Notifications · Avalanche bulletin

Get notified when Météo-France publishes an avalanche bulletin

Choose the French massifs you follow in Alpow: when Météo-France publishes a new avalanche bulletin (BERA) for one of them, you get a notification quoting the published danger level. Tapping it opens the full bulletin. Free, no account.

By bonout, publisher of Alpow · published 6 November 2026

The official bulletin can always be read on meteofrance.com, with or without Alpow.

What triggers the notification

A new bulletin published by Météo-France, and nothing else. It is not an avalanche alert: Alpow does not detect avalanches, does not use your location to warn you, and does not replace Météo-France's Vigilance.

When: in season, the bulletin usually comes out in the afternoon, around 4 pm, for the next day. The time varies from day to day and from massif to massif. Alpow checks Météo-France at regular intervals, more often in the afternoon: the notification arrives after publication, with no guaranteed delay.
What it says: the massif, the day covered and the danger level with its official label, for example "Danger 3 (considerable) above 2,000 m, 2 (moderate) below", then "Up from today." when that is the case. If several of your massifs come out at once, one notification groups them.
Corrections: when Météo-France corrects a bulletin already published, Alpow sends a quiet "BERA updated" notification.
When tapped: the massif's bulletin opens in Alpow, with Météo-France's text quoted in its original French and the link to meteofrance.com.

Available settings

In Me › BERA alerts:

Followed massifs: one switch per massif in the French Alps and Pyrenees. You can also tap "Get this massif's BERA" from a bulletin.
Only if danger ≥: all levels by default, or from 2, 3, 4 or 5.
Only when rising: only when the level goes up compared with the previous bulletin.
Quiet hours: off by default. During the hours you pick, the notification waits until they end.
Send a test notification: to check that notifications reach your iPhone.

Your choice of massifs is kept on your iPhone and sent to Alpow's server with the device's notification address, so it knows what to send you. Your location is not used. See the privacy policy.

Alpow's Avalanche screen for the Haute-Tarentaise massif: danger by altitude, a sentence of the bulletin quoted as written, a "Read the full bulletin" link and a meteofrance.com link. — App screenshot with demo data: this is not a real bulletin or today's danger level. The dates shown are made up.

iOS permission and turning it off

iOS asks for permission the first time you follow a massif.
To stop one massif, turn off its switch in Me › BERA alerts.
To turn everything off, use Settings › Notifications › Alpow on your iPhone.

Troubleshooting

Nothing arrives: look at the "Status" section of Me › BERA alerts. It shows whether notifications are allowed, whether this iPhone is ready and whether the alert registration worked. If notifications are denied, Alpow offers to open Settings.
Out of season: Météo-France publishes no bulletin, so no notification is sent.
Filters: a danger threshold or "Only when rising" can explain why a published bulletin was not sent to you.
Focus: depending on your iOS settings, a Focus mode can hold back Alpow's notifications.

Neither this guide nor Alpow tells you whether a slope can be skied without risk.Alpow does not replace the official bulletin or your own judgement. In the mountains, you are responsible for your decisions.

Sources

Follow your massifs in Alpow