Description: Create an inspection that opens automatically when rain falls on a site or is forecast, and set the threshold that triggers it.
Overview
A weather-triggered inspection opens automatically when the weather at a site crosses a threshold you set — either rain that has already fallen, or rain that's forecast.
ComplianceGo measures precipitation at the site's own latitude and longitude, so the trigger reflects what happened at that site rather than at the nearest airport or weather station.
Before You Begin
You need edit access to the site.
The inspection form you want to use must already exist for your organization.
The site needs accurate coordinates, since precipitation is matched to the site's location.
The Two Trigger Types
Choose based on whether you inspect after the rain or ahead of it.
Trigger | Fires when | Use it for |
Post Weather Event | Rain that has already fallen reaches your threshold | Inspections required after a qualifying storm |
Pre-Weather Event | The forecast chance of rain reaches your threshold | Preparing a site before a storm arrives |
You can set up both on the same site. They're tracked separately.
Starting a New Inspection
Open the site.
Under Assignments and Management, click Inspections and Weather Events.
Click + Inspection.
On Select Inspection Form, click the + icon next to the form you want. Use the eye icon to preview a form first.
Choose Add as Scheduled Inspections, Weather Events, and Controls.
Choosing the Weather Trigger
Under Inspection Trigger, click Weather Event.
Choose Post Weather Event or Pre-Weather Event.
Setting the Threshold
For Post Weather Event, an Amount of precipitation row appears. Pick the rainfall that should trigger the inspection:
.1" · .2" · .25" · .5" · .75" · 1"
For Pre-Weather Event, a Probability of precipitation row appears instead. Pick the forecast chance that should trigger it:
10% · 25% · 50% · 75% · 100%
Set this to match your permit.
Setting the Remaining Options
Weather History — include weather since the last inspection with the inspection report.
7 Day Forecast — include the 7-day forecast from the day of inspection in the report. Only appears if your organization has that feature.
Hide Start Inspection Link — turn this on to keep the inspection from being started directly from the site page. The common reason is notify-only: you want to be told when the threshold is crossed, but you don't want to use this form to conduct the inspection.
Under Assigned Individuals (Optional), choose the inspectors assigned to the triggered inspection.
📝 Only people with an inspector role on this site can be assigned.
Saving the Inspection
Click Add.
The inspection appears under the Weather group on Inspections and Weather Events, showing its type and threshold — for example, Post-Weather - Threshold: 0.50 inches.
What Happens Next
ComplianceGo checks each site's weather hourly.
When a site crosses its threshold, an alert is sent to the site's notification recipients — but only to those with the matching switch on. Weather Post-Event covers rain that has fallen and Weather Pre-Event (Forecast) covers forecast rain; with neither switched on, the alert reaches nobody.
The inspection becomes available on the site, under Available Weather Inspections.
The alert appears on your dashboard under Weather Alerts and stays visible there for 48 hours from when it was sent.
💡 You'll see this called both an event and an alert depending on where you are. The setup screens say Weather Event, and the notification switches say Weather Post-Event and Weather Pre-Event (Forecast). Your dashboard calls the same thing Weather Alerts. They're the same feature.
⚠️ After an alert fires, you won't get another of the same type for 24 hours. The quiet period stops a long storm from sending you the same alert over and over. If the threshold is crossed again inside that 24-hour window, no second alert is sent. Precipitation alerts and forecast alerts have separate 24-hour windows, so one does not silence the other.
📝 Completing the inspection extends the quiet period. If you complete a weather inspection while that 24-hour window is still running, the window restarts from the inspection's date. That means the total quiet stretch can approach 48 hours.
Your dashboard count doesn't move when you complete the inspection. The 48-hour dashboard window stays anchored to the original alert — it counts alerts that were sent, not inspections that were done.
📝 A weather inspection never counts as Missed or Late. It only ever appears under Weather Alerts, so an uncompleted one won't turn into a missed-inspection figure against the site the way a scheduled inspection would.
FAQ
Q: It rained but I never got an alert.
A: An alert of that type most likely fired already in the last 24 hours, and the quiet period suppressed the second one. Check Weather Alerts on your dashboard for the earlier alert — this is expected behavior, not a fault.
Q: The rainfall total looks lower than what actually fell.
A: Precipitation is measured at the site's mapped location, not the nearest weather station or airport. Check the site's coordinates on the site's edit page.
Q: I got an alert but there's no inspection to start.
A: The inspection exists but is hidden from the site page. Check whether Hide Start Inspection Link is turned on for this inspection.
Q: Nobody on my team was notified.
A: The site's notification recipients aren't subscribed to weather notifications. Open Notification Recipients on the site and switch on Weather Post-Event or Weather Pre-Event (Forecast) for the right people.
Q: The threshold my permit requires isn't in the list.
A: Only the listed values are available. Choose the closest value below your requirement, so the inspection triggers rather than being missed.
Q: Do I need a separate setup for rain that already fell and rain that's forecast?
A: Yes. Post Weather Event and Pre-Weather Event are set up separately and tracked separately, and you can have both on the same site.
Related articles
Scheduling a Recurring Inspection
Understanding Inspection Statuses
Setting Up Notification Recipients for a Site