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This hidden iPhone setting warns you when it’s about to snow

Updated Jan 5th, 2023 10:33AM EST
An iPhone 13 Pro on a table next to Apple AirPods
Image: Christian de Looper for BGR

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Amid the flurry of new features that Apple added to iOS 15 is the ability to set up notifications for specific weather events like snow or rain. It is, after all, nothing short of frustrating to leave your home only to find yourself stuck in a downpour 5 minutes later. With that in mind, the iPhone Weather app in iOS 15 has a new feature designed to make your life just a little bit easier. And while one can easily look at the Weather app before leaving the house, the reality is that not everyone remembers to do this all the time.

As an aside, iOS 15 may not have a singular killer feature, but the update is nonetheless brimming with a myriad of features that make the update worthwhile. If you’re new to iOS 15, or even if you simply haven’t had a chance to fully explore the new OS, we recently put together a list of hidden iOS 15 features that are worth taking a look at.

How to set up snow and rain alerts on your iPhone

As mentioned above, the first thing you’ll want to do is make sure you’ve updated to iOS 15. You can check this quickly by going to Settings > General.

If you have iOS 15 up and running, it’s time to begin. To get started, open the Settings app up again. Next, hit the Privacy pane. After that, select Location Services and then scroll down and tap on the Weather option. Once selected, you’ll see an option for when you’d like the Weather app to access your location. Make sure to select the Always option.

Now it’s on to step two. Open up the iPhone Weather app. Next, tap the hamburger menu located on the bottom right side of the display.

You might see a Stay Dry card appear. If so, select the “Turn On Notifications” setting. If you don’t see the Stay Dry pane, tap the ellipsis icon in the upper right-hand corner. From there, select the Notifications option from the menu and turn the location toggles on.

Once you do all this, you’ll start receiving rain and snow notifications automatically. In practice, you’ll see alerts notifying you as to when it may start raining or snowing, along with alerts indicating when the rain and snow may come to an end.

Incidentally, the iPhone Weather app in iOS 15 has another feature that allows you to explore a hidden map so you can see exactly where it’s going to rain or snow. We covered this specific feature in-depth back in November.

Yoni Heisler Contributing Writer

Yoni Heisler has been writing about Apple and the tech industry at large with over 15 years of experience. A life long expert Mac user and Apple expert, his writing has appeared in Edible Apple, Network World, MacLife, Macworld UK, and TUAW.

When not analyzing the latest happenings with Apple, Yoni enjoys catching Improv shows in Chicago, playing soccer, and cultivating new TV show addictions.