Q. How do I change or set-up severe weather alerts?
A. Click Alerts from the main menu, then click Notification Settings. From there, you can customize the sounds made when an alert is issued (or silence all alerts), set the locations for which you will receive alerts, and specify the type of alerts you receive. Currently, if you opt to receive tornado and thunderstorm alerts, you will receive both watches and warnings. We plan to add more granularity in a future release so you can choose not to be awakened for watches and advisories.
Q. I am currently getting too many alerts. How can I change that?
A. Turning off "Special Statements and Bulletins" and "Approaching Rain or Snow" alerts can significantly decrease the number of weather alerts received. You can do this by going to the menu and selecting Alerts, then Notification Settings. Scroll to Alert Types. Alert types can be turned on and off.
Q. How do I add or delete locations for forecasts and alerts?
A. From the home screen of the app, tap on the bar at the top where it says "Current Location." You also can tap the magnifying glass in the same bar. Enter a city name or zip code in the box. You can save up to 25 locations, and swipe through stored locations from the home screen. You can swipe left or right at the top of the screen to easily view all of your saved locations. As you change locations, all of the forecast information below is for the city you have selected. You can delete a location from this same screen by clicking the trash can icon.
Q. Where can I find a compact 7-day forecast like you had in the old app?
A. The concise 7-Day Forecast is available from the home/main screen of the app. Once the app loads, just scroll down a little and you will see the forecast summary for the selected location (shown at the top of the screen).
Q. Where can I find hourly wind speed and direction?
A. This data is available on the Hourly Forecast screen, which can be accessed from the main menu.
Q. The iControl radar has changed. What's news?
A. The iControl radar has been updated to load more quickly and make it easer to see both past and future radar from the main screen. Access “Future” radar by clicking the clockwise icon with the forward arrow on the interactive radar. You can use the scrubber to advance back and forth in time, to both past radar and future radar. Looking for DualDoppler 5000 and other data found in the old radar? Just click or tap on the label at the top that says National Radar. Want to change the type of map or background used? Click the gear icon and then select either Roads or Satellite. You also can adjust the speed of animation and the opacity of the radar data from this screen.
Q. What are the main features of the new WRAL Weather app?
- View current conditions, hourly and 7-day forecasts, video forecast, iControl interactive radar and the WRAL Weather Feed on one screen
- Store up to 25 locations for forecasts and alerts
- Track the temperature trend line with the new hourly forecast slider
- Customize alerts by type and notification method (voice/tone/silent)
- Choose your design theme: light or dark
- See stories and video at the top of the home screen during major weather events
- Pick a favorite school system and have closings and delays displayed right on the home screen of the app
- Access WRAL's network of live weather cams from the Around the State page, along with beach and mountain forecasts
- Tap the 7-day forecast on the home screen for detailed information from our team of meteorologists, or access this detailed information from the main menu.
- See the 7-day forecast “headline" for a quick overview of the week ahead
- Access “Futurecast” radar by clicking the clockwise icon with the forward arrow on the interactive radar
- View data in metric units
WRAL Meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner demonstrates all of the key features of the new app in this video tutorial.
Q. How can I be sure that I have the new WRAL Weather app?
You should see the icon shown below on your phone screen.
If you don't see this exact icon, you may have the old version of the app. You can upgrade to the new version or download it from the Google Play or Apple iTunes app stores by searching for "WRAL Weather." We suggest you delete the older weather app icons to eliminate and confusion and ensure you are accessing current data.
Q. Why can't I rotate your app on my tablet?
This is an app that we're incredibly proud of and excited to get into the hands of more people. That said, we know there is room for improvement. One of those improvements we'll be looking to implement is a landscape -- or horizontal -- presentation for tablets. We don't have an exact timeframe for when we will roll out a landscape presentation, but it is on the roadmap.
Q. I have an Android phone and would like to see a weather widget. Will you be adding that?
A. A WRAL Weather widget is on the product roadmap.
Q. Where can I find sun and moon data?
The new WRAL Weather app presents sunrise, sunset and moon phase information in the Almanac section of the app. Just pick it from the main menu.
Q. Will you continue to offer the WRAL Weather Alert app
A. The WRAL Weather Alert app (see icon above) is being discontinued and should be deleted from your phone. It will soon stop offering alerts. The popular voice-alerting function, featuring Greg Fishel's voice, is available in the new weather app.
Q. Why are there so many ads?
A. We are proud to offer a high-quality weather app free of charge to the public. To pay for the data and content we provide, we sell advertising in the app. We have no more than two ad units per page/screen.
Q. I am not a fan of the new app. Why the change?
We have been running two different weather apps, both created by different third-party weather companies. For some users, this was confusing due to discrepancies between the forecasting on television by WRAL's meteorologists and what was presented in the apps. We also were limited in the changes we could make to these third-party apps.
The new app is built from scratch by our own developers and taps into more local information and data from the WRAL Weather Center. We combined many of the best and most popular features of both previous apps into one the new one.
As with many product releases, we expect it will take some time for you to adjust. We encourage you to use the app and explore the various menu options and settings for customizing the app. If you have ideas for making future versions better, please tell us here.
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