National Weather Service

How to Use This API

1. Get Forecast Grid Endpoint

https://api.weather.gov/points/38.9072,-77.0369

Returns gridId, gridX, gridY for detailed queries.

2. Detailed 7-Day Forecast

https://api.weather.gov/gridpoints/LWX/97,71/forecast

3. Active Alerts by Zone

https://api.weather.gov/alerts/active/zone/DCZ001

4. Current Observations at a Station

https://api.weather.gov/stations/KBUF/observations/latest

5. JavaScript — 7-Day Forecast

async function getNWSForecast(lat, lon) {
  // Step 1: Get grid endpoint
  const points = await fetch(
    `https://api.weather.gov/points/${lat},${lon}`
  );
  const gridData = await points.json();
  const forecastUrl = gridData.properties.forecast;
  
  // Step 2: Get actual forecast
  const forecast = await fetch(forecastUrl);
  const data = await forecast.json();
  
  console.log('7-Day Forecast:');
  data.properties.periods.forEach(p => {
    console.log(`${p.name}: ${p.temperature}°F ${p.shortForecast}`);
  });
}

getNWSForecast(38.9072, -77.0369); // Washington DC

6. Python — Weather Alert Checker

import requests

def active_alerts(state_code):
    resp = requests.get(
        'https://api.weather.gov/alerts/active',
        params={'area': state_code}
    )
    data = resp.json()
    
    alerts = data.get('features', [])
    if not alerts:
        print(f'No active alerts for {state_code}')
        return
    
    print(f'Active alerts in {state_code}:')
    for alert in alerts:
        props = alert['properties']
        print(f'  • {props["event"]}')
        print(f'    Severity: {props["severity"]}')
        print(f'    Area: {", ".join(props["areaDesc"])}')
        print()

active_alerts('FL')  # Florida alerts