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nws-weather-mcp-server

by io.github.cyanheads
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Nws Get Zone Forecast

nws_get_zone_forecast
Read-only

Get the text forecast for an NWS forecast zone. Returns named forecast periods (e.g., "Today", "Tonight", "Monday") with detailed narrative text — the human-readable, zone-level forecast written by local forecasters. Completes the alert-to-forecast chain: nws_search_alerts returns each affected zone in "affectedZones" as a code plus a type, and nws_find_stations returns codes in the "forecastZone" column. Only affectedZones entries with type "forecast" work here; entries typed "county" have no text forecast upstream and will not resolve. An entry typed "fire" has its forecast in a segment of the office's Fire Weather Planning Forecast: call nws_get_office_discussion with office set to the alert's "office" field, product_type "FWF", and sections set to the zone code; a fire zone code that is also a public zone code (e.g., "NDZ040") returns that public zone's forecast here, not the fire weather forecast. Marine forecast zones vary: many coastal zones serve a text forecast of wind and seas (e.g., "PZZ251"), while offshore zones (e.g., "GMZ056") and some coastal ones have none. Zone codes follow the pattern XXZ### (e.g., "WAZ315" for the City of Seattle).

Input Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
zone_idYesNWS forecast zone code (e.g., "WAZ315" for the City of Seattle, or a marine zone such as "PZZ251"). Returned as "forecastZone" by nws_get_forecast and nws_find_stations, or as the "code" of an "affectedZones" entry with type "forecast" in nws_search_alerts. Format: two-letter state or marine area code + "Z" + three-digit number.

Output Schema

NameRequiredDescriptionDefault
errorNoPresent when the call failed. Absent on success.
zoneIdNoZone ID, uppercased (e.g., "WAZ315" for input "waz315").
periodsNoForecast periods in chronological order, typically covering 7 days.
updatedNoWhen the zone forecast was last updated (ISO 8601 with timezone offset).
periodCountNoNumber of forecast periods returned.

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

  1. Changed3 schema fields changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / zone_id / description
      Previous value: -"NWS public forecast zone code (e.g., \"WAZ315\" for the Western Washington lowlands including Seattle). Returned as \"forecastZone\" by nws_get_forecast and nws_find_stations, or as the \"code\" of an \"affectedZones\" entry with type \"forecast\" in nws_search_alerts. Format: two-letter state + \"Z\" + three-digit number."New value: +"NWS forecast zone code (e.g., \"WAZ315\" for the City of Seattle, or a marine zone such as \"PZZ251\"). Returned as \"forecastZone\" by nws_get_forecast and nws_find_stations, or as the \"code\" of an \"affectedZones\" entry with type \"forecast\" in nws_search_alerts. Format: two-letter state or marine area code + \"Z\" + three-digit number."
    • addedInput schema / properties / zone_id / pattern
      Added value: +"^\\s*[A-Za-z]{2}[Zz]\\d{3}\\s*$"
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone. `zone_forecast_unavailable`: Zone is a valid public forecast zone, but NWS has no text forecast for it. `marine_forecast_unsupported`: Zone is a marine forecast zone, for which NWS publishes no text forecast. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid NWS forecast zone. `zone_forecast_unavailable`: Zone is a valid land forecast zone, but NWS has no text forecast for it. `marine_forecast_unsupported`: Zone is a marine forecast zone NWS publishes no text forecast for (availability varies by zone). Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
  2. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / zoneId / description
      Previous value: -"Zone ID as provided (e.g., \"WAZ315\")."New value: +"Zone ID, uppercased (e.g., \"WAZ315\" for input \"waz315\")."
  3. Changed2 schema fields changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone or has no forecast available. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone. `zone_forecast_unavailable`: Zone is a valid public forecast zone, but NWS has no text forecast for it. `marine_forecast_unsupported`: Zone is a marine forecast zone, for which NWS publishes no text forecast. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / examples
      Previous value: -[
-  "zone_not_found"
-]New value: +[
+  "zone_not_found",
+  "zone_forecast_unavailable",
+  "marine_forecast_unsupported"
+]
  4. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedOutput schema / properties / error / properties / data / properties / reason / description
      Previous value: -"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone or has no forecast available Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."New value: +"Machine-readable failure mode. Declared by this tool: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone or has no forecast available. Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler."
  5. Changed6 schema fields changed
    • 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": [
+      "zoneId",
+      "updated",
+      "periods",
+      "periodCount"
+    ]
+  },
+  {
+    "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: `zone_not_found`: Zone code is not a valid public forecast zone or has no forecast available Other values are possible when a failure originates below the handler.",
+          "examples": [
+            "zone_not_found"
+          ],
+          "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: -[
-  "zoneId",
-  "updated",
-  "periods",
-  "periodCount"
-]
  6. Changed1 schema field changed
    • changedInput schema / properties / zone_id / description
      Previous value: -"NWS public forecast zone code (e.g., \"WAZ315\" for the Western Washington lowlands including Seattle). Returned as \"forecastZone\" by nws_get_forecast and nws_find_stations, or in \"affectedZones\" by nws_search_alerts. Format: two-letter state + \"Z\" + three-digit number."New value: +"NWS public forecast zone code (e.g., \"WAZ315\" for the Western Washington lowlands including Seattle). Returned as \"forecastZone\" by nws_get_forecast and nws_find_stations, or as the \"code\" of an \"affectedZones\" entry with type \"forecast\" in nws_search_alerts. Format: two-letter state + \"Z\" + three-digit number."
  7. Added

TDQS

A4.8/5.0
Behavior5/5

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

Annotations only declare readOnlyHint=true; the description goes well beyond by disclosing failure modes (county types will not resolve, offshore marine zones have none), a subtle aliasing behavior (a fire zone code that is also a public zone returns the public forecast here), and the shape of returned periods. This is real behavioral context an agent could not infer from the structured fields.

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 purpose, and nearly every sentence carries routing or failure-mode information. It is a single dense block of roughly 180 words with no structural breaks, which makes the fire-zone detour harder to scan than it needs to be, but there is little filler to cut.

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

Completeness5/5

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

For a one-parameter tool with an output schema already describing return values, the description covers everything else an agent needs: valid code sourcing, silent-non-resolution cases, marine variability, and alternative routing for fire zones. Nothing material 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; the description earns above that by documenting where the zone_id value comes from in the sibling tools' output and by distinguishing zone classes that are syntactically valid but semantically unusable. It does not add format detail beyond the schema's pattern and example, which keeps it from a 5.

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?

Opens with a specific verb and resource ("Get the text forecast for an NWS forecast zone") and immediately characterizes the return as named periods with narrative text. This clearly separates it from nws_get_forecast (point forecast), nws_get_office_discussion (office product text), and the alert/station siblings.

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

Usage Guidelines5/5

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

Explicitly tells the agent how to obtain valid zone codes (affectedZones entries typed "forecast", or the "forecastZone" column from nws_find_stations), and states exclusions: "county" entries never resolve, "fire" entries must go through nws_get_office_discussion with product_type "FWF". Even the ambiguity of dual-purpose fire/public codes is called out with a concrete example.

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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