noaa-tidesandcurrents-mcp

Get Meteorological & Sensor Data

noaa_get_meteorological_data

Read-onlyIdempotent

Retrieve observed meteorological and oceanographic sensor data for a NOAA station, such as wind, air/water temperature, pressure, humidity, visibility, salinity, and conductivity.

Instructions

Get observed meteorological/oceanographic sensor data from a NOAA station.

Products: air_temperature, water_temperature, wind (speed/gust/direction), air_pressure, air_gap (bridge clearance to water surface), conductivity, visibility, humidity, salinity.

Units by system: temps °F/°C; wind knots (english) or m/s (metric); air_gap feet/meters; visibility nautical miles/kilometers; air_pressure always millibars; salinity always PSU. Max span ~31 days per request; interval "6" (6-minute, default) or "h" (hourly).

Not every station has every sensor — check with noaa_get_station_info (expand ["sensors"]). Water-level data is served by noaa_get_water_levels, not this tool.

Input Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`date`	No	Shortcut window: "today" = midnight to now, "latest" = single most recent reading, "recent" = last 72 hours. Mutually exclusive with begin_date/end_date/range.
`range`	No	Number of hours. With begin_date: hours forward. With end_date: hours back. Alone: hours back from now.
`units`	No	Unit system. english: feet, °F, knots (wind AND currents), nautical miles. metric: meters, °C, m/s for wind but cm/s for currents, kilometers. Air pressure is millibars and salinity is PSU in BOTH systems.	english
`product`	Yes	Sensor product to retrieve.
`station`	Yes	Station ID. Water-level/met stations use 7-digit numeric IDs (e.g. "9414290" San Francisco); current stations use alphanumeric IDs (e.g. "cb0102"). Find stations with noaa_search_stations or noaa_find_nearest_stations.
`end_date`	No	End date/time. Same formats as begin_date.
`interval`	No	"6" = 6-minute observations (default), "h" = hourly.	6
`time_zone`	No	Time zone for timestamps: gmt = UTC, lst = station local standard time (no DST), lst_ldt = station local time with DST. Note: daily_mean data requires lst.	lst_ldt
`begin_date`	No	Start date/time. Formats: yyyyMMdd, "yyyyMMdd HH:mm", MM/dd/yyyy, or ISO yyyy-MM-dd[THH:mm].
`response_format`	No	Output format: "markdown" for a readable summary table, "json" for the complete structured payload.	markdown

Output Schema

TableJSON Schema

Name	Required	Description	Default
`_response`	Yes

Schema Changelog

Changes observed during successful MCP inspections.

Addedv1.0.1Oct 5, 2026

TDQS

A4.4/5.0

Behavior4/5

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

Annotations already declare readOnlyHint, idempotentHint, and destructiveHint=false, so the safety profile is covered. The description adds real operational context beyond that: a ~31-day max span per request, interval semantics, and the fact that sensor availability varies by station. It does not discuss rate limits or auth, but for a read-only tool this is a strong supplement.

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, then products, then units, then constraints and sibling routing — a logical order with no filler sentences. It is somewhat long and the units block partially restates the schema, but every paragraph carries usable content for a 10-parameter tool.

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?

An output schema exists, so return-format detail is not required in the description. Given that, the description covers products, defaults (interval 6-minute, units english), span limits, station-ID conventions, and sibling routing — everything an agent needs to invoke correctly.

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

Parameters3/5

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

Schema description coverage is 100%, so the baseline is 3. The units-by-system paragraph adds cross-product coherence, but the same mappings (temps, wind, air_gap, visibility, pressure always millibars, salinity always PSU) already appear in the schema's units enum description, so the incremental value is limited rather than zero.

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 ('Get observed meteorological/oceanographic sensor data from a NOAA station') and enumerates the exact products returned. It explicitly distinguishes itself from the closest sibling by noting water-level data belongs to noaa_get_water_levels.

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?

Names alternatives and conditions: check noaa_get_station_info with sensors expanded before calling, find stations via noaa_search_stations or noaa_find_nearest_stations, and use noaa_get_water_levels for water-level data instead. Both when-to-use and when-not-to-use are explicit.

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