Jan Null, a meteorologist who founded the Golden Gate Weather Service, echoed Swain\u2019s concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe problem with most weather apps is that they\u2019re using some sort of universal computer model to forecast what\u2019s going to happen somewhere,\u201d Null said. \u201cSo it\u2019s the same computer model that\u2019s being used back in Pennsylvania that\u2019s being used here. And all computer models are not equal.\u201d<\/p>\n
Additionally, weather apps are often ingesting data and spitting it right out without any filter, \u201ceven though that\u2019s not how that data was meant to be used,\u201d Swain said. \u201cThere\u2019s no human making a weather forecast behind that weather app data.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason why having a human to read that data and interpret it matters is because humans can make \u201cmanual adjustments\u201d for places \u201cwhere conditions are known to diverge from the models,\u201d Swain said \u2014 just like they can in the Bay Area. Since those divergences can be somewhat systematic, \u201chuman forecasters have a good sense for when to throw the model data out,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Heat-Wave-SF-Getty.jpg\")
People enjoying the sun at the Palace of Fine Arts as a heat wave rolls through San Francisco on July 11, 2024. (Tayfun Coskun\/Anadolu via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
Not only that, Null said, but some weather apps might just pull from the closest airport or weather station, without accounting for the many microclimates that naturally occur.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you want to see what the weather is in San Mateo, it\u2019s probably going to give you San Francisco International Airport,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd there can be quite a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n
And in the city, \u201cit\u2019s classic in San Francisco when the computer models miss when the sea breeze comes in after a warm spell,\u201d Null said. \u201cI\u2019ve seen it dozens and dozens of times in my career.\u201d<\/p>\n
All of this creates real confusion for users, Swain said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes, you look out the window, and it\u2019s completely different than what the app shows,\u201d Swain said \u2014 or \u201cthe forecast bounces around a lot from hour to hour, and day to day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Weather apps vs. extreme weather<\/p>\n
A 2025 study led by University of Chicago researchers in collaboration with University of California, Santa Cruz and New York University reported<\/a> that while AI-powered weather models perform well for day-to-day weather, they often underestimate the scale of more extreme, unprecedented weather events.<\/p>\n While sometimes the differences in the data are negligible, other times these discrepancies \u201ccan result in real problems where people aren\u2019t getting the right information,\u201d Swain said. He particularly pointed to the sudden summer storm<\/a> that hit Lake Tahoe last year, not forecasted on many people\u2019s weather apps, that killed eight people.<\/p>\n \u201cUltimately, [a phone\u2019s weather app] just doesn\u2019t offer enough nuance,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n Several meteorologists interviewed by The Associated Press <\/a>earlier this year, as a series of strong winter storms swept the United States, echoed these sentiments. \u201cFor extreme weather events, it is especially important to know there are human forecasters interpreting the data and making the best localized forecasts for your area,\u201d University of Oklahoma meteorology professor Jason Furtado told AP.<\/p>\n Like Swain and Null, Furtado warned of \u201cthe potential for significant errors\u201d being introduced by the fact that \u201cmany of the weather forecast apps use AI methods to either make the forecast or \u2018interpolate\u2019 from larger grids to your hometown.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s more, Swain argues, inaccurate app weather reports are even reducing public trust in professional meteorology \u2014 because of the gulf between what a person\u2019s phone is telling them about today\u2019s weather and what a meteorologist is reporting.<\/p>\n This gap means an increasing number of people \u201cthink that our ability to predict the weather is much worse than it actually is,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n Where else can I get accurate weather information on my phone?<\/p>\n Instead of relying on the icons in your phone apps, Swain advises you turn to your local National Weather Service<\/a> office\u2019s website. With reports driven by human meteorologists rather than algorithms, the analysis from these offices drives crucial alerts \u2014 like the current heat advisory<\/a> in effect \u2014 during dangerous weather.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are meteorologists working for the weather service in the San Francisco Bay Area or in Los Angeles or any number of other locations who have been forecasting the weather for this particular corner of the world for 20, 30, even 40 years,\u201d Swain said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey are world experts in the weather in your backyard.\u201d<\/p>\n And if you really want those forecasts on your mobile phone, there\u2019s an app for that. Null suggests downloading EverythingWeather,<\/a> a new app that, rather than aggregating nationwide info, pulls in local NWS reports \u2014 essentially a mobile-friendly version of the office reports.<\/p>\n While it\u2019s not an official NWS app, it was created by off-duty NWS employee <\/a>Cory Mottice, and it\u2019s frequently maintained, Null said.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/026_KQED_HeatWaveConcord_09082022_qed.jpg\")
Children play in sprinklers at Meadow Homes Park in Concord on Sept. 8, 2022, as the temperature soared to 108 degrees. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/250821-FRUITVALE-HEAT-MD-01-KQED.jpg\")
People walk along International Boulevard in Oakland during a heat wave on Aug. 21, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento\/KQED)<\/p>\n