How to Watch Dangerous Winter Storm Coverage for Free - Weather Channel Options and More
An estimated 100 million Americans are facing dangerous winter storms this week. Flights are canceled. Meteorologists are wide-eyed. Your grocery store is packed with people clutching their carts with white knuckles. The National Weather Service is calling this a “once-in-a-generation type event.”
About 1,700 flights have been canceled, with more likely to come. Weather services are predicting “life-threatening” wind chills for millions.
Given the potential severity of this storm, it is important to be able to follow coverage even if you don’t have cable. Fortunately, there are live TV streaming services that offer free trials and free streaming options so that you can get the latest information available on the winter storm making its way across the country.
The good news is that all of these services work on your TV, as well as your phone. So, if you lose your internet connection, but still have cell service, you can follow the storm coverage on your mobile device.
1. Stream The Weather Channel on a Live TV Streaming Service
If you want to stream the The Weather Channel, there are five major streaming services that offer the network, including DIRECTV STREAM, Frndly TV, fuboTV, Hulu Live TV, and YouTube TV. It isn’t available on Sling TV or Philo.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| The Weather Channel | + $29 | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
2. Watch Using The Weather Channel TV App
In May, The Weather Channel launched a new service called “The Weather Channel TV App,” which is available direct-to-consumer without a cable or satellite subscription. The service has two plans: $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year ($2.49 monthly paid annually), after a seven-day free trial.
The new service is available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, and Xfinity Flex devices. However, it does not provide access on your computer, mobile device, or Apple TV.
3. Get Live Updates for Free with LocalNow
Local Now offers live severe weather coverage from The Weather Channel to people viewing in areas impacted by major weather events. Over 220 cities in the United States have a localized feed. In the case of what they’re calling Winter Storm Elliott, some of the featured stations are:
- WREX - Rockford, IL
- KIMT - Rochester, MN
- KWWL - Cedar Rapids, IA
- WEVV - Evansville, IN
- WKOW - Madison, WI
- KEZI - Eugene, OR
- KWYB - Butte, MT
- KPAX - Missoula, MT
- KHQ - Spokane, WA
- WXOW - La Crosse, WI
- KMTV - Omaha, NE
But most areas of the country will be able to get free, localized weather coverage 24/7. It’s also helpful to see the news from where your family lives. And if you’re sick of the weather here, you can watch KITV (ABC) News 4 from Honolulu.
Local Now
Local Now is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to movies and TV shows. The service also provides several virtual streaming channels, including newscasts from New York, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Nashville, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, and West Palm Beach. Over 220 cities in the United States have a localized feed. Local Now offers live severe weather coverage from The Weather Channel to people viewing in areas impacted by the severe weather event
4. Watch Local News Coverage Live with NewsOn
NewsOn is a free service that provides feeds from 250 local station partners in over 150+ markets. You’ll be able to tune in for updates from local affiliates like:
- KMGH - Denver
- WCBS - New York
- WTMJ - Milwaukee
- WBBM - Chicago
- WCCO - Minneapolis
- WUSA - Washington, D.C.
- KIRO - Seattle/Tacoma
- KUSA - Denver
You can watch it via the NewsOn website, via the network’s TV apps on Roku, Apple TV, Fire TV, or on your mobile device on iOS and Android.
5. Watch Local News Updates with Haystack News and VUIt
Free streaming service Haystack News will continue to provide video updates from their local news partners from around the affected areas. You can view ongoing coverage on the Haystack News website at Haystack.TV, or by downloading their app, available on Android TV, Android TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, Apple TV, Roku, iOS, Android, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Vizio, and Hisense TV.
VUIt is another service that aggregates local news feeds from 260+ local TV news stations around the United States. Some of the stations of note are:
- WFMZ-TV, Allentown, Pa.
- WWTV, Cadillac, Mich.
- WSAZ-TV, Huntington, W. Va.
- WKYT, TV, Lexington, Ky.
- KTUU-TV, Anchorage, Alaska
The VUIt streaming app is available for Android, iOS, Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV, and Chromecast.
VUit
VUit is a free video streaming service that includes on-demand access to content produced by 260+ local TV news stations around the United States. Its partners include Lilly Broadcasting, Heritage Broadcasting, and Gray Television. The service covers 78% of the nation’s DMAs.
6. Catch Up on Local Coverage with DistroTV
DistroTV is another free service that offers coverage from just a handful of stations around the country. It’s not as robust as most options on this list. Some of the channels included are:
- ABC 6 News Rochester-Austin, MN
- KSTP Minneapolis-St. Paul
- WDIO News Duluth-Superior
DistroTV
DistroTV is a free streaming service with 270+ free channels featuring live shows, movies, sports, news, gossip, and lots more. The platform features an array of genres and categories, such as News & Opinion, Español, Desi - Indian & South Asian, Business, Comedy, Classics, Fun & Games, Local News, Live Sports, Outdoor Entertainment, Reality TV & Documentaries, Lifestyle, and more.
7. Watch FOX Weather on Your Phone or TV
If you grab a free trial of fuboTV, you can also watch FOX Weather for updates. Since the channel is not widely available, you can also get live updates by watching on your mobile device. Similar to The Weather Channel, this service offers wall-to-wall national coverage of the storm.
| DTV STREAM | Fubo | Hulu | Philo | Sling TV | YouTube | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Free Trial | Get 50% Off | Sign Up | |||
| $79.99 | $91.99 | $76.99 | $25 | $40 | $40 | $72.99 | ||
| FOX Weather | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | - | - | - | ✓ | |
FOX Weather
FOX Weather is a 24/7 live weather service that offers coverage around the country. It includes forecasts, radar imagery, weather-related news, and live cameras at sites around the United States. The service is free and ad-supported. You can view the livestream at the top of the Watch tab in the FOX Weather mobile app.