Severe weather alerts in Forecast Bar, in short
- Sources
- The US National Weather Service (NOAA) and Environment and Climate Change Canada.
- Timing
- Pushed at the moment the warning is issued, rather than whenever the app next refreshes.
- Critical alerts
- Tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood, tropical storm, hurricane, winter storm, and child abduction alerts can be set to sound even during Do Not Disturb.
- Mute filters
- Any alert type you don't want — coastal flood advisories, dense fog — can be silenced without turning the rest off.
- Locations
- Alert on your current location, plus any other locations you add to the monitored list.
- On the map
- Active warnings are drawn as polygons on the radar map, so you can see whether the warning actually covers you.
The same warnings the sirens run on.
Forecast Bar's severe weather alerts come straight from the National Weather Service in the US and Environment and Climate Change Canada in Canada — the official issuing authorities. They're pushed when the warning is issued, not when your phone next happens to refresh.
- US warnings, watches, and advisories from the NWS
- Canadian warnings from Environment and Climate Change Canada
- Delivered at the moment of issue
- Full alert text, affected area, and expiry time
Critical alerts break through Do Not Disturb.
A tornado warning at 2 a.m. is exactly the notification that should ignore your Focus settings — and a dense fog advisory is exactly the one that shouldn't. Forecast Bar lets you nominate which alert types are critical, and mute the rest individually.
- Tornado, severe thunderstorm, and flash flood warnings
- Tropical storm, hurricane, and winter storm warnings
- Child abduction (AMBER) alerts
- Mute filters for advisory types you never act on
Warning polygons drawn on the radar map.
County-level alerts routinely cover people nowhere near the storm. Forecast Bar draws the actual warning polygon on the radar map next to the precipitation, so you can see at a glance whether the warning covers your street or the far end of the county.
- Warning polygons over animated radar
- Live lightning strikes on the same map
- Future radar to see where the cell is heading
- Multiple monitored locations — home, work, family
An honest note about coverage — and about relying on any app.
Severe weather alerts are delivered for the United States and Canada, from the NWS and Environment and Climate Change Canada respectively. Elsewhere, Forecast Bar's other alert types — precipitation nowcasts, custom thresholds, earthquakes, astronomy, tides — work worldwide, but there is no official severe weather feed.
More importantly: no app should be your only warning. Push notifications depend on a working network, a charged phone, and Apple's delivery infrastructure. Keep Wireless Emergency Alerts turned on, and if you live somewhere with genuine tornado risk, keep a NOAA weather radio.
Questions about severe weather alerts
Where do Forecast Bar's severe weather alerts come from?
Do severe weather alerts work in Canada?
Can severe weather alerts break through Do Not Disturb?
Can I turn off the alert types I don't care about?
Can I get alerts for more than one location?
Do severe weather alerts work outside the US and Canada?
How much does Forecast Bar cost?
Be told when it's actually serious.
Try severe weather alerts, critical alerts, and mute filters 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
Rain alerts & precipitation nowcasts
Know before it starts, and watch it minute by minute on your Lock Screen once it does.
Weather radar for iPhone & iPad
Animated radar with future radar, live lightning, satellite, and warning polygons on the map.
Earthquake alerts
USGS-sourced earthquake notifications with magnitude, distance, and predicted shaking at your location.