noaa-climate-mcp-server

List NOAA Climate Datasets

noaa_climate_list_datasets

Read-only

List available NOAA CDO datasets with their IDs, names, and temporal coverage. Returns all ~11 datasets by default (no required parameters). Optionally filter to datasets that contain a specific data type, cover a location or station, or overlap a date range. Common datasets: GHCND (daily observations, 1763–present), GSOM (monthly summaries), GSOY (annual summaries), NORMAL_DLY/MLY/ANN/HLY (1981–2010 climate normals). Use this first to discover available datasets before calling noaa_climate_fetch_data.

Input Schema

Name	Required	Description
`limit`	No	Maximum number of results to return (1–1000). Defaults to 25. Larger positive integers are clamped to 1000 with a notice unless NOAA_CLAMP_LIMITS=false.
`offset`	No	Zero-based index of the first result to return for pagination. Defaults to 0.
`endDate`	No	Inclusive upper coverage bound: dataset mindate must be on or before this date. Applied locally before pagination. Optional.
`sortField`	No	Sort results by this field. Optional.
`sortOrder`	No	Sort direction. Optional; defaults to asc.
`startDate`	No	Inclusive lower coverage bound: dataset maxdate must be on or after this date. Applied locally to the complete matching catalog before pagination. Optional.
`stationId`	No	Filter to datasets covering this station ID (e.g., "GHCND:USW00024233"). Optional. Trims surrounding whitespace, uppercases IDs, and accepts bare 11-character GHCN aliases (USW00024233 → GHCND:USW00024233). Other namespaced IDs remain accepted.
`datatypeId`	No	Filter to datasets containing these data type IDs (e.g., ["TMAX", "PRCP"]). Optional.
`locationId`	No	Filter to datasets covering this location ID (e.g., "FIPS:37" for NC). Optional.

Output Schema

Name	Required	Description
`error`	No	Present when the call failed. Absent on success.
`notice`	No	Station ID normalization, page-limit adjustment, and empty or exhausted-page guidance. Omitted when no guidance applies.
`results`	No	Matching datasets.
`metadata`	No	Pagination metadata. Synthesized for date-filtered views; otherwise present when the API returns it.
`exhausted`	No	True when the requested offset is past the end of a non-empty result set — the page is empty but matches exist. Omitted otherwise.
`totalCount`	No	Total number of matching datasets before the page limit.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Changed3 schema fields changedNov 3, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / stationId / description

Previous value: -"Filter to datasets covering this station ID (e.g., \"GHCND:USW00024233\"). Optional."New value: +"Filter to datasets covering this station ID (e.g., \"GHCND:USW00024233\"). Optional. Trims surrounding whitespace, uppercases IDs, and accepts bare 11-character GHCN aliases (USW00024233 → GHCND:USW00024233). Other namespaced IDs remain accepted."

addedInput schema / properties / stationId / pattern

Added value: +"^\\s*(?:[A-Za-z]{2}[A-Za-z0-9]{9}|[^:\\s]+:[^\\s]+)\\s*$"

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Page-limit adjustment and empty or exhausted-page guidance. Omitted when no guidance applies."New value: +"Station ID normalization, page-limit adjustment, and empty or exhausted-page guidance. Omitted when no guidance applies."

Changed7 schema fields changedOct 23, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / endDate / description

Previous value: -"Filter to datasets with data on or before this ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD). Optional."New value: +"Inclusive upper coverage bound: dataset mindate must be on or before this date. Applied locally before pagination. Optional."

changedInput schema / properties / limit / description

Previous value: -"Maximum number of results to return (1–1000). Defaults to 25."New value: +"Maximum number of results to return (1–1000). Defaults to 25. Larger positive integers are clamped to 1000 with a notice unless NOAA_CLAMP_LIMITS=false."

changedInput schema / properties / limit / maximum

Previous value: -1000New value: +9007199254740991

changedInput schema / properties / startDate / description

Previous value: -"Filter to datasets with data on or after this ISO date (YYYY-MM-DD). Optional."New value: +"Inclusive lower coverage bound: dataset maxdate must be on or after this date. Applied locally to the complete matching catalog before pagination. Optional."

changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description

Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `service_unavailable`: NOAA CDO API is unreachable or returning errors. `rate_limited`: NOAA CDO throttled the request — the configured token went over its rate limit. `upstream_auth_failed`: NOAA CDO rejected the API token this server is configured with. `validation_error`: Bad date format or unrecognized filter ID. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `service_unavailable`: NOAA CDO API is unreachable or returning errors. `rate_limited`: NOAA CDO throttled the request — the configured token went over its rate limit. `upstream_auth_failed`: NOAA CDO rejected the API token this server is configured with. `validation_error`: Bad date format, startDate after endDate, or unrecognized filter ID. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."

changedOutput schema / properties / metadata / description

Previous value: -"Pagination metadata. Present when the API returns it."New value: +"Pagination metadata. Synthesized for date-filtered views; otherwise present when the API returns it."

changedOutput schema / properties / notice / description

Previous value: -"Guidance when no datasets matched — echoes applied filters and suggests how to broaden."New value: +"Page-limit adjustment and empty or exhausted-page guidance. Omitted when no guidance applies."

Changed1 schema field changedOct 19, 2026

changedOutput schema / properties / metadata / properties / resultset / properties / offset / description

Previous value: -"1-based starting index of this page as returned by the NOAA CDO API."New value: +"Zero-based starting index of this page, echoing the requested offset."

Changed6 schema fields changedAug 25, 2026

changedInput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedInput schema / additionalProperties
```
Added value: +false
```

changedOutput schema / $schema

Previous value: -"http://json-schema.org/draft-07/schema#"New value: +"https://json-schema.org/draft/2020-12/schema"

addedOutput schema / anyOf

Added value: +[
+  {
+    "not": {
+      "required": [
+        "error"
+      ]
+    },
+    "required": [
+      "results",
+      "totalCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "required": [
+      "error"
+    ]
+  }
+]

addedOutput schema / properties / error

Added value: +{
+  "additionalProperties": {},
+  "description": "Present when the call failed. Absent on success.",
+  "properties": {
+    "code": {
+      "description": "JSON-RPC error code for this failure.",
+      "maximum": 9007199254740991,
+      "minimum": -9007199254740991,
+      "type": "integer"
+    },
+    "data": {
+      "additionalProperties": {},
+      "properties": {
+        "reason": {
+          "description": "Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `service_unavailable`: NOAA CDO API is unreachable or returning errors. `rate_limited`: NOAA CDO throttled the request — the configured token went over its rate limit. `upstream_auth_failed`: NOAA CDO rejected the API token this server is configured with. `validation_error`: Bad date format or unrecognized filter ID. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "service_unavailable",
+            "rate_limited",
+            "upstream_auth_failed",
+            "validation_error"
+          ],
+          "type": "string"
+        },
+        "recovery": {
+          "additionalProperties": {},
+          "description": "Actionable next step for the caller.",
+          "properties": {
+            "hint": {
+              "type": "string"
+            }
+          },
+          "required": [
+            "hint"
+          ],
+          "type": "object"
+        },
+        "retryable": {
+          "description": "Whether retrying may succeed.",
+          "type": "boolean"
+        }
+      },
+      "type": "object"
+    },
+    "message": {
+      "description": "Human-readable description of what went wrong.",
+      "type": "string"
+    }
+  },
+  "required": [
+    "code",
+    "message"
+  ],
+  "type": "object"
+}

removedOutput schema / required

Removed value: -[
-  "results",
-  "totalCount"
-]

Changed1 schema field changedAug 18, 2026

changedInput schema / properties / stationId / description

Previous value: -"Filter to datasets covering this station ID (e.g., \"GHCND:USC00450974\"). Optional."New value: +"Filter to datasets covering this station ID (e.g., \"GHCND:USW00024233\"). Optional."

Changed7 schema fields changedAug 18, 2026

addedInput schema / properties / datatypeId / items / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```
addedInput schema / properties / datatypeId / minItems
```
Added value: +1
```

addedInput schema / properties / endDate / pattern

Added value: +"^(?:\\d{4}(?:0[1-9]|1[0-2])(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])|\\d{4}-(?:0?[1-9]|1[0-2])-(?:0?[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])(?:T(?:[01]\\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d(?:\\.\\d+)?)?)$"

addedInput schema / properties / locationId / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```

addedInput schema / properties / startDate / pattern

Added value: +"^(?:\\d{4}(?:0[1-9]|1[0-2])(?:0[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])|\\d{4}-(?:0?[1-9]|1[0-2])-(?:0?[1-9]|[12]\\d|3[01])(?:T(?:[01]\\d|2[0-3]):[0-5]\\d:[0-5]\\d(?:\\.\\d+)?)?)$"

addedInput schema / properties / stationId / minLength
```
Added value: +1
```

addedOutput schema / properties / exhausted

Added value: +{
+  "description": "True when the requested offset is past the end of a non-empty result set — the page is empty but matches exist. Omitted otherwise.",
+  "type": "boolean"
+}

First observedJun 22, 2026

TDQS

A4.3/5.0

Behavior4/5

Does the description disclose side effects, auth requirements, rate limits, or destructive behavior?

Annotations already establish readOnlyHint=true and openWorldHint=false, so safety is covered. The description adds genuinely non-obvious behavior: the full catalog is ~11 datasets returned by default with no required parameters, filters are applied locally before pagination, and results can be narrowed by datatype/location/station/date overlap. It doesn't mention rate limits or whether filtering is server-side vs client-side beyond the local-application note.

Agents need to know what a tool does to the world before calling it. Descriptions should go beyond structured annotations to explain consequences.

Conciseness4/5

Is the description appropriately sized, front-loaded, and free of redundancy?

Front-loaded with the core action and the default behavior, then the routing advice, then optional detail. The one questionable sentence is the dataset catalogue enumeration, which is useful orientation but the longest block in the description; everything else earns its place.

Shorter descriptions cost fewer tokens and are easier for agents to parse. Every sentence should earn its place.

Completeness4/5

Given the tool's complexity, does the description cover enough for an agent to succeed on first attempt?

An output schema exists, so return values need no explanation, and the description covers defaults, filter semantics, and the intended call sequence. For a 9-parameter, zero-required discovery tool this is nearly complete; only explicit guidance about the other list/get siblings is missing.

Complex tools with many parameters or behaviors need more documentation. Simple tools need less. This dimension scales expectations accordingly.

Parameters4/5

Does the description clarify parameter syntax, constraints, interactions, or defaults beyond what the schema provides?

Schema coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3, but the description adds conceptual meaning the schema lacks: it explains what each filter family actually selects (datasets that contain a data type, cover a location or station, or overlap a date range), including the overlap semantics of startDate/endDate. That is real semantic lift above the field-level descriptions.

Input schemas describe structure but not intent. Descriptions should explain non-obvious parameter relationships and valid value ranges.

Purpose5/5

Does the description clearly state what the tool does and how it differs from similar tools?

States a specific verb+resource (list NOAA CDO datasets) plus the returned fields (IDs, names, temporal coverage), and immediately distinguishes itself from the sibling noaa_climate_fetch_data by being the discovery step. Naming concrete datasets (GHCND, GSOM, GSOY, NORMAL_*) makes the scope concrete rather than generic.

Agents choose between tools based on descriptions. A clear purpose with a specific verb and resource helps agents select the right tool.

Usage Guidelines4/5

Does the description explain when to use this tool, when not to, or what alternatives exist?

Explicitly says 'Use this first to discover available datasets before calling noaa_climate_fetch_data', which gives a clear sequencing rule against the most relevant sibling. It does not address when to prefer its other siblings (list_data_types, list_data_categories, find_stations), and gives no when-not guidance.

Agents often have multiple tools that could apply. Explicit usage guidance like "use X instead of Y when Z" prevents misuse.

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