Apple’s Weather app now uses Apple’s own WeatherKit service, which combines Apple’s in‑house forecast system with data from government meteorological agencies and other third‑party providers. Earlier iOS versions relied mainly on The Weather Channel, but this was phased out in favor of Apple’s internal platform after the Dark Sky acquisition.

Apple’s Main Weather Sources

  • Apple Weather / WeatherKit platform :
    Apple operates its own forecasting backend, branded as WeatherKit, which powers the Weather app across iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. WeatherKit grew out of Apple’s acquisition of Dark Sky and now exposes the same data to developers via APIs.
  • Government weather agencies :
    Apple’s system ingests data from agencies such as NOAA/National Weather Service in the US, the UK Met Office, and Environment Canada, among others. These provide observations, radar, and numerical forecast models that Apple’s platform can blend and post‑process.

Role of Dark Sky and The Weather Channel

  • Dark Sky technology and data :
    Apple bought Dark Sky in 2020 and integrated its hyperlocal forecasting techniques into Apple Weather, including minute‑by‑minute precipitation and very localized forecasts. While the standalone Dark Sky app and API were shut down, its models and methods remain embedded in Apple’s system.
  • Past use of The Weather Channel :
    On older systems (roughly iOS 15.2 and earlier), Apple’s default Weather app sourced forecasts primarily from The Weather Channel. With iOS 16 and later, those forecasts were replaced by Apple’s own WeatherKit‑driven data.

How Apple Combines the Data

  • Multi‑source aggregation :
    Apple Weather does not depend on a single vendor; it combines feeds from government services, commercial providers, and its Dark‑Sky‑derived models to improve coverage and reliability. This blending allows Apple to fine‑tune forecasts per region and offer detailed elements like hourly precipitation, UV index, and historical comparisons.
  • Exposed to apps via WeatherKit :
    Third‑party apps can tap into the same underlying data using Apple’s WeatherKit APIs, meaning the forecasts you see in many modern iOS apps may come from the same Apple weather backend.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.