FEB 22, 2010 - Quake & Weather iPhone Apps is a multiple selection for iPhone users, in honor of the February 28 SuperMoon alignment that kicks in this week, on the 25th. As indicated in my 2010 World Forecast Highlights, this next SuperMoon points to "a newsworthy upsurge in moderate-to-severe seismic activity (including magnitude 5+ earthquakes and volcanic eruptions), plus strong storms with damaging winds and heavy precipitation; along with extreme high tides." There are any number of ways you can keep tabs on such events while on the go, thanks to some excellent iPhone apps that range from free to cheap. On the seismic front, a couple of good apps free for the downloading were suggested by a client. (Thanks, MJ!) I've tried them out, and they're both quite good enough to keep: QuakeZones and USGS Seismic. (Of the two, MJ and I both prefer QuakeZones, for what it's worth.) Another one is just barely over free, and it has become my favorite: iFeltThat. I checked all of these against the USGS website (theoretically redundant in the case of USGS Seismic), but I wanted to be sure and now I am: they're all accurate in terms of date, time, place and magnitude of quakes. (USGS Seismic is strictly a data table. QuakeZones and iFeltThat have the same data, but show it to you on a map as well. iFeltThat goes quite a few steps farther, including the capability to email maps like the one at right.) On the weather front, you've got to check out the free version of The Weather Channel app. It provides current conditions (including temperature, windspeed, humidity etc.), 3- and 10-day forecasts, radar and satellite maps, traffic cams and severe weather alerts for your location of choice. (US locations get the most frequent updates, but the UK, France, Canada, Bahamas and the Caribbean get pretty good coverage too. Get any or all of 'em in the apps section of iTunes: you know the drill.
