Storm Cells

Storm Cells

URL Path
https://api.aerisapi.com/stormcells/
Data Coverage
US, Puerto Rico, Guam
Update Interval
Every 2 - 3 Minutes
Time Range
Latest

The storm cells dataset provides observed and forecast data for all storm cells across the United States. This is a NEXRAD-derived product that attempts to identify and track storm cell movement, along with reporting cell intensity and certain severe weather signatures within the cell, like rotation and hail. The forecast track can be used to determine when and where a cell will affect a particular location or area.

Requests

Every request to the endpoint must include one of the supported actions in the url.

https://api.aerisapi.com/stormcells/{action}?client_id={client_id}&client_secret={client_secret}&{params}

Supported Actions

The following actions are supported with the /stormcells endpoint:

ActionDescription
:idType: stringTypically used for passing a geographical location name or identifier such as city name, lat/long, or even US and Canadian postal codes. Learn more.
closestType: stringBased on a location search, the results will be returned in order from closest to farthest. Learn more.
withinType: stringUses a circle or polygon, define an area to search for results. Learn more.
searchType: stringA generalized action that is determined with the endpoints query parameters. Learn more.
affectsType: stringReturns a list of locations that are currently affected by a weather event. Criteria for the location(s) can be determined in your query parameters. Learn more.

Response

The following is an example of what each object in the response will consist of. Depending on your requested action, the response may contain multiple instances of this object within an array.

Properties

id (string)

Cell ID.

loc (object)

The location of the record.

loc.long (number)

The place or nearest place to the record.

loc.lat (number)

The latitude coordinate of the record.

ob (object)

Object containing information about the observation.

ob.timestamp (number)

UNIX timestamp of the cell observation.

ob.dateTimeISO (string)

The date and time of the cell observation in ISO-8601 format.

ob.radarID (string)

The radar site ID reporting the cell.

ob.cellID (string)

The unique cell identifier.

ob.cpos (object)

Object containing information about the cell position.

ob.cpos.lat (number)

The latitude coordinate of the cell.

ob.cpos.long (number)

The longitude coordinate of the cell.

ob.cpos.deg (number)

Bearing in degrees of the cell relative to the radar site.

ob.cpos.NM (number)

Distance in nautical miles of the cell relative to the radar site.

ob.movement (object)

An object containing movement information. If no movement information is available this can be set to NULL.
No movement can occur if the storm cell is newly detected, stationary or ending.

ob.movement.dirDEG (number)

The direction of the cell movement in degrees. 0-359, 0 being north.

ob.movement.dir (string)

The cardinal direction the storm is moving. N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW.

ob.movement.dirToDEG (number)

The direction the storm is moving relative to the reported radar site in degrees. 0-359, 0 being north.

ob.movement.dirTo (string)

The cardinal direction the storm is moving relative to the reported radar site. N, NNE, NE, ENE, E, ESE, SE, SSE, S, SSW, SW, WSW, W, WNW, NW, NNW.

ob.movement.speedKTS (number)

The speed of the cell movement in knots.

ob.movement.speedKMH (number)

DEPRECATES, use `ob.movement.speedKPH` instead.

ob.movement.speedKPH (number)

The speed of the cell movement in kilometers per hour.

ob.movement.speedMPH (number)

The speed of the cell movement in miles per hour.

ob.movement.speedMPS (number)

The speed of the cell movement in meters per second.

ob.tvs (number)

Tornado vortex signature. (TVS)
0 = NO TVS
1 = TVS indicated

ob.mda (number)

Mesocyclone rotation. (MESO)
A value from 0 - 25, higher values indicate higher mesoscale rotation

ob.vil (number)

Vertically integrated liquid.

ob.dbzm (number)

The highest reflectivity found within the storm.

ob.ht (number)

The height of the storm structure as received.

ob.htFT (number)

The height of the storm structure in feet

ob.htM (number)

The height of the storm structure in meters

ob.top (string)

Top of the storm in thousands of feet.

ob.topFT (number)

Top of the storm in feet.

ob.topM (number)

Top of the storm in meters.

ob.hail (object)

An object containing hail probability and size information. Will be NULL if hail information unavailable for the storm cell.

ob.hail.probSevere (number)

Probability that the storm contains severe hail. Severe hail is defined as 1.00 inch or larger.

ob.hail.prob (number)

Probability that the storm contains hail of any size.

ob.hail.maxSize (string)

Maximum diameter of hail stones in hundredths of an inch.

ob.hail.maxSizeCM (number)

The maximum diameter of hail stones in centimeters.

ob.hail.maxSizeIN (number)

The maximum diameter of hail stones in inches.

ob.location (string)

The distance and bearing to the closest city.

forecast (object)

An object containing forecast information for the storm cell. Will be NULL if forecast information is unavailable, such as with a newly detected storm cell.

forecast.locs (array)

Array of forecasted positions for the cell, in 15 minute increments. Forecast for up to 1 hour maximum.

forecast.locs.#.long (number)

The longitude coordinate of the forecasted cell.

forecast.locs.#.lat (number)

The latitude coordinate of the forecasted cell.

forecast.locs.#.timestamp (number)

The UNIX timestamp of the forecasted cell.

forecast.locs.#.dateTimeISO (string)

The date and time of the forecasted cell in ISO-8601 format.

forecast.locs.#.deg (number)

Forecasted bearing of the cell relative to the radar site in degrees. 0-359, 0 being north.

forecast.locs.#.NM (number)

Forecasted distance of the cell relative to the radar site in nautical miles.

forecast.errMean (number)

Mean error from 0 to 1.

forecast.errFcst (number)

Error percentage of the forecast from 0 to 1.

forecast.cone (object)

An objecting containing the forecast error cone. Will be NULL if forecast information is unavailable, such as with a newly detected storm cell.

forecast.cone.narrow (array)

Array of lat/long coordinates defining a 5-degree cone of error along the forecast path, which can be used to better determine locations along the path of the storm.

forecast.cone.wide (array)

Array of lat/long coordinates defining a 20-degree cone of error along the forecast path.

traits (object)

Object of storm cell traits

traits.type (string)

Storm cell most significant trait / category:
- general
- hail
- rotating
- tornado

traits.general (number)

1 = general storm, 0 = more threatening

traits.hail (number)

1 = at least a 70% probability of hail, 0 = no significant hail threat

traits.rotating (number)

1 = significant rotation, 0 = no significant rotation

traits.tornado (number)

1 = potential tornadic characteristics, 0 = no significant tornadic characteristics

traits.threat (number)

1 = potential threatening storm cell, 0 = no significant potential threat

place (object)

Object containing information about the place or nearest place to the record.

place.name (string)

The place or nearest place to the record.

place.state (string)

The state abbreviation in which the response is located. This may be null or an empty string depending on the country.

place.country (string)

The 2 letter ISO-3166 country abbreviation in which the response is located.

place.continent (string)

profile (object)

Object containing information about the location or event.

profile.tz (string)

Timezone name of the location, such as America/New_York.

[
  {
    "id": "AMX_R7",
    "loc": {
      "long": -80.156275873725,
      "lat": 24.669901686447
    },
    "ob": {
      "timestamp": 1702596077,
      "dateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T18:21:17-05:00",
      "radarID": "AMX",
      "cellID": "R7",
      "cpos": {
        "lat": 24.669901686447,
        "long": -80.156275873725,
        "deg": 166,
        "NM": 58
      },
      "movement": {
        "dirDEG": 61,
        "dir": "ENE",
        "dirToDEG": 241,
        "dirTo": "WSW",
        "speedKTS": 16.99994602432,
        "speedKMH": 31,
        "speedKPH": 31,
        "speedMPH": 20,
        "speedMPS": 9
      },
      "tvs": 0,
      "mda": 0,
      "vil": 2,
      "dbzm": 38,
      "ht": 13.2,
      "htFT": 13200,
      "htM": 4023.36,
      "top": "13.2",
      "topFT": 13200,
      "topM": 4023.36,
      "hail": {
        "probSevere": 0,
        "prob": 0,
        "maxSize": "0.00",
        "maxSizeCM": 0,
        "maxSizeIN": 0
      },
      "location": "tavernier, fl"
    },
    "forecast": {
      "locs": [
        {
          "long": -80.156275873725,
          "lat": 24.669901686447,
          "timestamp": 1702595740,
          "dateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T18:15:40-05:00",
          "deg": 166,
          "NM": 58
        },
        {
          "long": -80.222444856276,
          "lat": 24.622998303313,
          "timestamp": 1702596640,
          "dateTimeISO": "2023-12-14T18:30:40-05:00",
          "deg": 170,
          "NM": 60
        }
      ],
      "errMean": 1,
      "errFcst": 1,
      "cone": {
        "narrow": [
          [
            24.669901686447,
            -80.156275873725
          ],
          [
            24.628362998367,
            -80.226664374042
          ],
          [
            24.627252999702,
            -80.225855889608
          ],
          [
            24.626155992239,
            -80.225026210428
          ],
          [
            24.625072310139,
            -80.224175589229
          ],
          [
            24.624002283501,
            -80.223304285118
          ],
          [
            24.622946238266,
            -80.222412563505
          ],
          [
            24.621904496115,
            -80.221500696015
          ],
          [
            24.620877374373,
            -80.220568960412
          ],
          [
            24.619865185912,
            -80.219617640513
          ],
          [
            24.618868239053,
            -80.218647026097
          ],
          [
            24.617886837477,
            -80.217657412825
          ],
          [
            24.669901686447,
            -80.156275873725
          ]
        ],
        "wide": [
          [
            24.669901686447,
            -80.156275873725
          ],
          [
            24.646333488585,
            -80.236096776541
          ],
          [
            24.645071159901,
            -80.235631984577
          ],
          [
            24.643816394837,
            -80.235143019973
          ],
          [
            24.642569575605,
            -80.234630031672
          ],
          [
            24.641331081999,
            -80.234093175935
          ],
          [
            24.640101291275,
            -80.233532616295
          ],
          [
            24.638880578041,
            -80.232948523502
          ],
          [
            24.637669314137,
            -80.232341075478
          ],
          [
            24.636467868526,
            -80.231710457256
          ],
          [
            24.635276607179,
            -80.231056860929
          ],
          [
            24.634095892967,
            -80.230380485589
          ],
          [
            24.632926085547,
            -80.229681537267
          ],
          [
            24.631767541253,
            -80.228960228868
          ],
          [
            24.630620612988,
            -80.228216780111
          ],
          [
            24.62948565012,
            -80.227451417456
          ],
          [
            24.628362998367,
            -80.226664374042
          ],
          [
            24.627252999702,
            -80.225855889608
          ],
          [
            24.626155992239,
            -80.225026210428
          ],
          [
            24.625072310139,
            -80.224175589229
          ],
          [
            24.624002283501,
            -80.223304285118
          ],
          [
            24.622946238266,
            -80.222412563505
          ],
          [
            24.621904496115,
            -80.221500696015
          ],
          [
            24.620877374373,
            -80.220568960412
          ],
          [
            24.619865185912,
            -80.219617640513
          ],
          [
            24.618868239053,
            -80.218647026097
          ],
          [
            24.617886837477,
            -80.217657412825
          ],
          [
            24.616921280128,
            -80.21664910214
          ],
          [
            24.615971861123,
            -80.215622401186
          ],
          [
            24.615038869666,
            -80.214577622705
          ],
          [
            24.614122589955,
            -80.213515084946
          ],
          [
            24.613223301096,
            -80.212435111568
          ],
          [
            24.612341277023,
            -80.211338031543
          ],
          [
            24.611476786408,
            -80.210224179052
          ],
          [
            24.610630092584,
            -80.209093893383
          ],
          [
            24.609801453461,
            -80.207947518835
          ],
          [
            24.608991121452,
            -80.206785404603
          ],
          [
            24.60819934339,
            -80.205607904678
          ],
          [
            24.60742636046,
            -80.204415377739
          ],
          [
            24.60667240812,
            -80.20320818704
          ],
          [
            24.60593771603,
            -80.201986700304
          ],
          [
            24.605222507985,
            -80.200751289608
          ],
          [
            24.669901686447,
            -80.156275873725
          ]
        ]
      }
    },
    "traits": {
      "type": "general",
      "general": 1,
      "hail": 0,
      "rotating": 0,
      "tornado": 0,
      "threat": 0
    },
    "place": {
      "name": "tavernier",
      "state": "fl",
      "country": "us",
      "continent": "na"
    },
    "profile": {
      "tz": "America/New_York",
      "elev": 2
    }
  }
]