People are only just discovering what the rain percentage really means on iPhone weather app

People on Reddit have begun discussing what the percentages mean on the weather app, and someone broke it down as simply as possible.

Because technology is awesome, instead of having to wait and see (or wish) for the best, we can now check our phone's weather app to find out if it is going to rain or not in the near future.

Most can’t even imagine trying to plan their outside activities without at least having a general idea of what the weather is going to be like.

But with a gun to your head, do you know what the percentage chance of rain actually means when you look at it on your iPhone?

Well, you needn't live in confusion any longer, because a Reddit hero has explained how it all works.

User Wonderscout1 revealed they had finally come to understanding the percentages when it comes to the weather app.

Do you really know what you're looking at when you check the weather app? (Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Writing on the Today I Learned Reddit board, they wrote: “I’ve had to start using my local weather app I’ve learned something new.

“If the forecaster was 80% certain that rain would develop but only expected to cover 50% of the forecast area, then the forecast would read 'a 40% chance of rain' for any given location.

“If the forecaster expected a widespread area of precipitation with 100% coverage to approach, but he/she was only 40% certain that it would reach the forecast area, this would, as well, result in a '40% chance of rain' at any given location in the forecast area."

Some users admitted that this didn’t really make much sense to them, and they were still confused... fair enough.

Other users leapt in to add on that the percentage basically means ‘the probability that any specific spot in an area will get rain’.

They added: “There’s the area (city/county/whatever) and the specific spot (e.g. where you are). The probability of rain in a specific spot is estimated as the probability of rain anywhere in the area times the % of the area the rain covers.”

She doesn't even need that umbrella... (Getty Stock Image)

Other users found this whole thing rather amusing with some remarking that people simply didn’t understand weather apps but would often complain.

One user wrote: “This has always been a pet peeve of mine on this sub since the first 'apple weather bad, maahh!' post, people complaining that it's not raining directly on the curb they're standing on when the weather app (or any weather app) says x% chance of rain.”

Another joked: “I’m convinced that meteorology is just one big inside joke. It started out as a bit of fun like astrology, but now they’re in way too deep because all these people actually depend on knowing what the weather’s going to be like.”

With a third simply adding: “Instructions unclear, proceeds to go out shirtless.”