Your Phone Might Have Hidden Storm Warnings You Don’t Know About

With three major storms hitting the UK in the space of a week, at the moment it's easier to assume it's going to be grim outside; but as most of us know, British weather can be notoriously unpredictable.

Whether you've left the house wrapped up in a coat and scarf only to end up sweating in bright sunshine later in the day, or got caught in an unexpected April shower despite being surrounded by blue skies, keeping tabs on conditions can seem like a pointless exercise most of the time.

iPhone weather app (Alamy)

Apple's weather app has a reputation for being, well, a bit useless in this area, but over the years the company has added a few hidden features that actually allow users to get more advanced information about the weather.

One of these features could come in especially handy during spells where winter storms are frequent, with the app offering 'Stay Dry' alerts that let you know when it's about to start raining.

If you've got an iPhone, and you're using the latest iOS 15 software update, it's actually pretty simple to access this feature.

First of all, make sure you can get notifications from your Weather app (Settings > Notifications > Weather > Allow Notifications).

Then, head over to the Weather app, and tap the icon in the bottom right corner. You should spot a tab that says 'Stay Dry' – click on that and then turn on the switch that says 'My Location'.

Once that's all done, your iPhone should be all set to ping you an alert whenever its about to start raining where you are.

Apple 'Stay Dry' alerts (Apple)

And if you're looking for more detailed information, your iPhone can now do that too. Simply open up the weather app, and tap the map icon in the bottom left corner of your screen. That will bring up a map of your local area, and from there you can view various information about rain, temperature and any extreme weather coming your way.

If you want to see how hard you're going to be hit by an incoming storm, for example, all you need to do is tap the three squares on the right hand side of the map, and select 'Precipitation'. That should bring you a rolling forecast of any rain storms, showers or snowfall around you, giving you a more accurate idea of when exactly storms and other precipitation is set to actually affect you.

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Topics: Weather, Apple, iPhone, Technology

Hannah Smith

Hannah is a London-based journalist covering news and features for UNILAD. She's especially interested in social and political activism and culture.