Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

WBTV First Alert Weather vs WSFA First Alert Weather

WBTV First Alert Weather 4.7★ · Free to download 55
Winner Tie
WSFA First Alert Weather 4.8★ · Free to download 55

Both WBTV First Alert Weather and WSFA First Alert Weather struggle with similar issues, primarily excessive ads and app instability, making it difficult to definitively recommend one over the other.

Full reviews: WBTV First Alert Weather · WSFA First Alert Weather

Both WBTV First Alert Weather and WSFA First Alert Weather are free apps that provide weather forecasts and alerts, but user reviews highlight significant issues with intrusive ads, frequent app crashes, and unreliable radar functionality. While some users praise their accuracy, many are frustrated by the overall user experience.

Head to head

Features tieR7R15R17R42
WBTV First Alert Weather WBTV users appreciate constant information and alerts, and its radar is generally considered good, though some recent updates have removed features like the ability to see alerts overlapping radar or past/future radar options R7R42. Users also desire a home screen widget and more frequent updates R15R17.
WSFA First Alert Weather WSFA users value accurate weather warnings and the ability to know when lightning is coming . However, some users report issues with the 24-hour radar not completing its cycle and the inability to see warning boxes clearly on the radar .
Ease of Use tieR6R10R18R21
WBTV First Alert Weather Many WBTV users find the app difficult to use due to constant pop-up videos and weather stories, an overwhelming number of ads, and a cluttered interface R6R10R18R21. Some also report small print R21.
WSFA First Alert Weather WSFA users also complain about too much advertising and useless information, making it hard to access the actual forecast R66. Navigation is hindered by ads, and some find notifications to be unhelpful or excessive .
Reliability tieR1R8R13R19
WBTV First Alert Weather WBTV users frequently report the app crashing, freezing, or not displaying information correctly, especially the radar R1R8R13R19. Some radar issues include freezing halfway through the timeframe or not loading at all R1R8R29.
WSFA First Alert Weather WSFA users experience similar reliability issues, with the radar often not working, freezing halfway, or showing a black screen . Videos also frequently have errors or freeze .
Price/Value tieR4R12R16R24
WBTV First Alert Weather WBTV is free, but users are willing to pay for an ad-free experience due to the overwhelming number of advertisements, especially during severe weather alerts R4R12R16R24.
WSFA First Alert Weather WSFA is also free, but users are driven to delete the app because of the excessive and intrusive ads, particularly before critical weather updates R66.
Accuracy edge: WSFA First Alert WeatherR2R5R11R17
WBTV First Alert Weather WBTV users generally find the forecasts to be accurate and dependable, especially for the Charlotte NC area R2R5R11R17. However, some report the radar being incorrect or out of date R40.
WSFA First Alert Weather WSFA users frequently praise the accuracy of its weather reports and warnings, especially for their local area . Despite this, there are also complaints about inaccurate daily and hourly forecasts and unreliable radar .
Pick WBTV First Alert Weather if

You are in the Charlotte NC area and prioritize generally accurate forecasts, despite significant frustrations with ads and app stability R12R17.

Pick WSFA First Alert Weather if

You are in the Troy, Alabama area and value timely and accurate weather warnings, and are willing to tolerate frequent ads and occasional app bugs .

Evidence note: Both apps are free, and many negative reviews stem from the intrusive nature of ads, which is a common monetization strategy for free apps. The overall sentiment for both apps has declined with recent updates, leading to lower recent ratings compared to their lifetime averages.

Frequently asked

Are these apps free to use?
Yes, both WBTV First Alert Weather and WSFA First Alert Weather are free to download and use, but this comes with a significant number of advertisements that many users find intrusive R12R16R24R66.
Do these apps have issues with ads?
Yes, both apps are heavily criticized for an excessive number of ads, including pop-up videos and ads that appear before critical weather information, which users find frustrating and even dangerous during severe weather R4R10R25R30.
Is the radar reliable on these apps?
Many users report reliability issues with the radar on both apps, including freezing, not loading, or being inaccurate R1R8R29R40.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R7] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US Alerts with storm overlay?: Did you get rid of the ability to look at alerts (like a tornado warning) overlapping the radar? It seems I now have to choose between either viewing alerts or the storm systems themselves with no option to do both at the same time. Really hoping this is a user error and if so, let me know so I can change my review.
  2. [R15] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Widget: Like the App wish you could add a widget to your Home Screen showing the location weather.
  3. [R17] WBTV First Alert Weather 4/5 · US Weather forecast: I very much appreciate and enjoy this app having used it for several years now since it became available. Have always depended upon WBTV for most dependable and accurate news and forecast. One improvement I suggest is to have more frequent weather updates and forecast. As of late there’s too much time between updates. Thanks.
  4. [R42] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US What happened?!: I hate that they took off the past and future options on the radar which was really helpful. This app has also become very slow within the last couple months probably do to so many ads on the screen 😕
  5. [R6] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Good app with an annoying bug: I don’t know why all of these apps seem to be designed to interrupt you all the time. There is a page that shows current weather stories that keeps popping up without request and I keep having to navigate away from it. Really tired of the interruption culture app developers have embraced.
  6. [R10] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US Videos: Get rid of the stupid pop up videos!!!! If I want to watch a video I’ll click on the **** thing!!!
  7. [R18] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Was 5 stars, now 3: This latest update is a BIG disappointment. The landing page used to be compact and easily readable. I could look at current conditions that included Dew Point & Humidity. It no longer shows Dew Point. Video is running as you scroll down the page, which means reduced battery life. Will probably start looking for a replacement. And what’s with the duration of the ad splash page
  8. [R21] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Focus: Prints too small for the central issue- ads override weather
  9. [R1] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US WBTV Weather application: This is a very disappointing app. It only gives me 10 seconds and then it locks up. However,I do use it for current radar information.
  10. [R8] WBTV First Alert Weather 4/5 · US 24 hour radar freezes: For some time the 24-hour radar display freezes about half way through the timeframe. This happens on IPhone 13 and new iPhone 16.
  11. [R13] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US App crashing: I never used to have a problem with your app But now it never hardly works. It is always crashing and never displays the temperature or anything like that even when I’m changing locations and reinstall your app you need to fix your application. It used to work now. It does not work anymore.
  12. [R19] WBTV First Alert Weather 2/5 · US Constant glitching: Every time I open the app and go to check the Radar or Hour to Hour weather, my screen glitches to a wall of text until I return to the home tab and select what I was originally going to look at.
  13. [R4] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US Severe Thunderstorms: My favorite is telling you there is a severe thunderstorm and to take cover but then make you watch ads before you can see the affected area. Good times.
  14. [R12] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Take my money!: This app is the most accurate if you want to know the weather forecast for Charlotte NC area, but I would gladly pay for a less cluttered ad-free experience.
  15. [R16] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US Ads Galore: Ridiculous amount of ads on the app. Deleted immediately after downloading it.
  16. [R24] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Too many ads: The app’s effectiveness is diminished by the ads that appear before the features can be viewed. In an urgent weather situation, one does not want to wade through so many ads. Could the ads display with the requested page?
  17. [R2] WBTV First Alert Weather 5/5 · US Yes: Very good weather
  18. [R5] WBTV First Alert Weather 5/5 · US This app is the best it can’t stop telling me there’s is going to be rain but thank you WBTV ALERT: I love this app
  19. [R11] WBTV First Alert Weather 5/5 · US Weather: Thanks for constantly keeping me informed.
  20. [R66] WSFA First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Great Weather - Too Many Ads.!: While the app works well, it takes a mini or more of watching video ads to get to the actual forecast. How about banner ads at the bottom.!
  21. [R25] WBTV First Alert Weather 1/5 · US Remove ads for accessing critical weather updates: Whenever there is a tornado warning, you are made to watch an advertisement BEFORE being able to access or get critical updates on the timing of the tornado.
  22. [R30] WBTV First Alert Weather 3/5 · US Ads make it hard to use during a weather emergency: During last tornado warnings when I was trying to get in a safe place I had to fight with ads to find out what was going on. At this point the ads are so encompassing they’ve rendered the video portion unusable but we do look at the hourly/daily and radar part of the app.
  23. [R29] WBTV First Alert Weather 5/5 · US App won’t load correctly: In the last month this app has been horrible! If you check the radar once, it won’t load again until you clear it out completely and restart it. It doesn’t load the radar future in a seamless manner, it is very slow and stutters. PLEASE FIX THE ISSUES
  24. [R40] WBTV First Alert Weather 2/5 · US Radar: Your radar doesn’t show what’s happening half of the time correctly. Hope you will fix. I thought 3 was on our side

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store