DREICH
A still Highland loch between mountains under a heavy, even dreich sky, a faint break of pale light down the glen

DreichWeather

Scotland’s brutally honest weather.

Version 1.5 · Out now for iPhone

Dreich app icon: a stone letter D under a raincloud in a Highland glen Download on the App Store
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From the Scots

Dreary, grey, drizzly,
and thoroughly miserable.

dreich  ·  /driːx/  ·  adjective

A whole mood in six letters. Dreich is a weather companion that tells you the truth, the way we’d say it in Scotland. No false cheer, no pretending the sun’s about to break through. Just an honest read on the day, and a wee bit of character while it’s at it.

New in 1.5

The biggest update yet.

Version 1.5 brings company to the misery: save your places, keep an eye on your pals, and settle once and for all who’s got it worse.

Places & yer pals

Save the spots you care about and see their sky at a glance. Tag a place as a pal’s hame and Dreich keeps an eye on them, wherever they are.

The Dreich Face-Off

Your weather beside theirs, one card, one winner. Made for the group chat, settled by the scores.

Stamp a Photo, noo wi the camera

Snap the moment in the app and stamp it with the real sky, there and then. No staging a dreich one after the fact.

And forbye: clearer weather alerts, a sharper midge read, and a wheen of wee fixes.

The Dreich Score

Every day gets a score.

A single, honest number out of ten for how dreich it is out there, worked out from the real forecast and built so the verdict never argues with it. Share it as a card and let folk see exactly what you’re dealing with.

Dreich Score 0 card: not a hint of dreich
0   not a hint of dreich
Dreich Score 5 card: a bit dreich
5   a bit dreich
Dreich Score 8 card: pure dreich
8   pure dreich
Dreich Score 10 card: you'd greet into your tea
10   you’d greet into your tea

What’s inside

More than a forecast.

I

Atmospheric forecasts

Right now, hour by hour, and seven days out. Sun not included.

II

Midge Forecast

How bad the wee biters will be, tuned to your patch across the UK and Ireland.

III

Washing, fishing & hills

Honest day-ratings for drying the washing, casting a line, or taking to the tops.

IV

Campsite Checker

Search any spot in the UK or Ireland for rain, wind, temperature and midges.

V

Places & yer pals

Save other spots and keep an eye on yer pals wherever they are. A pal’s hame gets a wee tag of its own.

VI

The Dreich League

Scotland’s places ranked by how grim it is right now. Misery loves company.

VII

Weather alerts

A wee heads-up before the rain lands, so you can get the washing in.

VIII

Shareable cards

Your Dreich Score, a head-to-head Dreich Face-Off, and the daily report, all made for posting.

IX

Stamp a Photo

Snap the moment and stamp it with the real forecast, Dreich-branded.

X

A hidden surprise

There may be a little something for the curious. We’ll say no more.

The app

Built to be looked at.

Dreich app: the day's weather and Dreich Score for Kirriemuir under a heavy grey sky
The day, scored
Dreich app: the Midge Forecast on the Itcher Scale, reading 2, A Few Wee Nippers
Midge forecast
Dreich app: the Places tab, keeping an eye on yer pals in Dundee and Shrewsbury
Places & yer pals
Dreich app: the daily Dreich Report for Kirriemuir, a grey enough Sunday scored 3 out of 10
The daily report

Straight fae the app

Made for posting.

Every card comes out the app ready to send, from a head-to-head Face-Off to the state of the midges.

Dreich Midge Forecast share card: Itcher Scale 3, right annoying
3   right annoying
The Dreich Face-Off share card: a Highland cow between two scores, Shrewsbury 1 against Sandra in Forfar 3, captioned No much in it. But I'm winnin.
the dreich face-off
Dreich Midge Forecast share card: Itcher Scale 5, absolutely minging
5   absolutely minging

Questions

Aye, but…

What does “dreich” actually mean?

It’s Scots for dreary, bleak, grey and wet. The kind of day that settles in and stays. If you know, you know.

Where do the midge and fishing features work?

Across the UK and Ireland, tuned to your area. Further afield you’ll still get the weather, just not the midges.

Can I keep an eye on somewhere that’s no mine?

Aye. Save any spot in Places and tag it as a pal’s hame. You’ll see their sky beside yours, and when it comes to who’s got it worse, a Dreich Face-Off card settles it.

Is there a free trial?

Yes. Dreich Premium opens with a one-week free trial where offered, then £2.99 a month. Less than a dram, at today’s prices. There’s an annual plan if you’d rather one bill a year, and you can cancel any time before the trial ends.

Where does the weather come from?

Apple Weather. Dreich just gives it a Scottish telling. The underlying forecast is Apple’s.

What about my data?

No accounts, no trackers, no advertising. Your location is used only to fetch the forecast. See the Privacy Policy.

The story

Made by a homesick Scot.

I grew up in Kirriemuir, at the foot of the Angus glens. My childhood was fishing up Glen Clova, camping up Glen Doll and losing pints of blood to the midges, then heading to Loch Tay to lose a few more. I grew up used to the hills, the rain, and the particular grey that Scotland does better than anywhere.

I live in Shrewsbury now, with my English wife and our three boys. Nobody warns you that Shrewsbury is nearly as dreich as home. Dreich started at the kitchen table. I never stopped using the old words, and the boys picked them up. The app is me handing them a bit of where I’m from, one honest forecast at a time.

The first time we drove the west coast to Oban, my eldest looked out and said, “this is just like Wales but WAYYYY better.” I told him: next time we’re in Wales, say to yer mum, “this is just like Scotland, but no as good.”

A word on how it’s made. Dreich is built by one person, not a studio, so I’ve used AI tools to make things a solo dad otherwise couldn’t, some of the artwork included. The words, the humour and the Scots are mine. Anything to do with Scottish culture or folklore gets done properly, from the source and by Scottish hands, or it doesn’t go in. Over time the artwork will give way to photographs of real places.

Out now

It’s here. It’s dreich.

Dreich 1.5 is on the App Store now, with a one-week Premium free trial where offered.

Download on the App Store

For iPhone. Requires iOS 17 or later.

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A warm room with an armchair and a lamp, looking out through a rain-streaked window over a misty valley

Somewhere warm to watch the weather

Dreich Room is our ambience channel: cinematic Scottish weather and slow music, to work, read or sleep to.

Visit the Dreich Room