | Five forecast models are named; one reviewer compares models on one graph |
| Layout customization | Partial | Map visualization set by activity |
| Light and dark themes | Not listed | |
| Sunrise, sunset, moon phase | Partial | Sunrise, sunset, moonrise and moonset; moon phase not listed |
| Multiple languages | Not listed |
Nice to have
| Feature | Status | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Animated wind or global map | Listed | Live and forecast wind map |
| Side-by-side provider comparison | Reviews only | One reviewer compares wind models on one graph |
| Photography times | Not listed | |
| Weather photos | Not listed | |
| Pollen | Not listed | |
| Lightning information | Not listed | |
| Custom temperature alerts | Not listed | The listing’s custom alerts are for wind |
| Rain-incoming notifications | Not listed | |
| Written forecast summary | Not listed |
It goes deep on wind and water and stays thin on everyday weather: no widgets, air quality or UV in the listing.
Common problems reviewers report
The data we collected doesn’t include developer replies, so this table shows each problem and when it was reported, not an official fix. Older reports may describe earlier versions, and version 7.15 may behave differently.
| Problem | What reviewers report | When |
|---|---|---|
| Free features moved behind the paywall | Several reviewers say forecasts, favorite locations or Pro station data stopped being free | January 2023 to August 2023 |
| Shorter forecast | A few reviewers say the forecast they could see dropped from a week or more to a day or two | June 2022 to January 2023 |
| Paid tier gave nothing more | A few reviewers paid for a membership and say they got no more than free users | June 2023 to June 2026 |
| Favorites | A few reviewers say favorites vanished, wouldn’t load, jumped back to the wrong order or were hard to set up; one says reinstalling fixed it for them | July 2022 to November 2024 |
| Ads and upgrade prompts | A few reviewers, including one paying $10 a month who says the ads stayed | January 2024 to October 2025 |
Pros (from user reviews)
- Accuracy: many reviewers call it accurate. A few say it beats local news forecasts, the local weatherman, the National Weather Service or NOAA. One racer says, “I encountered very few surprises with wind direction and strength.”
- Made for the water: many reviewers use it for time on the water, including several sailors and racers, several kiteboarders and several anglers. Others mention kayaking, rowing, surfing, paddling and swimming.
- Local detail: several reviewers like seeing real readings at specific spots, buoys and stations. A rower in Seattle likes checking “very specific locations because Seattle has so many weather zones.”
- Beyond the water: several reviewers use it for flying drones, powered parachutes, helicopters and hang gliders, and several use it for work, such as trucking, moving manufactured homes, crop spraying and running a tower crane.
- Safety: several reviewers say it helps them keep a crew or family out of dangerous wind. A tow boat captain in Texas checks it every day, especially at night before crossing any bays.
- Easy to use: several reviewers call it easy to use or easy to read, though a few find parts of it dated or hard to use.
- Alerts and tides: a few reviewers praise the wind alerts, and a few like the tide data.
- Free and paid: a few reviewers say the free version already covers a lot, and a few say a paid membership is worth it.
Cons (from user reviews)
- Paid tiers: complaints about paying come up more than any other. Several reviewers say free features went behind the paywall in 2023, a few find the memberships too expensive, and a few say paying didn’t get them anything more.
- Bugs: several reviewers report things that broke, such as favorites, the radar page, slow loading or a feature that stopped working after an update. One in December 2025 says an update fixed the problems that had made the app unusable.
- Shorter forecasts: a few reviewers in 2022 and 2023 say the forecast they could see was cut from a week or more to a day or two.
- Ads and upsells: a few reviewers complain about ads or repeated upgrade prompts.
- Accuracy doubts: a few reviewers found it off, including one who says it underestimates wind until about 20 hours out.
- Requests: one reviewer each asks for widgets, cardinal directions alongside the arrows, a time zone setting and pinch-to-zoom on the wind graphs.
Most reviews in our sample are 5 stars, and the newest is from November 2026. The data we collected doesn’t include a star breakdown of all 4,744 ratings, so we can’t say how common these complaints are across all of them.
Pricing
WindAlert is free to download, and the listing says unlimited wind alerts come with a free subscription. Plus, Pro and Gold memberships add more weather stations and forecast locations, and Pro and Gold also add the hurricane-proof coastal stations. Our data has no membership prices. Two reviewers mention paying $10 a month.
Privacy and permissions
We couldn’t read the App Store privacy label for WindAlert, so we make no claim about what data it collects. The listing links to a privacy policy and terms of use at got.wf. One reviewer objects to the company “selling access to crowd sourced wind data.”
Who it’s for
WindAlert suits you if you plan around wind: sailing, kiting, fishing, paddling, flying or trucking. Paying adds more stations and forecast locations. It’s a weaker fit if you want a general weather app with widgets, air quality or UV, or if you expect the free version to stay as complete as it once was.
FAQ
Is WindAlert free?
Yes. WindAlert is free to download, and the listing says unlimited wind alerts are free. Plus, Pro and Gold memberships add more stations and forecast locations; our data doesn’t include their prices.
Where does WindAlert get its wind data?
The listing says it combines WeatherFlow’s own Tempest Weather Systems with public reports from NOAA, NWS, AWOS, ASOS, METAR and CWOP. Forecasts come from its own Nearcast plus the HRRR, NAM, GFS, CMC and ICON models.
Can WindAlert send wind alerts?
Yes. The listing says you can set your own wind thresholds and get alerts by email, text or in the app, with no limit on the free subscription. A few reviewers praise the alerts.
Does WindAlert work on Apple Watch?
The listing says WindAlert is compatible with Apple Watch. It doesn’t say which features the watch shows.
How this review was put together
We haven’t tested WindAlert. This review is based on public information from official sources: the app’s Google Play or App Store listing and rating breakdown, the developer’s website when there is one, and recent user reviews on the store with the developer’s replies. Features and claims are the developer’s own descriptions; what users like and dislike comes from the store reviews. Everything was checked on November 12, 2026. Apps change with every update, so check the store listing before you install.
