How to Use the Weather App on Your Phone (Step by Step)

Your phone already has a weather app, and opening it shows today's temperature and the hours ahead at a glance. On an iPhone it is the app with a sun-and-cloud icon, usually called Weather. On most Android phones it is built into Google or appears as a weather icon on the home screen. There is nothing to buy and nothing to set up beyond, at most, allowing it to use your location.

A weather app does more than show whether it is sunny right now. It gives you the hour-by-hour forecast, the next week ahead, the chance of rain, and warnings about storms or heat. Once you know where to tap, you can plan a walk, a garden afternoon, or a trip to see family around the weather instead of being caught out by it.

The steps below cover opening the app, reading the main screen, adding your own town and the towns of family you visit, and turning on the rain and storm alerts that warn you before bad weather arrives. The wording differs slightly between iPhone and Android, but the layout is similar on both.

Open the weather app and read the main screen

Find the app first. On an iPhone, look for a blue icon showing a sun behind a cloud, labelled Weather; if you cannot see it, swipe down on the home screen and type "weather" into the search bar at the top. On Android, look for a weather icon, or open the Google app and the weather appears near the top, or swipe right from your main home screen to find a weather panel.

1. Tap the weather icon to open the app.
2. The large number at the top is the current temperature where you are.
3. Just below it you usually see a short description such as "Partly cloudy" and the high and low expected for the day.
4. A row you can swipe left and right shows the next several hours, each with a small picture (sun, cloud, raindrop) and a temperature.

That single screen answers the everyday question of what to expect in the next few hours. The small pictures are the quickest guide: a sun means clear, a cloud means overcast, and raindrops mean rain is expected at that hour. A percentage near the raindrops, such as 40%, is the chance of rain at that time.

See the rest of the week and the chance of rain

Scroll down on the main screen to move from today into the days ahead. The daily forecast is the part most worth checking before you plan anything, because it tells you which day suits an outing and which day to stay in.

The weekly list shows each day with its own small weather picture and two numbers: the high and the low temperature for that day. Next to days with possible rain you will see a percentage, which is how likely rain is. A reading of 20% means rain is unlikely, while 70% or more means come prepared. Tapping a single day usually opens its own hour-by-hour breakdown, so you can see whether the rain is due in the morning or the evening.

On an iPhone you can also tap into sections lower down the screen for extra detail, such as wind speed, the UV level (how strong the sun is for your skin), sunrise and sunset times, and humidity. You do not need any of these for a quick check, but they are there when you want them, for example to know how warm to dress or when it will get dark.

Add your own town and places you visit

You can store more than one location, which is handy for checking the weather where your children or grandchildren live before you call or travel. The app keeps a list of places you can swipe between.

1. Open the weather app and look for a small list icon or a plus sign. On an iPhone it is usually the icon of three lines or a list at the bottom right corner.
2. Tap the plus sign (+) to add a place.
3. Type the name of the town or city into the search box that appears.
4. Tap the correct match from the list that drops down.
5. Tap Add or Done to save it.

Once you have added several places, you move between them by swiping left and right across the main screen, or by tapping a name in the list. Each saved location shows its own current weather and full forecast. This is the easy way to know whether to pack a coat for a visit, or simply to chat about the weather where your family lives.

Turn on rain and storm alerts

The phone can warn you before rain or severe weather arrives, so you are not caught out on a walk or in the garden. These alerts arrive as a small banner on your screen, the same way a text message does.

On an iPhone, open the weather app, tap the list icon, then the three-dots menu, and look for Notifications. You can switch on next-hour precipitation alerts (a warning that rain is about to start where you are) and severe weather alerts. The first time, the phone asks permission to use your location and to send notifications; tap Allow for both so the warnings can reach you.

On Android, the weather alerts often come through the Google app. Open Google, tap your profile picture, go to Settings, then Notifications, and turn on weather alerts if they are offered. Some phone brands, such as Samsung, have their own weather app with an alerts switch in its settings menu. Wherever the switch lives, allowing location and notifications is what lets the alert reach you in time.

A few handy extras

A weather widget puts the forecast right on your home screen so you see it without opening the app. On an iPhone, press and hold an empty part of the home screen until the icons wiggle, tap the plus sign at the top, search for Weather, and add the widget. On Android, press and hold an empty area, tap Widgets, and drag the weather widget into place. Now the temperature and a small picture sit on your screen all day.

You can also simply ask aloud. Hold the side button to start the voice assistant (Siri on iPhone, Google Assistant on Android) and say "What's the weather today?" or "Will it rain tomorrow?" The phone reads the answer back to you, which is the quickest option of all when your hands are busy or your eyes are tired.

With the app open, the week scrolled, your family's towns saved, and alerts switched on, you have everything most people ever need from a weather app. Check it in the morning over breakfast, glance at the widget through the day, and let the alerts handle the surprises.