How to get weather alerts on iPhone

Your iPhone can deliver weather alerts three ways. Government alerts arrive through the cellular network, the built-in Weather app can notify you, and a weather app of your choice can notify you for the places you save.

The instructions below were checked against Apple’s guidance on September 19, 2026.

Government alerts

Emergency alerts from government agencies, including some severe weather warnings, are on by default. To check, open Settings, choose Notifications, scroll to the bottom, and look under Government Alerts. Some alerts cannot be turned off, and the alerts available depend on your country and carrier. See Apple’s government alerts article.

Notifications from the built-in Weather app

The Weather app that comes with iPhone can notify you about severe weather and about rain or snow starting or stopping in the next hour. Open the Weather app, open the list of locations, tap the More button, and choose Notifications. Turn on Severe Weather and Next-Hour Precipitation for your current location or for a saved location. These features are not available in every country or region. See Apple’s weather notifications guide.

Notifications from Bold Weather

Bold Weather can notify you when a new official alert is issued for any of your saved locations. Turn notifications on or off for each location from that location’s settings in the app. Notifications use the same large type as the app. Read about alerts.

What the alert words mean

Weather agencies use a small set of words with specific meanings.

• Watch. Be prepared. Dangerous weather is possible, but its occurrence, location, or timing is still uncertain.
• Warning. Take action. Dangerous weather is expected or already happening.
• Advisory. Be aware. Conditions call for caution but are less serious than a warning.

In the United States these definitions come from the National Weather Service. See its watch, warning, and advisory definitions. In Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada uses warnings, watches, advisories, and special weather statements, with colors from yellow to orange to red as the risk increases. See the Canada.ca weather alerts page.

Heat and cold alerts

Heat advisories, extreme heat warnings, cold weather advisories, and extreme cold warnings follow the same words. The guides on heat advisories and wind chill explain the thresholds.

What this means for Bold Weather

Bold Weather shows every alert at the top of the screen in large type with the agency named, and adds a plain sentence below the title that says whether to prepare or act. Learn about the TestFlight beta.