Pirate Weather

Pirate Weather is a service that offers weather forecasts in a Dark Sky API-like format. It's intended to make government weather data more accessible and easier to use, serving data directly from NOAA models. The service is focused on offering raw model data with as little processing as possible, so you can see exactly how forecasts are generated.

Pirate Weather includes the following features:

• Drop-in Replacement for Dark Sky API: Designed to work with apps that used Dark Sky, so you can replace it directly.
• Multiple Model Sources: Uses data from the National Blend of Models (NBM), High Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR), Global Forecast System (GFS), and European Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) models.
• Sub-hourly Forecasts: Offers minute-by-minute forecasts for the first hour and hourly forecasts up to 48 hours.
• Short-term Smoke Forecasts: Offers smoke forecasts up to 36 hours.
• Fire Index: Includes the Fosburg Fire Index for the US and parts of Canada.
• Precipitation Types: Returns liquid, snow, and ice precipitation types.
• Nearest Storm Distance and Bearing: Offers data on the distance and direction of the nearest storm.

The API also offers several options for customization:

• Units: Offers SI (with wind speed in kilometers or miles per hour), Imperial, or Canadian units.
• Exclude: Exclude specific data blocks from the response, such as currently, minutely, hourly, or daily data.
• Extend: Include hourly data for up to 168 hours.
• Version: Access additional fields like smoke, fire index, and nearest storm distance with the version=2 parameter.

Pirate Weather works with Home Assistant, offering a compatible replacement for the Dark Sky integration. The service requires an API key that you must register and subscribe to on the Pirate Weather API interface. The key is used to track usage and pay for the project's maintenance costs.

Pirate Weather pricing is based on the number of API calls per month. The free tier offers up to 10,000 calls per month, and a $2 monthly donation increases the limit to 25,000 calls. You can also donate one-time payments through GitHub Sponsorship.

For those looking for a community-driven and open-source weather data solution, Pirate Weather is a good option. It supports a variety of programming languages, so most developers can use it.

Published on July 6, 2024