API Documentation

Professional-tier access to TropicalInfo's storm data via a RESTful JSON API. Real-time active storms, historical HURDAT2, NHC products, and county-aware impact summaries.

Authentication

Every request requires an API key in the Authorization header. Get yours from Account → API Keys (Professional tier).

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_API_KEY_HERE

Core endpoints

GET /api/v1/storms/active

All currently-tracked tropical systems across all basins.

{
  "storms": [
    {
      "storm_id": "AL142024",
      "name": "Milton",
      "basin": "atlantic",
      "classification": "HU",
      "max_winds_mph": 155,
      "min_pressure_mb": 895,
      "position": {"lat": 24.3, "lon": -85.4},
      "movement": "ENE at 15 mph",
      "last_advisory": "14A",
      "last_updated": "2024-10-09T20:00:00Z"
    }
  ]
}

GET /api/v1/storms/{storm_id}

Detail for a single storm including current advisory, latest forecast, and product links.

GET /api/v1/storms/{storm_id}/products/{type}

Raw NHC product text. Types: advisory, discussion, forecast, marine.

GET /api/v1/storms/{storm_id}/summary?fips={fips}

County-specific plain-language summary for a storm. Pass the 5-digit county FIPS code; we return what the storm means for that county specifically.

GET /api/v1/history/storms

Search HURDAT2 historical storms. Query parameters: year, name, basin, min_category.

GET /api/v1/counties/search?q={query}

County autocomplete for the location-aware endpoints.

Rate limits

• Professional — 1,000 requests/hour, 50,000/day
• Commercial — custom quotas, contact sales

Limits are per API key. Rate-limit headers (X-RateLimit-Limit, X-RateLimit-Remaining, X-RateLimit-Reset) accompany every response.

Error responses

{
  "error": "rate_limited",
  "message": "Hourly limit reached. Resets in 38 minutes.",
  "retry_after": 2280
}

Standard HTTP status codes: 200, 400, 401, 403, 404, 429, 5xx.

Example: get active storms

curl -H "Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY" \
  https://api.tropicalinfo.com/v1/storms/active