Rain alerts in Forecast Bar, in short
- What you get
- A push notification when rain or snow is expected to start — or stop — at your location in the near future.
- Once it starts
- A Live Activity on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island charts precipitation intensity minute by minute, and dismisses itself when the rain ends.
- Where it works
- Worldwide. Precipitation nowcasts are not limited to the US.
- Requirements
- Live Activities need iOS 17.2 or later; the alerts themselves work on iOS 16 and up.
- Quiet hours
- You define a window where routine alerts are held, so overnight showers don't wake you.
- Plan
- Precipitation alerts and the Live Activity are part of Forecast Bar Gold.
A warning while you can still do something about it.
An alert that fires as the first drops land is a weather report, not a warning. Forecast Bar's precipitation nowcast tells you rain is coming to your location while there's still time to grab a coat, move the bike, or leave five minutes earlier.
- Notification when precipitation is expected to start nearby
- And when it's expected to stop, so you know when to head out
- Snow and mixed precipitation, not just rain
- Works for your current location or any location you monitor
The alert turns into a tracker on your Lock Screen.
Once rain starts, the question changes from "is it coming?" to "how long?". The Precipitation Live Activity answers that without you opening anything: a minute-by-minute intensity chart on the Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island, updating as the storm moves through.
- Minute-by-minute intensity chart on the Lock Screen
- Dynamic Island support on iPhone 14 Pro and later
- Starts on its own when rain begins — no app launch needed
- Dismisses itself once the precipitation has passed
A precipitation chart for the hours around it.
Sometimes you need more than the next hour. Forecast Bar's precipitation chart shows intensity across the coming hours so you can see whether this is a passing shower or the leading edge of an afternoon of it — with accumulation totals for snow.
- Hour-by-hour precipitation intensity and chance
- Snow accumulation totals where relevant
- Animated radar to see exactly where the band is
- Future radar to see where it's heading
An honest note: nowcasts are short-range by nature.
Minute-level precipitation forecasting works by extrapolating what radar and model data show right now. It's genuinely good over the next hour and gets progressively less certain after that — which is why the Live Activity retires itself rather than showing you stale numbers.
Convective summer storms are the hardest case: a cell can form more or less on top of you with very little warning. For those, the animated radar and severe weather alerts do more work than the nowcast does.
Questions about rain alerts
Can Forecast Bar tell me before it starts raining?
What is the precipitation Live Activity?
Do I have to open the app for the Live Activity to start?
Will rain alerts wake me up at night?
Do rain alerts work outside the United States?
Can I get rain alerts for somewhere other than where I am?
How much does Forecast Bar cost?
Get the five minutes' warning that actually helps.
Try precipitation alerts and the Live Activity free for 24 hours.
Free 24-hour access, then optional subscription with 7-day trial. Mac and iOS plans are separate; Apple TV is included with Forecast Bar Gold on iOS.
More from Forecast Bar
Weather Live Activity & Dynamic Island
A minute-by-minute rain chart that lives on your Lock Screen and in the Dynamic Island while it rains.
Weather radar for iPhone & iPad
Animated radar with future radar, live lightning, satellite, and warning polygons on the map.
Severe weather alerts
NWS and Environment Canada warnings at the moment of issue, with critical alerts that break through Do Not Disturb.