modbender Tempest Weather Skill
Fetches on-demand weather data from a WeatherFlow Tempest station via the REST API and returns clean, structured JSON.
Configuration
Credentials are read from environment variables — never hardcoded:
| Env Var | Description |
|---|---|
TEMPEST_TOKEN |
Personal Access Token from tempestwx.com → Settings → Data Authorizations |
TEMPEST_STATION_ID |
Numeric station ID (find it by calling the /stations endpoint with your token) |
If either env var is missing, inform the user and show them how to set them:
export TEMPEST_TOKEN="your_token_here"
export TEMPEST_STATION_ID="your_station_id_here"
Primary Endpoint
GET https://swd.weatherflow.com/swd/rest/observations/station/{STATION_ID}?token={TEMPEST_TOKEN}
This returns the latest observation for the station, including all sensor data.
Fallback (by device): GET https://swd.weatherflow.com/swd/rest/observations/?device_id={DEVICE_ID}&token={TEMPEST_TOKEN}
To list available stations/devices: GET https://swd.weatherflow.com/swd/rest/stations?token={TEMPEST_TOKEN}
Workflow
- Check for credentials — If the user hasn't provided a token and station ID, ask for them.
- Fetch the observation — Use bash (curl) or Python to call the REST endpoint.
- Parse the response — Extract the relevant fields from
obs(see field reference below). - Return structured JSON — Output a clean, normalized JSON object (see Output Schema).
- Handle errors gracefully — 401 = bad token, 404 = station not found, empty obs = no data yet.
Fetching with curl
curl -s "https://swd.weatherflow.com/swd/rest/observations/station/${STATION_ID}?token=${TEMPEST_TOKEN}"
Fetching with Python
import requests, json
url = f"https://swd.weatherflow.com/swd/rest/observations/station/{STATION_ID}"
resp = requests.get(url, params={"token": TEMPEST_TOKEN})
resp.raise_for_status()
data = resp.json()
Output Schema
Always return data in this normalized JSON structure:
{
"station_id": 12345,
"station_name": "My Backyard",
"timestamp": "2024-01-15T14:32:00Z",
"timestamp_epoch": 1705329120,
"conditions": {
"temperature_c": 18.5,
"temperature_f": 65.3,
"humidity_pct": 62,
"pressure_mb": 1013.4,
"pressure_trend": "steady"
},
"wind": {
"speed_avg_ms": 3.2,
"speed_avg_mph": 7.2,
"speed_lull_ms": 1.1,
"speed_gust_ms": 5.8,
"speed_gust_mph": 13.0,
"direction_deg": 247,
"direction_cardinal": "WSW"
},
"precipitation": {
"rain_accumulated_mm": 0.0,
"rain_daily_mm": 2.4,
"precip_type": "none",
"precip_analysis": "rain_check_on"
},
"lightning": {
"strike_count": 0,
"avg_distance_km": null
},
"solar": {
"uv_index": 3,
"solar_radiation_wm2": 412,
"illuminance_lux": 28500
},
"battery_volts": 2.42,
"data_source": "tempest_rest_api"
}
Field Reference
See references/obs_fields.md for the complete field mapping from Tempest API array indices to human-readable names, units, and conversion formulas.
Conversion Helpers
- °C → °F:
(C * 9/5) + 32 - m/s → mph:
ms * 2.237 - Degrees → Cardinal: Read the lookup table in
references/obs_fields.md - Precip type codes:
0 = none,1 = rain,2 = hail - Precip analysis codes:
0 = none,1 = rain_check_on,2 = rain_check_off
Error Handling
| HTTP Status | Meaning | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 200 | Success | Parse and return data |
| 401 | Invalid token | Ask user to re-check their token |
| 403 | Forbidden | Token doesn't have access to that station |
| 404 | Station not found | Ask user to confirm their station ID |
| 200 + empty obs | No data | Station may be offline; inform user |
If obs is an empty array or null, report: "Station found but no recent observations available — the device may be offline."
Example User Interactions
"What's the weather at my Tempest station?" → Fetch latest obs, return full JSON output.
"Is it raining?"
→ Fetch obs, check precipitation.precip_type and precipitation.rain_accumulated_mm, return focused JSON.
"Any lightning nearby?"
→ Fetch obs, check lightning.strike_count and lightning.avg_distance_km, return lightning sub-object.
"How windy is it?"
→ Return wind sub-object including gust, lull, avg, direction.