Charlene's Weather Feature Graphic

📝 Description

Powered by NOAA/NWS data, this app delivers accurate, hyperlocal weather information with a clean, intuitive interface. No third-party weather services. No ads. No tracking.

💝 Dedicated to the loving memory of my late wife, Charlene Fay Callihan (04/24/1947 - 12/6/2024). Built with love and designed to keep her memory alive with every look at the sky.

🛡️ Verified Safe & Secure

Because this app is distributed directly as an independent APK outside of an app store, you can view the live, verified security audit for for each specific version on it's release page.

📦 Downloads

Get the App

• Tap the button above to view all releases for this app.

📸 Screenshots

🪄 Features

• Live Conditions — Current temperature, humidity, wind speed, rain chance, and high/low, all sourced directly from the National Weather Service.
• 7-Day Forecast — Scroll horizontally through daily forecasts with day/night icons, high/low temperatures, and color-coded temperature display. Tap the title to toggle between 7-day and hourly views.
• Hourly Forecast — 24-hour breakdown with day labels, time, temperature, icon, and short forecast text.
• Interactive Radar — Animated NWS radar preview on the main screen. Tap to open the full live radar.weather.gov site with local station pre-loaded. Use the site's built-in controls for zoom, pan, and product switching.
• GPS Location — Tap the GPS icon for a one-shot location fetch. Never saves GPS mode. Setting OFF: app always starts with fresh GPS. Setting ON: saved location persists.
• Light & Dark Themes — Toggle between a warm tan/royal blue light theme and a pure black dark theme.
• Skywarn Program — "Join Skywarn" dialog with official program info, NOAA attribution, and a link straight to your state's Skywarn program.
• Home Screen Widget — At-a-glance weather with current conditions and 3-day forecast with split day/night icons. Red alert triangle when warnings active. Auto-refreshes every 5 minutes.
• Weather Alert Notifications — Configurable NWS alert notifications for watches, advisories, statements, and more. Select categories in Settings.
• 911 System Down Alerts (NWS) — Standalone option in Settings, separate from weather alert categories.
• NWS Forecast View — Full forecast.weather.gov page with pinch-to-zoom, desktop mode toggle, and three-dot menu (Open in Browser / Refresh).
• US Station Search — Find any official NWS/FAA weather station with live filtering as you type, powered by the built-in stations database for instant offline results.
• Temperature Color Coding — Purple (below 33°F), Blue (33°F–67°F), Green (68°F–74°F), Orange (75°F–82°F), Red (above 82°F).
• Temperature-Colored Borders — Current conditions card and forecast tiles have thin borders color-coded to match the temperature.
• Pull-to-Refresh — Swipe down anywhere on the main screen to refresh GPS, weather, forecast, and radar all at once.
• Image Cache — OkHttp disk cache stores weather images for 299 seconds (just under the 5-minute refresh cycle). Never serves stale data.
• Weather Data Cache — Volley disk cache stores NWS API JSON for 299 seconds per URL. Station-specific URLs prevent cross-station contamination. Both caches expire 1 second before the 5-minute throttle allows re-fetches, guaranteeing fresh data every cycle.
• Rounded Icons — 12dp rounded corners on all weather icons throughout the app and widget.
• Tablet Optimized — Automatic tablet layout with larger text, icons, and spacious design for 7"+ devices.

📚 How to Use

• Refresh weather — Weather data fetches from the National Weather Service each time the app opens. Swipe down on the main screen or tap the GPS icon to manually refresh your location and weather data.
• Open the menu — Tap the three-dot menu icon (⋮) to search locations, toggle themes, access Skywarn info, view settings, or donate.
• Current conditions — Tap the current weather icon to open the detailed NWS forecast page for your location.
• Toggle forecast mode — Tap "7-Day Forecast" title to switch between 7-day and hourly views.
• Radar — The radar preview on the main screen automatically shows your local NWS radar. Tap the preview to open the full live radar.weather.gov site. The menu lets you toggle between local and national radar views.
• Widget — Add the Charlene's Weather widget to your home screen for at-a-glance weather. Red alert triangle shows when warnings are active. Tap it to open the app.
• Search — Use the search option in the menu to find any US weather station and get its weather. Filter by station name or ID as you type.
• Settings — Tap the gear icon in the menu to configure alert notifications, persistent location, and more.
• NWS Forecast View — Tap the current weather icon or use the menu to open forecast.weather.gov. Use pinch-to-zoom, desktop mode, and the three-dot menu for browser/refresh.
• Refreshes are limited to no more than once every 5 minutes for the same station, for NWS API compliance. Weather images and data are cached for 299 seconds, expiring 1 second before the 5-minute throttle opens. Widget refreshes periodically as the system allows.

🔐 Permissions

• INTERNET, ACCESS_FINE_LOCATION, ACCESS_COARSE_LOCATION, ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION
• FOREGROUND_SERVICE, FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION
• POST_NOTIFICATIONS, ACCESS_NOTIFICATION_POLICY
• RECEIVE_BOOT_COMPLETED

Note: ACCESS_BACKGROUND_LOCATION is required for the persistent foreground location service to update your location every 5 minutes in the background for widget refreshes. On Android 11+, you must manually select "Allow all the time" in Settings → Apps → Charlene's Weather → Permissions → Location after granting foreground access. FOREGROUND_SERVICE_LOCATION enables the background location service to run persistently.