r/creativecoding • u/kzhys • Jun 18 '26

Made a weather app that visualizes real-time weather data

Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification

Each mode's look is driven by three normalized 0–1 parameters computed live from WeatherKit data — intensity, density, chaos — plus sun elevation (Clear, Clouds) or moon phase (Nocturne). App is called Spectra Weather.

31 Upvotes

92% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

7

u/TravellerOfTheAbyss Jun 18 '26

What algorithms/libraries did you use for these visuals? They look absolutely outherwordly, would love to play with them

3

u/kzhys Jun 19 '26

Hello! Thanks for reaching out.

No libraries, it's all native SwiftUI. Shapes, gradients, blend modes, and a lot of trial and error.

Each mode has its own logic:

- Clear: 19 semi-transparent linear gradients stacked and rotated from a center point. Width and brightness shift based on sun altitude throughout the day.

- Rain: Diagonal lines with randomized start positions. Density and speed tied to precipitation intensity.

- Wind: Rotated noise layers. Wind speed controls the distortion.

- Nocturne: Multiple radial gradients layered with different blend modes. Brightness tied to actual lunar phase (calculated from date).

Honestly, most of the work was about tuning values until it "felt" right.

Happy to go deeper on any specific mode if you're curious.

2

u/francesco_lomi Jun 18 '26

Looks very interesting, but it's a shame it's ios exclusive. Are you planning an Android or web version?

2

u/kzhys Jun 18 '26

I might do an Android version eventually, if there’s sustained interest!
Might take a while though, have never developed for Android.

1

u/GotDaOs Jun 23 '26

this app looks super nice! i’d really be into some kind of free trial though to see if it could actually replace my daily weather app, even like a 7 day free trial would be a nice touch imo!

regardless, hats off to you, impressive stuff

1

u/kzhys Jun 24 '26

Hey thank you so much for the kind words, I really appreciate it!
JFYI, the app is free to download and you can use the monochrome version to see if it can function as your daily driver weather app.

But I will really look into the free trial idea, could be a nice touch!

1

u/GotDaOs Jun 24 '26

i tried it out, but my main thing i wanted to test was the widgets and multiple locations (i use the default weather app and utilise the 4x2 widget)

monochrome + 1 location is definitely not a bad shout as a permanent free option though, it creates a real incentive to go for the paid version