Overview
How It Works
OldWeather 8 is a continuous weather carousel built for easy, lean-back viewing. Once launched, it moves through your local forecast automatically, refreshes in the background every five minutes, and keeps the clock and weather ticker visible the whole time.
The whole experience is styled to feel like a modern revival of the classic WeatherStar era, now with live radar, smarter alerts, and a daily severe weather outlook built right into the loop.
Getting Started
First Launch
When you open OldWeather 8 for the first time, the app tries to find your area automatically so you can get straight to the forecast. A simple loading screen keeps you posted as each part of the experience gets ready.
Location detected
Your area is found automatically, and the app starts preparing the full weather loop for where you are.
Location not found
If that doesn't work, a full-screen entry screen appears so you can type a city name like Chicago, IL or a ZIP code like 60601.
After loading completes, the carousel begins on Current Conditions and continues on its own. You can change your location any time from Settings.
Carousel
The Slides
The carousel moves through six core slide types. Weather Alerts appears only when your area has active alerts, while the severe weather outlook is always available as part of the loop.
Current Conditions
A fast, readable snapshot of what it's like outside right now.
- ▸ Temperature
- ▸ Sky Condition
- ▸ Wind Speed & Direction
- ▸ Humidity
- ▸ Dewpoint
- ▸ Visibility
- ▸ Barometric Pressure
- ▸ Day or night icon styling that matches the time outside
Today's Outlook
A more relaxed look at the day ahead, broken into the moments people actually plan around.
- ▸ Five daypart cards: Morning, Noon, Afternoon, Evening, Night
- ▸ Temperature, precipitation chance, and wind for each period
- ▸ 12-hour hourly forecast strip at the bottom
- ▸ Sunrise and sunset are called out in the strip when they fall in the next 12 hours
Extended Forecast
A clean, simple look at the next few days so you can plan at a glance.
- ▸ Next five days listed with day name and date
- ▸ High and low temperatures
- ▸ Forecast description text
- ▸ Precipitation probability bar
- ▸ Wind speed and direction
Radar
A live radar view built to feel informative without feeling cluttered.
- ▸ Smooth radar animation centered on your area
- ▸ Helpful station and timestamp details built into the display
- ▸ Colored warning and watch outlines appear when active storms are nearby
- ▸ Focused local view sized for easy couch-distance reading
- ▸ Radar animation continues even when the carousel is paused
Weather Alerts
Only shown when your area has active alerts, with the most urgent messages given the strongest treatment.
- ▸ Severity-based styling that makes urgent warnings stand out immediately
- ▸ Long messages scroll automatically so you can keep reading from the couch
- ▸ When more than one alert is active, the slide rotates through each one in order
- ▸ Hidden entirely when there are no active alerts
Storm Prediction Center Outlook
A daily national severe weather outlook that helps you see the bigger picture beyond your backyard.
- ▸ Color-coded U.S. risk map for today's severe weather potential
- ▸ Clear issue and valid-through times in the lower card
- ▸ Moves near the top of the loop when your area is inside a risk zone
- ▸ Includes narration that puts the national outlook in plain language
Apple TV Remote
Remote Controls
Pauses or resumes the carousel. A PAUSED badge appears in the top-right corner while paused, and the current slide resumes from where it left off. Radar animation continues to play while paused.
Jumps back one slide if you want to catch something you just missed.
Skips ahead one slide for a quick look at what is coming next.
Reveals a floating gear icon overlay. Swipe, click, or tap the clickpad/select area, then choose the gear to open Settings. The overlay fades after a few seconds of inactivity.
Configuration
Settings
Open Settings by swiping or clicking the remote and selecting the floating gear icon. Changes take effect right away, so you can tune the experience as you watch.
◈ Display Settings
Aspect Ratio
16:9 fills your widescreen TV completely. 4:3 displays the weather content in a centered pillarbox with decorative borders on each side, replicating the look of the original WeatherStar 4000 on a CRT television.
Scanlines
On / OffOverlays a subtle CRT-style horizontal scanline pattern across the display. Adds a retro analog television feel. Works best in combination with 4:3 mode.
◈ Music Settings
Background Music
On / OffTurns the ambient soundtrack on or off. Music is included with the app, shuffles automatically, and avoids immediate repeats.
Now Playing
Info onlyDisplays the name of the currently playing track. Visible only when Background Music is enabled.
Music Volume
Adjusts background music volume in 5% increments, separate from narration. During major warnings, the app can briefly play a severe weather cue before returning to the regular soundtrack.
◈ Narration Settings
Voice Over
On / OffTurns on spoken narration so each slide feels more like a live weather broadcast, with helpful summaries as new information appears.
Narration Scope
All Loops keeps the full broadcast feel going every time the carousel comes around. First Only (default) gives you one guided pass, then lets the app settle into the background.
Voice Volume
Adjusts the narration voice volume independently from the music volume.
◈ Location Settings
Use Current Location
Auto-detectUses your current area automatically and refreshes the full experience for that location.
Enter a Location
Manual entryOpens a full-screen keyboard right away so you can type a city name like Miami, FL or a ZIP code like 33101. As soon as you confirm, OldWeather 8 reloads for the new location.
Pro Tips
Tips & Notes
For the most authentic retro experience, try 4:3 mode + Scanlines + Background Music on. It's the closest to watching local weather on a 1990s TV.
Music and narration both stop automatically when you press the Home button or switch to another app, so the experience never feels intrusive.
If your radar looks blank, your area may be too far from a NEXRAD station or may currently have no precipitation within range. This is normal.
Weather data comes from the National Weather Service, so coverage is limited to the contiguous United States, Alaska, Hawaii, and US territories. International locations are not currently supported.
The Weather Alerts slide appears automatically whenever your area has active alerts, and more serious warnings are presented more prominently.
If narration is on, active alerts are also mentioned at the end of Current Conditions, even before the full alert slide appears.
The severe weather outlook is always part of the experience, and it moves closer to the front of the loop whenever your area is included in a risk zone.