The more informed you are about upcoming inclement weather, the better prepared you’ll be to keep yourself warm (and dry). Your iPhone can actually help you keep from getting soaked or alert you to the fact that it’s time to leave that party or the office before you get stuck in a snow storm that’s sure to jam up traffic. An app already installed on your phone — Apple’s weather app — is built with a nifty feature that tells you ahead of time when weather is expected to turn nasty in your area.
To take advantage of this feature, you will have to make a few changes in your app’s settings. Here’s what you need to know about the secret iPhone setting that texts you before it severely rains or snows.
Precise Location
As you already know, your weather app does a fairly decent job of predicting upcoming weather trends in your area and beyond. All you have to do is easily change the location to a different city, state, or country if you plan on traveling. But by enabling “precise location” on your iPhone’s weather app, you give it yet another amazing power: it will be able to send you alerts if an intense rain or snow shower is headed your way. Once you receive the alert you can take shelter or prepare however is best so that you aren’t caught off guard.
To take advantage of this unique and convenient feature on your phone, go to Settings > Privacy & Security > Location Services, and choose Weather. Tap on “Always” and then tap on “Precise Location.” Go back into the Weather app. Tap on the menu icon in the bottom-right corner and tap on Notifications. In the section “Current Location” you’ll find two options: Severe Weather and Next-Hour Precipitation. Toggle both of these on so that you will receive more current alerts and updates about rain and snow, as well as severe weather updates that include conditions such as flooding, tornadoes, and more.
If you decide that receiving notifications from the Weather app is too much a nuisance for you, you’ll always have the option to go back into settings and disable these alerts.
