You can find just about all the weather information the lay user needs using Accu Weather for iPad, and if you know a trick or two, you can find it with minimal frustration. The key to the Accu Weather app is understanding the apparent objectives of the app’s design:

1. Generally, it seems set up to drive traffic to the Accu Weather website, and
2. Its developers expect the user to be fairly stationary.

The Initial screen is covered with forecasts, starting with your current day, and scrolling down to show two more weeks in horizontal strips. Each forecast displays a graphic depiction of the day’s weather, a text equivalent, high and low temperatures, the “RealFeel” temperatures, wind, and humidity. A little triangle in the upper left corner of a strip displays chance of precipitation. Tap a forecast strip to go to the website for more in-depth information, or — and this is important to learn — don’t.

Now, here’s how to find the good stuff. Look for the venerable “overlapping pages” icon in the lower right corner of your front screen. It sends you to a slide menu, from which you can find all the best information in the app. The slide menu navigates to the initial daily forecast page, or to pages showing the hourly forecast, weather videos, maps, a “lifestyle” forecast, or settings.

The hourly forecast is an intuitive and delightful way to check the changing weather at different times. You drag your finger around a little analog clock face, and Accu Weather displays the likely conditions, graphically and in text.

Accu Weather’s “lifestyle” forecast tells you whether the day is good for activities like cooking out, biking, fishing, or beachgoing, or for hazards like allergy attacks and hair frizz. It’s a smart, one-glance departure from the usual weather metrics.

The maps and videos are standard fare, but well presented, with only tolerably lagging animations.

The settings menu is the hidden key to adding locations.

The Accu Weather app for iPad is good for planning that barbeque, knowing what to wear in the morning, or even planning vacation activities, based on current and future weather conditions. It’s somewhat less perfect, though far from useless, for “whirlwind tour” travel, where your current location may change daily.

Fortunately, Accu Weather is available in a free version. Download it, disregard the ads, and try it. This app’s too good for its interface, and if you can learn it, you’ll love it.

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