How to Set up Rain and Snow Alerts on Your IPhone
Weather forecasts can be helpful for planning ahead, but knowing it will rain soon, right before it actually starts, can save you the headache of literally getting caught in a storm. If you’ve updated to the latest iOS 15, you can now set up real-time precipitation notifications right in Apple’s built-in Weather app. Here’s how.
How to set up rain and snow alerts
You can turn on precipitation alerts for your current location as well as saved locations, but first you need to give the app permission to use your location. To do this, go to iPhone Settings > Privacy> Location Services> Weather and select Always .
Go back to “Weather” and click on “Options” (three horizontal lines) in the lower right corner. Click on the three dots in the upper right corner on the next screen (in your list of locations) and click on ” Notifications . “
If a pop-up window appears asking you to allow notifications, click Continue> Allow . Switch which places you want to be notified about.
You will now receive alerts whenever rain or snow is expected to start or stop in your chosen locations. If you need to add locations, tap the options, then the three dots and select Edit List . Find the city you want and click ” Add” .
How to set up other app weather alerts
The Weather app is definitely improved with this update, but if you need other options for real-time alerts, there are third-party alternatives. Dark Sky offers a solid user experience, especially with its notifications, although Apple bought the company last year and plans to close the app by the end of 2022 (the Android version is already dead).
Carrots are another option for the stinging weather alerts that are a feature of the Ultra Premium subscription . And the NOAA Clime app provides rain and lightning alerts, also at a premium price.
Note that many weather alerts won’t be able to get out of focus mode on iOS 15 – only apps that have a “time-aware” feature will deliver updates. For example, Carrot has this feature, but Weather does not. Go to Settings > Notifications and select the app you want to view options and customize how you receive breakout alerts.