Weather Report Retrospective
A four-part forecast that keeps 'watch this' separate from 'act now' — most retros collapse both into one Risks column.
Free · No credit card · Guests join by link
The board
01
SUNNY
What's clearly going well?
02
CLOUDY
What's uncertain but not urgent yet?
03
STORMY
What's actively blocking us right now?
04
RAINY
What's quietly draining energy or morale?
Weather Report asks the team to forecast the sprint instead of just grading it. Sunny is what's clearly working. The other three columns split what a typical Risks column lumps together: Cloudy is uncertainty worth watching but not yet a fire, Stormy is an active blocker that needs attention today, and Rainy is the low-grade friction that never blocks anything outright but quietly drains morale over weeks.
That split matters because 'watch it' and 'fix it now' call for different responses, and a single Risks column forces the facilitator to guess which is which mid-discussion. Weather Report makes the urgency visible before the conversation even starts — the team can triage Stormy cards first and still give Cloudy and Rainy cards room later in the same retro.
When to use a Weather Report Retrospective
- Retros where a single Risks column keeps mixing looming uncertainty with today's actual blockers
- Teams dealing with chronic low-grade friction that never escalates into an incident but wears people down
- Cross-functional check-ins where different roles need to see urgency at a glance, not just a list of problems
- Any sprint where you want more nuance than Strengths·Risks·Learnings without adding a fifth column
How to run a Weather Report Retrospective
- 1
Set the forecast window
Before writing, agree what period the forecast covers: the sprint that just ended and the next one. In Retromik, put it in the board's focus question.
- 2
Sort by urgency, not by mood
Stormy is blocking the team right now. Cloudy is uncertain and might matter later. Rainy is quietly draining energy. Sunny is clearly working. Moving a card between columns during grouping is part of the exercise.
- 3
Discuss Stormy first, then Rainy
Blockers need a decision today. Rainy cards are easy to skip because nothing is on fire, but they're often the reason people are tired.
- 4
Give every Cloudy card a check date
Don't speculate about uncertain items for long. Agree when the team will know more and who will check.
Anonymous writing, voting, grouping and action items work the same as in any Retromik retro.
Example cards
What good cards look like for a software team. Specific, about the work, never about a person.
SUNNY
- The new deploy pipeline hasn't failed once.
- Design and dev reviewed screens together before building.
CLOUDY
- We don't know yet if the new API vendor can handle our volume.
- The next quarter's roadmap still has two competing priorities.
STORMY
- Staging has been down since Tuesday.
- We can't release until legal approves the new terms.
RAINY
- Constant switching between two projects.
- Nobody has taken a real lunch break in weeks.
A 45-minute agenda
- 0–5 minSet the forecast window
- 5–15 minWrite cards silently in all four columns
- 15–20 minVote, three votes each
- 20–35 minDiscuss the top Stormy cards, then Rainy
- 35–45 minAgree actions and a check date for each Cloudy card
Common mistakes
- Everything ends up Stormy. If it isn't blocking the team today, it's Cloudy or Rainy.
- Rainy gets skipped because nothing is urgent. That's how burnout builds.
- Long debates about Cloudy items. Uncertainty needs a check date, not a forecast.
- Sunny left empty. The team should know what to keep doing.
Frequently asked questions
What is a Weather Report retrospective?
A retrospective format with four columns that forecast the sprint like weather: Sunny (what's going well), Cloudy (uncertainty worth watching), Stormy (active blockers), and Rainy (low-grade friction that drains morale without ever fully blocking work).
What's the actual difference between Cloudy and Stormy?
Cloudy is a concern that hasn't cost the team anything yet — a dependency that might slip, a teammate who seems checked out. Stormy is already costing the team something today: a broken build, a blocked release, a missed handoff. Separating them lets the facilitator triage Stormy cards first without losing track of what's just building.
Why does Rainy need its own column instead of folding into Stormy?
Because chronic friction and acute blockers need different responses. A Stormy card usually needs a fix this sprint; a Rainy card — a slow build, a noisy Slack channel, a meeting nobody wants — often needs a policy change or just naming out loud so it stops being invisible.
Is the Weather Report template free to use?
Yes. Retromik is a free retrospective tool — sign up, pick the Weather Report template, and share the board link. Participants can join as guests without an account.
Can Weather Report work as a quick check-in?
Yes. With a small team you can run just the writing and a short discussion in 15 to 20 minutes, for example halfway through a long project. Keep the full format for the end of the sprint, where Stormy and Rainy cards need time.
Related templates
Sailboat Retrospective
Wind · Anchors · Rocks
A visual metaphor the whole team gets instantly: what propels us, what drags us, what could sink us.
ViewMad, Sad, Glad Retrospective
Mad · Sad · Glad
An emotional check-in that surfaces how the team actually feels — before it becomes attrition.
ViewStarfish Retrospective
More of · Less of · Keep
Calibrate instead of overhaul — dial behaviours up and down rather than starting from zero.
ViewRun a Weather Report Retrospective with your team
Create the board in under a minute, share the link, and your team joins anonymously — no accounts needed for participants.
Start free