Hi everyone. I’m blind, and I built an iPhone/iPad app called Weather Guardian because I wanted severe weather information that did not assume I could visually interpret a radar map.
Weather Guardian is designed to help people stay ahead of severe weather using official National Weather Service alerts, saved alert locations, Live Radar, Critical Alerts, and plain-language storm information.
The feature I’m most interested in getting feedback on from this community is Live Radar. We believe it may be the world’s first accessible live weather radar experience designed specifically for VoiceOver users. Instead of only presenting a traditional visual radar image, the app includes tools intended to make radar information understandable nonvisually.
Live Radar includes Touch Explorer, which lets VoiceOver users explore storms, warnings, hail clues, tornado indicators, and radar context by touch. It also includes Radar Coach, which explains important radar details in plain language. The app analyzes radar data for things like storm motion, hail potential, rotation clues, and possible tornado debris signatures, but it presents radar-only clues honestly and does not treat them as official confirmation.
Weather Guardian also supports saved alert locations and push notifications for important weather threats. One free saved location is included for critical National Weather Service warnings. The app also warns users when a searched location is outside National Weather Service coverage, which includes the United States and its territories.
With permission, the app can use Apple Critical Alerts for life-threatening weather that may require immediate attention. These can break through Do Not Disturb and override Silent Mode. I intentionally limit Critical Alerts to the highest-impact warnings, including Tornado Warnings, Destructive Severe Thunderstorm Warnings, significant Flash Flood Warnings, Tsunami Warnings, and Extreme Wind Warnings.
Weather Guardian Plus unlocks Live Radar, additional saved alert locations, and expanded alert categories, including NWS watches, advisories, special weather statements, outlook-based alerts, and more.
I’m posting here because I would really value honest feedback from blind and low-vision users, especially on the VoiceOver experience, the radar exploration flow, the alert wording, and whether the app makes severe weather information easier to understand without sight.
App Store name: Severe WeatherGuardian
Link: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/severe-weather-guardian/id6763809935