Hurricane Sandy Path: Top 5 Apps to Track the Storm As It Nears Florida and the Carolinas, from the Red Cross to WeatherBug

With Hurricane Sandy inching near the southeastern coast line, residents in both Florida and the Carolinas preparing to brace the storm have the ability to keep track of Sandy thanks to several tracking apps.

Red Cross:

With the Red Cross doing a preventative campaign in Haiti, the U.S.-based part of the group has released a tracking app that allows users to track the whereabouts of Sandy, in addition to allowing users to receive :

- Weather alerts

- Directions to the nearest open Red Cross shelter

- Checklists people can use to create a family emergency plan

- Tool kits with a flashlight, strobe light and an audible alarm

- Remote monitoring of personalized weather alerts where family and friends reside

To download the free app, go to the link on the Red Cross's web site right here.

The Weather Channel's Mobile app

Available via iTunes, the Weather Channel's app provies users with several features including:

- Complete weather coverage without any ads

- Severe weather alerts

- Trupoint maps with forecasted precipitations for the next six hours

- 15 minute weather forecast updates

- 10 day forecasts with details

The app for the Weather Channel, available at $3.99, can be downloaded via iTunes here.

WeatherBug app

Available via iTunes, this free app contains several new features, including:

- My Alerts Page, which centralizes important weather updates close to your location

- Interactive maps with Doppler radar, allowing users to track the storm by themselves

- Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts (DTAs) which provide information on weather, severe weather and lightning-based alerts in your area

- WeatherBuzz, which allows users to share weather alerts with friends and family via social networking sites like Facebook

The app can be downloaded for free at iTunes here.

Hurricane iPhone app

For the last five years, this app has been the best-selling app for iPhone and iTouch users, and has been featured on CNN Tech, MacWorld, The New York Times and the Huffington Post.

For $2.99, users can receive:

- Video updates and broadcasts of the storm

- Bulletins updated through the National Hurricane Center

- Detailed interactive tracking maps

- Historic storm data

- Push notifications

- Updates and news via Twitter

The app can be downloaded from the iTunes store here.

MyFox Hurricane app

This app allows users to get the latest news on hurricanes from the experts at MyFoxHurricane.com and the National Hurricane Center right to their iPhones.

Features that users can get include:

- Updated maps

- Videos and eyewitness reports on tropical storms

- Text and video information from the National Hurricane Center

This app can be downloaded for $3.99 at the iTunes store at this link.