有没有听过一句老话“每个人都在抱怨天气，但没有人对此有所作为？” ("Everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it?")今天，虽然我们仍然无法改变天气，但我们有很多方法可以查看预报，因此我们至少可以为即将发生的事情做好准备。每个(Every) 操作系统(operating system)都提供各种天气应用程序(weather apps)，几乎可以满足任何人的需求。在查看了多年来Windows 8.1、iOS 和 Android(iOS and Android)的产品后，我认为从新的Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)获取类似的应用程序会很容易。嗯……(Mmmmm…)没那么多。原因如下：
注意：(NOTE:)本文(article work)中共享的应用程序可在Windows 10和Windows 8.1中运行。
浏览 Windows 应用商店
虽然Windows 8.1下的Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)不是最好的，但至少你可以搜索一些东西并有机会找到很多相关条目。Windows 10商店(Store)可以用混乱来形容。是否(Ever)曾尝试在亚马逊(Amazon)上使用“相关性”以外的内容作为排序术语进行搜索？有没有(Ever)注意到您获得的条目页面与您正在搜索的内容没有任何关系？(nothing whatsoever)那么(Well)，您知道Windows 10为您准备了什么（双关语）(Windows 10) . 这是我使用“天气”作为搜索词时显示的部分内容的屏幕截图。现在，我知道报纸上有天气预报……但是《经济学人》(Economist)呢？警察(Police)扫描仪？
我尝试查找熟悉的应用程序的名称，发现其中一些应用程序不适用于Windows 10桌面，例如我在 iOS 和(Windows 10)Android上最常使用的应用程序、Weatherbug（仅适用于移动设备）或许多我的朋友和家人非常喜欢Weather Underground（也许程序员认为Windows 10用户会将这个名字与一堆炸弹快乐的60 年代疯子联系起来(Sixties nutjobs)？）然后我尝试将搜索词更改为“天气预报”
是的，我猜这不是一个好的搜索词(search term)。.:)
我如何为Windows 10选择我最喜欢的天气应用程序(weather apps)
我只有几个标准。该应用程序必须是免费的，有合理的评级，必须是英文(English)的（虽然我可以阅读一些我绝不流利的其他语言），必须提供有用的信息，唉，我不得不添加“必须实际工作“到列表中。我试过的几个应用程序没有提供有用的信息，有些应用程序完全拒绝运行。我不知道Windows Store工作人员如何（或是否）审查这些内容，但很明显，即使它们是免费的，也并非所有内容都接近值得下载。
最后，我尽了最大的努力，从少数我能理解的语言中挑选出一些看起来很有希望的，并且似乎可以提供实际的天气预报。我还选择了一个我认为会很有趣的一个和一个警示故事。
由于每个人的偏好都不一样，对一个人最好的应用程序对另一个人来说毫无用处，因此我不会将这些应用程序作为最好的应用程序进行展示，也不会按任何特定顺序列出它们。
1.MSN天气
MSN Weather预装在Windows 10中，因此您只需从您的应用程序列表中选择它（它只是称为Weather）。这是一个极简主义的应用程序(minimalist app)，它将为您提供没有多余装饰的基础知识。您可以查看当前状况、7天预报(day forecast)、当天详细信息、月相以及(moon phase and data)降水和风速(precipitation and wind speed)等数据。
屏幕左侧的菜单可让您查看雷达地图(radar map)和历史天气图表等。
如果您想要快速的天气预报(weather forecast)和简洁的雷达，MSN 天气(MSN Weather)是一个不错的选择。它随Windows 10一起提供，因此您甚至不必费力地浏览Windows 应用商店(Windows Store)即可找到它。
下载：(Download:) MSN 天气(MSN Weather)
2. 天气频道
这个已经存在很长时间了，天气频道(Weather Channel)网站也是如此。该应用程序受广告支持，我建议您小心单击的内容。而且，就像有线电视上的天气频道(Weather Channel)一样，它经常提供与实际天气只有非常模糊联系的视频内容。
该应用程序打开时会显示一张似乎与您设置的位置无关的背景照片。(background photo)不过，这是很好的自然摄影(nature photography)。
但是，如果您滚动过去所有的屏幕覆盖物(screen mulch)，您可以获得很多信息。
当您向下滚动打开页面(opening page)时，您可以看到每小时和每天(hour and day)的预报，然后是紫外线指数(UV index)、花粉计数和月相等信息(pollen count and moon phase)。这是一个全面且具有视觉吸引力的页面。如果您想要更多，左侧的菜单栏(menu bar)提供地图、新闻和视频(news and videos)的选择（新闻和视频(news and videos)不一定与天气相关）。地图部分显示您选择的位置(chosen location)的雷达。如果需要，您可以放大和缩小地图并滚动地图。
天气频道(The Weather Channel)是一款设计精美且功能全面的应用程序，以易于理解的格式提供大量信息。单击广告和视频完全是可选的，因此您无需坐下来就可以获取所需的天气信息(weather information)。
下载：(Download:) 天气频道(The Weather Channel)
3.我的雷达
如果你喜欢看天气雷达(weather radar)图，这个应用程序可能会吸引你。这就是它所显示的全部内容（以及广告，我将在一分钟内详细介绍）。您可以查看整个地球，但您必须自己将地图滚动到您的确切位置。无法将任何特定位置设置为默认位置。
如果您正在查看的区域没有气象雷达报告(weather radar reporting)站，您只会看到一张漂亮的卫星地图(satellite map)而没有雷达数据。例如，非洲和俄罗斯(Africa and Russia)没有雷达，或者至少他们的雷达不适用于应用程序。
我不知道它是否会在全球范围内以这种方式(way worldwide)工作，但对我来说，MyRadar打开了一张美国地图。
将地图移动到洛杉矶地区(Los Angeles area)是一个简单的抓取和滑动。如果将指针向左移动，将打开一个zoom in/out bar
或者去欧洲(Europe)，因为我的罗马尼亚同事的天气。🙂
不幸的是，随着时间的推移，这些广告变得更加令人讨厌。关闭后打开应用程序，您会开始收到无法关闭的“每日消息”。(Day)
如果您应该看到这个特定的广告空间(ad space)，请不要单击该消息图标(message icon)。它将打开您的浏览器，将您带到另一个广告（设计Accuweather 应用程序(Accuweather app)的人也使用了这种特别有害的入侵）。有一个付费版本的应用程序可以删除广告。
您可以像使用任何其他卫星地图(satellite map)一样放大和缩小，这样您就可以很好地了解即将到来的天气类型。但仅此而已。你所看到的就是你得到的。
在其限制范围内，MyRadar运行良好且具有吸引力。即使没有雷达数据，即使没有雷达数据，也能看到整个地球，这会让一些人忙上几个小时。当然，只要您能够忽略广告。很明显，设计师真的希望你付钱。
下载：(Download:) 我的雷达(MyRadar)
4. 8bit天气
好的，我包括这个只是为了好玩。这是一个非常无用的应用程序，但它很可爱。🙂 所见即所得：经典 8 位风格(style graphic)的城堡图形，天空会改变颜色，告诉您是白天还是黑夜(day or night)。当您启动它时，它会简要显示说明。
至少，位置列表似乎非常全面。执行此操作后，屏幕上的光标会在页面底部“键入”单词CURRENT，我可能无法捕捉到该单词。您会得到一个小框，显示您所在位置的当前状况。而已。
我认为这很有趣，但后来我又开始使用Commodore 8 位图形，所以我的观点可能有点怀旧色彩。🙂
下载：(Download:) 8位天气(8-Bit Weather)
5. Accuweather
我包括这个不是建议而是警告。它是天气报告(weather reporting)中的知名名称（美国的许多报纸和电视台都使用(USA use) Accuweather报告），您可能会根据它的声誉选择它。老实说(Honestly)，我不会建议它。它是唯一具有单独打开屏幕(opening screen)的应用程序，要求在加载之前接受其条款和条件。其他一些人有一个很常见的“如果你继续，那么它就像你接受一样”通知。但这并不是一个大的白色弹出窗口有效地挡住了门。
除非您选择默认位置(default location)，否则它是唯一一个甚至不会加载的应用程序。
一旦你进入应用程序，你会得到一个简约的数据屏幕(data screen)。您可以重新排列出现在屏幕上的图块，但当第一次打开应用程序时，您可能会在顶行的中心空间看到一个广告。X 有时会出现在广告的一角，但点击它什么也没做。
而在右下角(right corner)？那只是一片空白。它没有显示或做任何事情。我找不到在那里放瓷砖的选项。我的猜测是，如果您选择为付费服务付费（我没有），这就是付费服务的去向。
注意(NOTE)：截图是我重新排列图块后截取的，所以上排中间的广告不见了。
设置屏幕提供了一些选择。
购买选项卡(Purchases tab)是不言自明的。顺便说一句，屏幕截图没有显示这一点，但如果屏幕底部栏中的那个消息图标(message icon)开始上下跳跃并向你闪烁，请不要点击它。这不是一条消息，它是一个广告链接。幸好我安装了一个出色的安全套件(security suite)，所以我可以点击查看。
单击左上角的汉堡菜单(burger menu)只会提供更改位置或使用您的Microsoft 帐户(Microsoft account)登录(location or sign)的选项。我没有登录，因为那时我不信任该应用程序。因此，如果您想在美国看到(USA)Accuweather ，您最好找到使用其报道的当地电视台或报纸。(TV station or newspaper)
下载：(Download:) AccuWeather - 生命的天气(AccuWeather - Weather for Life)
结论
在Windows 10应用商店(Store)中查找天气应用程序(weather apps)是一个非常不确定的提议。商店一团糟，搜索引擎(search engine)更糟。有一些不错的天气应用程序(weather apps)可用，但Windows 8.1商店中提供的一些不错的应用程序已经消失或仅适用于移动设备。我选择进行评估的几个应用程序要么没有提供有用的信息(information or flat-out)，要么完全拒绝运行。一些应用程序设计师显然在广告支持的软件方面做得比其他人更好。这是一次令人失望的经历。尽管如此，我还是觉得有一些值得尝试，而且由于它们是免费的，您可以自己评估它们，而不会冒财务失望的风险。
您能否推荐其他适用于 Windows 10 的免费天气应用(Windows 10)程序(weather apps)？请(Please)在下面的评论部分告诉我们。
Best free weather apps for Windows computers and devices
Ever hear the old saying "Everyone complains about the weather but nobody does anything about it?" Today, although we still can't change the weather, we have many ways of checking the forecast so we can at least be prepared for what's coming. Every operating system offers a variety of weather apps to suit nearly anyone's needs. After checking out the offerings for Windows 8.1, iOS and Android over the years, I figured that getting similar apps from the new Windows Store would be easy. Mmmmm… not so much. Here's why:
NOTE: The apps shared in this article work both in Windows 10 and Windows 8.1.
Navigating the Windows Store
While the Windows Store under Windows 8.1 wasn't the whippiest, at least you could search for something and stand a chance of finding lots of relevant entries. The Windows 10 Store could most charitably be described as chaotic. Ever try searching on Amazon using something other than "relevance" as your sorting term? Ever notice that you get pages of entries that have nothing whatsoever to do with what you're searching for? Well, then, you know what's in store for you (pun intended) with Windows 10. Here's a screenshot of just part of what showed up when I used "weather" as my search term. Now, I understand that newspapers carry weather reports… but The Economist? Police scanners?
I tried looking for the names of familiar apps and found that some of them were just not available for Windows 10 desktops, like the one I use most often on iOS and Android, Weatherbug (it is available only for mobile devices) or the one many of my friends and family like a lot, Weather Underground (maybe the programmers thought Windows 10 users would associate the name with a bunch of bomb-happy Sixties nutjobs?) Then I tried changing my search term to "weather forecast"
Yeah, guess that wasn't a good search term. .:)
How I chose my favorite weather apps for Windows 10
I only had a few criteria. The app had to be free, have reasonable ratings, had to be in English (although I can read some other languages I am by no means fluent), had to provide useful information and, alas, I had to add "has to actually work" to the list. Several of the apps I tried provided no useful information and some just flat-out refused to run. I don't know how (or whether) these things are vetted by the Windows Store staff, but it's clear that not everything even comes close to being worth the download, even if they are free.
In the end, I did my best and picked some that looked promising out of the few whose language I could understand and which seemed to offer actual weather forecasts. I also chose one that I thought would be amusing and one that is a cautionary tale.
Since everyone's preferences are different, and what would be best for one person would be useless to another, I'm not presenting these as the best apps, and I'm not listing them in any particular order.
1. MSN Weather
MSN Weather comes pre-installed with Windows 10, so all you have to do is pick it from your list of apps (where it is just called Weather). It's a minimalist app that will give you the basics with no frills. You can see the current conditions, a 7 day forecast, details of the day, the moon phase and data like precipitation and wind speed.
The menu on the left side of the screen lets you see a radar map and a graph of historical weather, among other things.
If you want a quick weather forecast and a no-frills look at the radar, MSN Weather is a good choice. And it comes with Windows 10 so you don't even have to wade through the Windows Store to find it.
Download: MSN Weather
2. The Weather Channel
This one's been around for a very long time, as has the Weather Channel website. The app is ad supported and I recommend you to be careful what you click on. And, like the Weather Channel on cable, it often offers video content that has only a very hazy connection to actual weather.
The app opens with a background photo that seems to have nothing to do with the location you set. Still, it's nice nature photography.
However, if you scroll past all the screen mulch, you can get a lot of information.
As you scroll down the opening page you can see hour by hour and day by day forecasts, followed by things like the UV index, pollen count and moon phase. It's a comprehensive and visually attractive page. If you want more, the menu bar on the left offers choices for maps, news and videos (the news and videos are not necessarily weather related). The maps section shows you the radar for your chosen location. You can zoom in and out and scroll the map around if you want.
The Weather Channel is a nicely designed and comprehensive app that offers a lot of information in an easy to understand format. Clicking on the ads and videos is entirely optional, so you don't have to sit through any of that to get the weather information that you want.
Download: The Weather Channel
3. MyRadar
If you like seeing weather radar maps, this app might appeal to you. That's all it shows (along with ads, which I will have more to say about in a minute). You can look at the entire globe but you have to scroll the map to your exact location yourself. There is no way to set any particular location as a default.
And if there are no weather radar reporting stations in the area you're looking at, you'll just see a nice satellite map and no radar data. For example, Africa and Russia don't have radar, or at least their radar isn't available to the app.
I don't know if it would work this way worldwide, but for me, MyRadaropens up with a map of the USA.
It was a simple grab-and-slide to move the map to the Los Angeles area. If you move your pointer to the left, a zoom in/out bar will open up.
Or to Europe, for my Romanian colleagues' weather. 🙂
Unfortunately, the ads became more obnoxious as time went on. Open the app after closing it down and you start getting "Message of the Day" which you can't turn off.
And if you should see this particular ad space, do not click on that message icon. It will open up your browser to take you to yet another ad (the people who designed the Accuweather app used this particularly noxious intrusion as well). There is a paid version of the app that removes the ads.
You can zoom in and out as you can with any other satellite map, so you can get a good idea of what kind of weather is headed your way. But that's about it. What you see is what you get.
Within its limitations, MyRadarworks well and is attractive to look at. Being able to look at the entire globe, even without radar data, can keep some people busy for hours. As long as you're able to ignore the ads, of course. It's clear the designers really want you to pay up.
Download: MyRadar
4. 8bit weather
OK, I included this one just for fun. It's a pretty useless app but it's cute. 🙂 What you see is what you get: a classic 8-bit style graphic of a castle with a sky that changes color to tell you whether it's day or night. When you start it, it briefly displays instructions.
The list of locations appears to be pretty comprehensive, at least. Once you do this, an on-screen cursor "types" the word CURRENT at the bottom of the page, which try as I might I could not capture. And you get a little box that shows the current conditions for your location. That's it.
I thought it was amusing, but then again I started out with Commodore 8-bit graphics so perhaps there was a bit of nostalgia coloring my opinion. 🙂
Download: 8-Bit Weather
5. Accuweather
I'm including this one not so much as a recommendation but as a caution. It's a well-known name in weather reporting (many newspapers and TV stations in the USA use Accuweather reports) and you may be tempted to pick it based on its reputation. Honestly, I would not advise it. It's the only app that had a separate opening screen that demanded acceptance of its terms and conditions before it would load. A few of the others had an "if you continue then it's the same as if you accepted" notice that is pretty commonly found. But it wasn't a big white pop-up that effectively barred the door.
And it's the only app that would not even load unless you picked a default location.
Once you get into the app you get a minimalistic data screen. You can re-order the tiles that appear on the screen, but when the app is opened for the first time you may see an ad in the center space on the top row. An X sometimes appears in the corner of the ad but clicking it does nothing.
And in the lower right corner? That's just empty space. It doesn't show or do anything. I could not find an option to put a tile there. My guess is that that's where the paid services go if you choose to pay for them (I didn't).
NOTE: The screenshot was taken after I rearranged the tiles, so the ad in the center of the upper row is gone.
The settings screen offers a few choices.
The Purchases tab is self-explanatory. By the way, the screenshot doesn't show this, but if that message icon in the bar at the bottom of the screen starts jumping up and down and flashing at you, don't click on it. It's not a message, it's a link to an ad. Good thing I have an excellent security suite installed, so I could click and find out.
Clicking on the burger menu in the upper left corner just offers an option to change location or sign in with your Microsoft account. I did not sign in because at that point I did not trust the app. So if you want to see Accuweather, in the USA, you might do better to find a local TV station or newspaper that uses its reports.
Download: AccuWeather - Weather for Life
Conclusions
Finding weather apps in the Windows 10 Store is a really iffy proposition. The store's a mess and the search engine's worse. There are a few nice weather apps available but some of the good apps that were available in the Windows 8.1 store are gone or have become mobile-only. Several of the apps I picked for evaluation either gave no useful information or flat-out refused to run. And some app designers clearly do better at ad-supported software than others. It was a disappointing experience all around. Still, there were a few that I felt were worth trying, and since they're free, you can evaluate them for yourself, without risking financial disappointment.
Can you recommend other free weather apps for Windows 10? Please let us know in the comments section below.
