How to Watch Dangerous Winter Storm Coverage for Free - Weather Channel Options and More (2024)

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.

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.

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.

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

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.