Cycling app of the week: Rain Alarm

What is it?

Rain Alarm is pretty self-explanatory, but worth shouting about all the same! It tracks your location via GPS, and then the map shows areas where there is precipitation. If you see rain heading your way, it's a good excuse for a pit stop or, if your made of tougher stuff than us, stick on your wet weather gear and then you'll be dressed appropriately for when the rain hits. The app grades the wet weather areas using a colour code, light blue being the lightest shower and an angry purple for the most severe downpours. After using it during a week of very unpredictable weather, we found the updates are usually up to date within 8 to 10 minutes. 

You'll need to make an in-app purchase to get alarms that warn you of heavy rain approaching with a notification (it can also sync with Android watches for ultimate convenience), but a combination of looking at the clouds and then confirming your suspicions via logging into the app should be fine for most of us... 

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What makes it unique?

There are other weather apps, indeed there are others that give you live weather updates: but for just sheer simplicity and no frills, Rain Alarm is hard to beat. The location locks on quickly, and the visual key makes it very easy to see you much of a deluge you're in for. 
 

With some light showers forecast in the Cotswolds, Rain Alarm tells us we're safe for the time being...

How can it help me?

As explained already, it's a quick and easy way to let you know when to take that cafe stop to avoid a downpour, or what clothes to pack if the weather looks like it's going to take a turn. It appears Rain Alarm has helped many people already - it's been downloaded over a million times

Where can I get it?

Rain Alarm is free on iPhone,and Android, and you can always check the website too if you want to have a quick scan at your desk before riding out. In-app purchases include an ad blocker for £2.69, and a more in-depth version with multiple alarms, animation settings and the ability to set multiple locations for £5.49. Both are one-off payments with no subscription necessary.