CLWeather: Real-Time Climate Insights for Your Location

CLWeather API: Integrate Accurate Forecasts Into Your App

What it does

CLWeather API provides programmatic access to weather forecasts, historical climate data, and severe-weather alerts so apps can display current conditions, hourly/daily forecasts, and notifications.

Key features

• Current conditions: temperature, humidity, wind, precipitation, visibility.
• Forecasts: hourly (up to 48h) and daily (up to 16 days) forecast blocks.
• Historical data: past weather by date and location.
• Severe alerts: watches, warnings, and advisory text with timestamps.
• Multiple formats: JSON responses with metric and imperial units.
• Geolocation support: query by lat/lon, city name, or postal code.
• Rate limits & API keys: authenticated with API key; tiered rate limits for free and paid plans.

Typical endpoints (example paths)

• GET /v1/current?lat={lat}&lon={lon}
• GET /v1/forecast/hourly?lat={lat}&lon={lon}&hours={n}
• GET /v1/forecast/daily?lat={lat}&lon={lon}&days={n}
• GET /v1/history?lat={lat}&lon={lon}&start={iso}&end={iso}
• GET /v1/alerts?lat={lat}&lon={lon}

Authentication & headers (example)

• Header: Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY
• Accept: application/json
• Optional: Accept-Language, Units (metric/imperial)

Example request (cURL)

curl “https://api.clweather.com/v1/forecast/hourly?lat=40.7128&lon=-74.0060&hours=24”-H “Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY”  -H “Accept: application/json”

Example response (JSON structure)

• fields: location {name, lat, lon}, timestamp, hourly[{time, temp, feels_like, precipitation, wind_speed, weather_code}], alerts[].

Integration tips

1. Cache forecasts per-location for 5–30 minutes to reduce calls and latency.
2. Use geohash or tile-based keys to group nearby coordinates.
3. Respect rate limits and implement exponential backoff on 429 responses.
4. Normalize units at the edge to match user preferences.
5. Subscribe to alert webhook pushes if available for real-time notifications.

Error handling

• 400: invalid parameters
• 401: invalid/expired API key
• 403: quota exceeded
• 429: rate limit — retry after Retry-After header
• 500: server error — retry with backoff

Pricing & limits

Assume tiered plans (free tier with limited calls, paid plans with higher limits and SLA); check provider docs for exact quotas and cost.

Next steps

• Register for an API key on CLWeather.
• Decide caching and update cadence for your app.
• Implement one endpoint first (current conditions) to validate responses.