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Is Apple Weather accurate?

The built-in weather app on every iPhone and Mac, rebuilt on the Dark Sky engine Apple acquired in 2020.

Quick answer

Apple Weather does not run its own forecast - it blends public models like the NWS. In our last-30-day test that model scored well, but the app never shows you when the models disagree.

How Apple Weather makes its forecast. Apple does not run its own forecast model. It blends several public sources - including the US National Weather Service, ECMWF and others - into one clean number. That matters, because it means the accuracy you get from Apple Weather is really the accuracy of the models underneath it - the same models we test, in the open, against the recorded weather.

Our verdict. As accurate as the models underneath it, which are genuinely good - but it never shows you when those models disagree, so a confident-looking Apple forecast can hide a very uncertain day.

Which forecast is most accurate in the US?

CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
ProviderCheckWeather-scoreTempWindRainRun by
European logo
European ★ Best
Behind Apple Weather, Windy
89
/100rank #1
88±1.2°F96±1.2 mph8491% hitECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
American logo
American
Behind Windy & many free apps
73
/100rank #2
82±1.8°F93±2.3 mph4972% hitNOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA

The CheckWeather Score blends temperature, wind and rain accuracy, each measured against ERA5 (the recorded weather) over the last 30 days across 1999 cities. Lower error means a higher score. The apps you know (AccuWeather, Apple Weather, The Weather Channel) are built on these models.

Which forecast is most accurate in the UK?

CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
ProviderCheckWeather-scoreTempWindRainRun by
European logo
European ★ Best
Behind Apple Weather, Windy
91
/100rank #1
92±0.4°C97±1.0 mph8592% hitECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
Met Office logo
Met Office
Behind BBC Weather
84
/100rank #2
89±0.6°C96±1.4 mph6983% hitMet Office (United Kingdom)Exeter, United Kingdom
American logo
American
Behind Windy & many free apps
81
/100rank #3
84±0.9°C93±2.2 mph6983% hitNOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA

The CheckWeather Score blends temperature, wind and rain accuracy, each measured against ERA5 (the recorded weather) over the last 30 days across 1887 cities. Lower error means a higher score. The apps you know (AccuWeather, Apple Weather, The Weather Channel) are built on these models.

Which forecast is most accurate in Canada?

CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
ProviderCheckWeather-scoreTempWindRainRun by
European logo
European ★ Best
Behind Apple Weather, Windy
89
/100rank #1
90±0.6°C96±1.8 km/t8491% hitECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
EC
Env. Canada
Behind The Weather Network
77
/100rank #2
78±1.2°C94±3.0 km/t6581% hitEnvironment and Climate Change CanadaDorval, Québec, Canada
American logo
American
Behind Windy & many free apps
76
/100rank #3
82±1.0°C94±3.0 km/t5575% hitNOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA

The CheckWeather Score blends temperature, wind and rain accuracy, each measured against ERA5 (the recorded weather) over the last 30 days across 1304 cities. Lower error means a higher score. The apps you know (AccuWeather, Apple Weather, The Weather Channel) are built on these models.

Which forecast is most accurate in Australia?

CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
ProviderCheckWeather-scoreTempWindRainRun by
European logo
European ★ Best
Behind Apple Weather, Windy
88
/100rank #1
90±0.6°C96±2.1 km/t8089% hitECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
G
German
Behind Windy
83
/100rank #2
85±0.8°C95±2.4 km/t7184% hitDeutscher Wetterdienst (DWD)Offenbach am Main, Germany
American logo
American
Behind Windy & many free apps
80
/100rank #3
81±1.1°C92±3.8 km/t6983% hitNOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA

The CheckWeather Score blends temperature, wind and rain accuracy, each measured against ERA5 (the recorded weather) over the last 30 days across 1495 cities. Lower error means a higher score. The apps you know (AccuWeather, Apple Weather, The Weather Channel) are built on these models.

Which forecast is most accurate in New Zealand?

CheckWeather Score, graded against the weather that actually happened
ProviderCheckWeather-scoreTempWindRainRun by
European logo
European ★ Best
Behind Apple Weather, Windy
89
/100rank #1
91±0.5°C94±3.0 km/t8491% hitECMWF - European Centre for Medium-Range Weather ForecastsReading, United Kingdom
G
German
Behind Windy
83
/100rank #2
90±0.6°C93±3.6 km/t6782% hitDeutscher Wetterdienst (DWD)Offenbach am Main, Germany
American logo
American
Behind Windy & many free apps
80
/100rank #3
85±0.8°C89±5.7 km/t6983% hitNOAA / NCEP (United States)College Park, Maryland, USA

The CheckWeather Score blends temperature, wind and rain accuracy, each measured against ERA5 (the recorded weather) over the last 30 days across 244 cities. Lower error means a higher score. The apps you know (AccuWeather, Apple Weather, The Weather Channel) are built on these models.

Scoreboardet, model for model

CheckWeather-score, målt mod det vejr der faktisk kom
UdbyderCheckWeather-scoreTemperaturNedbørDrives af
TV
TV2 Vejret ★ Bedst
91
/100nr. 1
89±0,5°C99% af dagene ramtECMWFEuropæisk vejrcenter, Reading, England
D
DMI
81
/100nr. 2
56±1,0°C90% af dagene ramtDMIDanmarks Meteorologiske Institut, København
Y
YR
76
/100nr. 3
40±1,4°C80% af dagene ramtMET NorwayMeteorologisk institutt, Oslo

CheckWeather-score lægger præcisionen på temperatur, vind og nedbør sammen, hver især målt mod ERA5, altså det vejr der faktisk blev registreret, over 45 dage frem til 25. august 2026 i 50 byer. Mindre fejl giver højere score.

Common questions

Is Apple Weather accurate?
As accurate as the models underneath it, which are genuinely good - but it never shows you when those models disagree, so a confident-looking Apple forecast can hide a very uncertain day.
What forecast model does Apple Weather use?
Apple does not run its own forecast model. It blends several public sources - including the US National Weather Service, ECMWF and others - into one clean number.
Which is more accurate - Apple Weather or the raw models?
Apple Weather is built on the raw models, so it can only be as good as they are on a given day. The advantage of comparing the models directly, the way we do, is that you also see the disagreement between them - the single best signal of how much to trust today's forecast, and something Apple Weather does not show.

Compare the forecasts yourself