Windows 11 Weather App Can Use Over 1GB of RAM, Raising Concerns for 8GB PCs
Windows 11 has often been criticized for feeling heavy on lower-end PCs, and Microsoft has repeatedly said it wants to improve the operating system for devices with 8GB of RAM. However, one built-in app is drawing attention for the wrong reason: the Windows 11 Weather app can consume a surprising amount of memory, even when it is barely doing anything.
For users with powerful desktops or laptops packed with 32GB of RAM, this may not feel like a major problem. But for anyone using a budget laptop, an older PC, or a system with 8GB or 16GB of memory, the Weather app’s behavior can contribute to slowdowns, lag, and unnecessary background resource usage.
The Windows 11 Weather app reportedly jumps to around 1GB of RAM shortly after being opened. After settling down, it may still sit at roughly 500MB to 600MB while idle. That is already high for an app designed to display forecasts, temperatures, maps, and weather alerts.
The bigger issue appears when users interact with the app. Simple actions like zooming in and out on weather maps can cause memory usage to rise sharply. In some cases, the app has been observed reaching around 1.5GB of RAM, with spikes reportedly going as high as 1.6GB.
That is a significant amount of memory for a basic weather application, especially when compared with the Weather app on macOS, which can use less than 250MB of RAM. The difference highlights how much room Microsoft still has to improve the efficiency of its built-in Windows 11 apps.
Another point of frustration is the app’s advertising-heavy experience. Instead of feeling like a lightweight system utility, the Windows 11 Weather app can feel cluttered with promotional content while also using more memory than expected. For users who simply want to check the forecast quickly, that combination can be irritating.
The situation is more serious on PCs with limited RAM. When Windows 11 runs low on available memory, it may start relying on the SSD as temporary virtual memory. While this helps prevent crashes, it is much slower than physical RAM and can make the system feel sluggish. Users may notice apps taking longer to open, browser tabs reloading, or general delays while switching between tasks.
The problem is that many casual users may not immediately realize the Weather app is responsible. A person might assume their PC is aging, infected with malware, or simply not powerful enough for Windows 11, when in reality a single built-in app could be consuming a large share of available memory.
For those who do not use the Weather app often, the simplest solution is to uninstall it or prevent it from running in the background. Disabling background activity can help reduce unnecessary memory usage and keep system resources available for more important tasks, such as web browsing, office work, video calls, or gaming.
Users who rely on weather updates can still access forecasts through a browser, widgets, or other lightweight alternatives. Until Microsoft improves the app’s memory management, limiting its background access may be the best option for people trying to make Windows 11 run smoothly on 8GB RAM systems.
Microsoft has made efficiency promises for Windows 11, especially as many modern laptops still ship with 8GB of memory. But the Weather app shows that optimization is not just about the operating system itself. Built-in apps also need to be fast, clean, and resource-friendly.
If Microsoft wants Windows 11 to feel smooth on affordable hardware, apps like Weather need serious attention. A simple forecast app should not behave like a demanding productivity tool, and it should not take up over a gigabyte of RAM just to display basic weather information.
