Before It Strikes
Before It Strikes
Not really. The built-in iPhone Weather app shows government severe weather alerts such as severe thunderstorm warnings, and it shows rain on its radar, but it does not track lightning strikes or warn you when lightning is approaching your location. Most lightning happens with no warning issued at all, because a warning requires a storm severe enough to meet wind or hail criteria, not simply lightning.
It relays official alerts from the National Weather Service, including severe thunderstorm and tornado warnings, and it shows a precipitation map. Both are useful, and Before It Strikes shows the same official alerts too.
Before It Strikes watches real-time lightning detection and warns you as a storm crosses the 15, 12 and 8 mile rings around your places, before the first nearby strike where it can. It shows the nearest strike's distance and direction, and it runs the countdown until it is safe to go back out. It is free on iOS and works alongside the built-in app. More on what it does.
It relays official severe weather alerts and shows rain, but it does not detect lightning or warn you when strikes approach. Most lightning occurs without any warning being issued.
A severe thunderstorm warning requires damaging wind or large hail. A storm that only produces lightning usually gets no warning, so a dedicated lightning app is needed for lightning itself.
Guidance on this page follows the National Weather Service lightning safety toolkit and the Lightning Safety Guide for Sports and Special Events published by CISA and the National Center for Spectator Sports Safety and Security (May 2026). Official NWS warnings always take precedence.
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