Privacy Policy

1. What this policy covers

This policy describes information handled by SnowDayAlerts.com when you use forecasts, email alerts, contact forms, and Winter Help. You can check a forecast without creating an account. Please avoid including sensitive personal information in messages.

2. ZIP searches and site activity

We process the ZIP you enter to find a location and obtain weather forecasts. The application records ZIP-related activity, event type, time, source, and a visitor identifier where the database is configured. The identifier may come from a first-party cookie, a link parameter, or a hash derived from IP address and browser information. A hashed identifier is not necessarily anonymous.

Some subscription and alert events can associate a ZIP with an email address or subscriber record. Depending on the installed logging schema, event records may also include IP address, browser information, and referring URL. Hosting and server logs may record IP addresses, requested URLs, timestamps, and errors. Links containing alert-management tokens may appear in logs; keep those links private.

3. Email subscriptions

When you request alerts, we collect your email address, selected ZIPs, threshold and frequency settings, subscription status, and confirmation/management tokens. The application keeps subscription and email-delivery event records, including timestamps and, for some events, IP address and browser information. New email addresses require confirmation before alerts are activated.

Our email service processes addresses and message content to deliver confirmation messages and alerts. You can use the management or unsubscribe link in an email. Unsubscribing changes subscription status; it does not automatically erase historical records. Contact us if you want to request deletion.

4. Contact messages

The contact form sends your message, optional name/email, IP address, browser information, and timestamp to the site’s contact mailbox. We use this information to respond, troubleshoot, and prevent abuse. Message copies may remain with the mailbox/email provider. Do not use this form for emergencies.

5. Optional device and approximate location

You can enter a ZIP manually. If you choose “Use my location” and grant browser permission, the browser obtains coordinates and sends them directly to OpenStreetMap’s Nominatim service to look up a postal code. That service receives the coordinates and normal connection information such as IP address. The site then uses the resulting ZIP for the forecast. The application’s forecast request uses a ZIP rather than your device coordinates.

Some incoming links using the site’s /go route try to infer a ZIP from your IP address through ipapi.co and, if needed, IP-API. This is approximate, can be wrong, and does not require browser GPS permission. You can edit the ZIP. Open-Meteo receives ZIP lookup requests and weather requests for the resulting geographic location; Nominatim is also a fallback for server ZIP lookup.

6. Cookies, browser storage, and analytics

The application uses a first-party visitor cookie, sda_uid by default, with a default lifetime of one year. Local storage keeps favorite ZIPs, the last ZIP, signup/dismissal preferences, and an email-submission marker. Some signup paths also store the submitted email and timestamp in your browser. On a shared device, clear site storage if you do not want these details retained locally.

Google Analytics is included on selected pages to measure visits and usage. It may use cookies and receive page URLs, device/browser information, and connection information. See Google’s explanation of data use on partner sites and its Analytics opt-out browser add-on. Analytics account settings and data retention can affect processing.

Some pages request Bootstrap styles from jsDelivr, which receives ordinary connection information. Choosing a social-share link opens the selected platform, whose privacy practices apply. Clearing browser cookies and site storage removes locally saved preferences but does not delete server records. You can also revoke location permission in your browser.

7. Future commercial referrals

Compensated referral offers and their analytics are currently disabled. No Lead Smart integration is active, and the site does not currently send referral data to that network. If compensated offers are introduced, the relationship will be disclosed near each offer, and availability may vary by location. Commercial relationships do not influence forecasts.

The prepared referral event format is limited to an impression or click, an internal offer identifier, ZIP when available, service category, timestamp, a controlled page/source label, and a broad weather-context label. It excludes email addresses, phone numbers, GPS coordinates, subscriber identifiers, and raw referring URLs. No referral events are collected while the feature is disabled. Ordinary hosting logs are separate from this event format.

Before activation, the event-storage and retention arrangements will be reviewed and this policy updated as needed. If you later choose to call or visit a third-party provider, its terms and privacy practices will apply. Information you give that provider, including any call-related processing, must be explained by that provider and any applicable offer disclosure.

8. Use, service providers, and retention

Information is used to deliver forecasts and requested messages, maintain the site, measure usage, and investigate abuse or errors. Hosting, database, email, weather, geocoding, and analytics providers process information described above for those functions. We may disclose information when legally required. The referral feature does not sell or transmit a visitor list.

Retention differs across the database, server logs, browser storage, email mailbox, and service-provider settings. The application does not currently implement a general automatic deletion schedule for all event records. Pending subscriptions can be marked expired after a configured period, which does not delete the underlying records. Contact us about access, correction, or deletion requests.

9. Children, choices, and contact

Email subscriptions and contact submissions are intended for parents, guardians, educators, and users aged 13 or older. Children under 13 should not submit personal information. A parent or guardian who believes a child has provided information can contact us to request review and removal.

For privacy questions or requests, use Contact or email info@snowdayalerts.com. We may need enough information to verify and locate the relevant records. The date above indicates the most recent policy revision.