Don't Get Caught In The Rain, Get Notified By Dark Sky Instead

Dark Sky, one of the most interesting weather apps for iOS in recent memory, has just undergone a hurricane of an update. Launched just four months ago, Dark Sky is now at version 2.0. “Clear skies are boring,” says one of the usual messages in the un-boring Dark Sky. Know what else is boring? Weather apps that seem desperate to resemble Clear. There, I said it. With the notable exception of Solar, that is. While I admit to having a liking for Solar, I simply can’t deny the distinct and decidedly un-Clear-like appeal of Dark Sky. Plus, its major selling point is just impressive, to say the least. That selling point is its ability to create a minute-by-minute forecast focusing on the next hour. In relation to this, the app is also able to come up with a stunningly smooth radar animation of storm movements — or dark skies, as it were. Dark Sky’s 2.0 update mainly improves on its already impressive forecasting feature. First off, the app now supports push notifications for warning you before it rains or snows in your precise location. It’s still in beta, but you can already try the app’s notification feature by setting your desired threshold to sprinkling or to light, moderate, or heavy precipitation. You can also set a “do not disturb” time window, which is handy if you don’t want to be bugged in your sleep or on the verge thereof. In addition, the update brings the ability to see the storms in a country all at once. Note, though, that Dark Sky currently covers the United States only, including Hawaii, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. Furthermore, the update introduces the touch-and-hold gesture for changing the forecast location. It also brings the ability to turn off storm location suggestions, which effectively turns off the previously mentioned “Clear skies are boring” message. Also introduced through the update is the "darksky://your%20location" linking scheme, which should work well with Launch Center Pro and other third-party apps. The following are included in the update as well:

VoiceOver support for improved accessibility

Better icon!

A whole bucketful of bug fixes and performance improvements

And my personal favorite ...

Increased app version number by more than 51.5%!

Optimized with wonderful Retina graphics for both iPhone and iPad, Dark Sky is available in the App Store for $3.99. If you’d like to find out how the sky is expected to look like in the next hour, you need only reach for Dark Sky.