Weather, Air Pressure and Migraine: Honest Logging
Does the weather or a falling barometric pressure bring your migraine? Keep honest notes of attacks and conditions, and let your team read the pattern.
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Some people say they feel a warm, dry wind such as the foehn or the chinook in their head. Others notice a migraine landing just as the air pressure falls. That weather and migraine are linked sounds plausible, yet the research is not settled. Instead of assuming one cause, you record when your attacks come and what happened on those days. Keep it on paper or in the migraine diary in Sam, which turns your course into a doctor report as a PDF. So your team sees a pattern without you having to explain the link yourself.
What the research really says about weather and migraine
Many people with migraine name the weather as a trigger. The evidence behind it stays mixed. The American Migraine Foundation notes that research has yet to find a definitive link between weather changes and migraine attacks, although more than a third of people with migraine say weather changes noticeably affect their symptoms.
A 2023 study in the journal Headache followed 4,375 users of a Japanese smartphone headache-diary app. It linked low barometric pressure, pressure drops, higher humidity and rainfall to more headaches. It was an observational study of headaches in general, and a group result does not say what happens for you. A 2024 review in Current Pain and Headache Reports describes the results of recent studies as inconsistent. It cites a weather effect of around 20% on attacks, with large differences between individuals.
Two things follow. First, there is no settled statement that one kind of weather brings on an attack for you. Second, some people still report their own patterns. So it makes sense to collect your own data instead of guessing. The line between pattern and cause is better left to your care team.
What to record for each attack
Note on the day of the attack, not weeks later: when it began, how strong it was, how long it lasted, which symptoms came with it, and whether an aura came first. Add a note that hints at what stood out that day. This is not a diagnosis. It is material for the conversation with your doctor.
You do not have to judge whether a foehn or chinook is blowing. What matters more than your guess is that your entries are complete, because a pattern shows only over many entries. For an honest picture, record the days without attacks too.
How the air pressure can sit next to your entry
When an attack starts today, values from Apple Health sit next to the entry in Sam, for example sleep and heart rate variability. If you share your location and the data is available, the air pressure in hectopascals comes along too. That is all Sam does: it adds the number. It does not say whether the wind is to blame.
These values are context, not a finding. Sam makes no weather statement and claims no link; it only puts data side by side. Whether the number means anything for you is settled at the appointment. Mild discomfort outside an attack goes into the symptom diary.
What your doctor report makes of the course
In Sam your attack diary lives inside the program for migraine. A program here means your own diary with a doctor report and a monthly questionnaire, not a treatment plan. It starts after you confirm that a doctor has established migraine.
The doctor report as a PDF summarises your entries for the period you choose. It counts your migraine days and shows when they fell. So your practice sees whether attacks cluster around certain days or times, and you can lay your weather notes next to it instead of trusting memory. Your care team puts the link in context, not the app on its own.
For more on spotting patterns, see our guides to migraine triggers: sleep and stress tracking and to migraine symptoms, aura and phases. Whether weather plays a part for you will show only in your own, week-by-week course.
When a headache suddenly becomes dangerous
A headache with a weather change is not a reason for concern on its own. Other signs are. The NHS says to get urgent help if a headache comes on suddenly and is extremely painful, or if you have problems speaking, lose or blur your vision, or feel weak down one side. Use your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US). This applies even if you know migraine with aura.
You do not have to decide alone whether it is aura or something else. If in doubt, call. Sam cannot recognise such signs and cannot sort them. Discomfort that can wait until tomorrow is a topic for your doctor.
Record attacks and weather in Sam and take a report
You go to the appointment with a course that shows your attacks and the conditions beside them, instead of retelling weeks from memory.
- Instead of loose notes: you enter onset, strength, duration, aura and symptoms in a few seconds, and new entries for today carry sleep and heart rate variability from Apple Health, plus air pressure when you share your location.
- Instead of memory: the doctor report as a PDF for the period you choose shows when your migraine days fell. You print it or show it on your phone.
- Instead of filling forms in the waiting room: a short check-in arrives once a month, and the course sits in the report.
Sam does not forecast the weather and does not foresee an attack. The program for migraine starts after you confirm a doctor-established migraine.
Try Sam for freeSam is a wellness companion, not a medical device. The app does not diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any condition or health state. Always consult qualified professionals for medical decisions.
Related reading
- Newly told you have migraine? First weeks
- Migraine triggers: sleep and stress tracking
- Migraine symptoms, aura and phases
- Sleep, resting heart rate and migraine with Apple Health
Sources
Updated: October 2026
- The Migraine Trust: Can weather changes trigger a migraine attack?
- American Migraine Foundation: Barometric pressure and migraine
- Katsuki M et al., Headache 2023: Investigating the effects of weather on headache occurrence using a smartphone application and artificial intelligence
- Current Pain and Headache Reports (2024): Whether weather matters with migraine
- NHS: Migraine
More on Migraine
- See the program for Migraine
- For family members: Migraine
- With a second condition: Migraine and Epilepsy
- With a second condition: Migraine and Panic Disorder
- See the doctor report
- Keep your medication and reminders in one list
- Keep a diary of your symptoms and complaints
- Share what you record with family
- Calculate your MIDAS migraine score (free tool)
Frequently Asked Questions
Can weather or falling air pressure trigger a migraine attack?+
The research is not settled. The American Migraine Foundation says research has yet to find a definitive link. Some people report a link between weather and their attacks; studies do not confirm one. Whether weather matters for you shows up only in your own course, and your team puts that in context.
Am I weather-sensitive if my migraine comes with a change in pressure?+
Not from a few striking days alone. Weather sensitivity is not a diagnosis, and it varies from person to person. Record your attacks and the conditions around them, then talk the course through with your doctor. A link is not the same as a cause.
What should I record around the weather for each attack?+
Note when it started, how strong it was, how long it lasted, which symptoms came with it, whether an aura came first, and what stood out that day. When a value is available, the air pressure can sit next to the entry. Sam does not interpret this; it only puts your entries side by side.
Will the app tell me when the weather will bring an attack?+
No. Sam does not forecast the weather and does not claim a link. It only shows what stood next to your days. What your records mean is for your doctor to discuss with you, not for an app to decide.
Is a headache during a wind change dangerous?+
A headache with a weather change is not a reason for concern on its own. Other signs are. If a headache suddenly becomes the most severe you have ever felt, or if you have new problems with speech, vision or weakness in an arm or leg, use your local emergency number (112 in the EU, 999 in the UK, 911 in the US).