Storm Tracks - Spire Weather API Documentation

Tropical cyclone tracking and intensity data. Spire aggregates data from the NHC (NOAA/NWS), CPHC, and JTWC to provide global coverage of tropical cyclone activity, including historical tracks dating back to 1990.

Overview¶

The forecasts are issued by the responsible government centres following their own procedures, so the notion of spatial resolution does not apply. Active storms are typically updated every 6 hours, more often as a cyclone approaches landfall, and the cadence varies by forecasting centre. Each storm carries an observed track (past positions) and, while active, a forecast track from the latest advisory; the ATCF identifier ties the two together. Only the two- or three-letter category codes appear in the responses; their meaning is given on this page.

Endpoints¶

Method	Endpoint	Description
GET	`/storm/json`	Get storm data as JSON
GET	`/storm/kmz`	Get storm data as KMZ

Storm JSON¶

GET /storm/json

Retrieve tropical cyclone track and intensity information as JSON. Storms are identified by their ATCF ID.

Parameters¶

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
`status`	string	No	`active` (default), `inactive`, or `any`
`id`	string	No	ATCF ID (e.g., `AL022024`)
`name`	string	No	Storm name (case insensitive, does not include category)
`category`	string	No	Minimum category reached (returns storms at this level or higher)
`intensity`	number	No	Minimum sustained wind speed, in knots, reached at any point along the track
`region`	string	No	Basin or sub-basin code
`period`	string	No	Date range as two comma-separated dates, `YYYY-MM-DD,YYYY-MM-DD` (e.g., `2023-01-01,2023-07-15`). Any storm with a position inside the range is returned with its full track.
`data_filter`	string	No	`all` (default), `analysis`, or `forecast`
`limit`	integer	No	Max storms to return (1–100, default: 100)
`offset`	integer	No	Number of storms to skip (for pagination)

ATCF ID Format¶

Storm IDs follow the format BBXXYYYY:

BB — 2-character ATCF basin code (AL, EP, WP, CP, IO, SH)
XX — 2-digit annual cyclone number (1–99, not reused until the following season)
YYYY — 4-digit year the storm formed

Example: AL022024 = Atlantic basin, 2nd storm of 2024

Storm Categories¶

Categories are listed in order of increasing intensity. When filtering by category, all storms that reached that level or higher are returned.

Code	Description
`XX`	Unknown
`DS`	Dissipating
`IN`	Inland
`PT`	Post-Tropical Cyclone
`LO`	Low Pressure Center
`SS`	Subtropical Storm
`TD`	Tropical Depression
`TS`	Tropical Storm
`TC1`	Category 1 Hurricane / Typhoon
`TC2`	Category 2 Hurricane / Typhoon
`TC3`	Category 3 Hurricane / Typhoon
`TC4`	Category 4 Hurricane / Typhoon
`TC5`	Category 5 Hurricane / Super Typhoon

Basins¶

Code	Name
`NA`	North Atlantic
`SA`	South Atlantic
`EP`	Eastern North Pacific
`WP`	Western North Pacific
`NI`	North Indian
`SI`	South Indian
`SP`	Southern Pacific

Sub-Basins¶

Code	Name
`CS`	Caribbean Sea
`GM`	Gulf of Mexico
`MM`	Missing (no sub-basin assigned)
`CP`	Central Pacific
`AS`	Arabian Sea
`BB`	Bay of Bengal
`WA`	Western Australia
`EA`	Eastern Australia

Example Requests¶

Get active storms:

Shell

Python

Node.js

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json?status=active' \
  -H 'spire-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

Get a specific storm by name:

Shell

Python

Node.js

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json?name=Beryl&status=any' \
  -H 'spire-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json",
    params={"name": "Beryl", "status": "any"},
    headers={"spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()

Get storms in a time period:

Shell

Python

Node.js

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json?period=2024-06-01,2024-11-30&status=inactive' \
  -H 'spire-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json",
    params={
        "period": "2024-06-01,2024-11-30",
        "status": "inactive",
    },
    headers={"spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()

const params = new URLSearchParams({
  period: "2024-06-01,2024-11-30",
  status: "inactive",
});
const response = await fetch(
  `https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json?${params}`,
  { headers: { "spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" } }
);
const data = await response.json();

Get major hurricanes (Category 3+):

Shell

Python

Node.js

curl -X GET \
  'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json?category=TC3&region=NA&status=any' \
  -H 'spire-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json",
    params={"category": "TC3", "region": "NA", "status": "any"},
    headers={"spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)
data = response.json()

Response¶

The response is an array of storm objects, each with separate observed_track and forecast_track arrays:

[
  {
    "atcf_id": "WP052023",
    "storm_name": "Doksuri",
    "basin": "WP",
    "subbasin": "MM",
    "season": 2023,
    "is_active": true,
    "advisory_number": 18,
    "advisory_issuance_time": "2023-07-25T18:00:00+00:00",
    "max_development_category": "TC4",
    "max_sustained_wind": 128.0,
    "min_mslp": 926.0,
    "dates_active": {
      "start": "2023-07-17",
      "end": "ongoing"
    },
    "observed_track": [
      {
        "lat": 7.1,
        "lon": 136.2,
        "category_code": "XX",
        "basin": "WP",
        "subbasin": "MM",
        "wind_gusts": null,
        "max_sustained_wind": 20.0,
        "min_mslp": 1004.0,
        "movement_direction": null,
        "movement_speed": null,
        "wind_extent_radii": {},
        "time": "2023-07-17T00:00:00+00:00"
      }
    ],
    "forecast_track": [
      {
        "lat": 19.6,
        "lon": 120.6,
        "category_code": "TC3",
        "basin": "WP",
        "subbasin": "MM",
        "wind_gusts": 135.0,
        "max_sustained_wind": 110.0,
        "min_mslp": null,
        "movement_direction": 315.0,
        "movement_speed": 6.0,
        "wind_extent_radii": {
          "34kts": {
            "wind_speed": 34.0,
            "ne": 190.0,
            "se": 210.0,
            "nw": 180.0,
            "sw": 150.0
          },
          "50kts": {
            "wind_speed": 50.0,
            "ne": 80.0,
            "se": 80.0,
            "nw": 70.0,
            "sw": 90.0
          },
          "64kts": {
            "wind_speed": 64.0,
            "ne": 40.0,
            "se": 40.0,
            "nw": 30.0,
            "sw": 30.0
          }
        },
        "forecast_hour": 12,
        "forecast_time": "2023-07-26T06:00:00+00:00"
      }
    ]
  }
]

Response Fields — Storm Summary¶

Field	Type	Description
`atcf_id`	string	ATCF ID storm identifier
`storm_name`	string	Storm name (empty until named)
`basin`	string	Ocean basin code
`subbasin`	string	Sub-basin code
`season`	integer	Year of the storm season
`is_active`	boolean	Whether storm is currently active
`advisory_number`	integer	Advisory number (null for inactive storms)
`advisory_issuance_time`	string	Advisory issuance time (null for inactive storms)
`max_development_category`	string	Highest category reached over observed track
`max_sustained_wind`	number	Maximum sustained wind (knots) over observed track
`min_mslp`	number	Minimum sea-level pressure (hPa) over observed track
`dates_active`	object	Start/end dates for all positions

Response Fields — Track Positions¶

Field	Type	Description
`lat`	number	Latitude of storm center
`lon`	number	Longitude of storm center
`category_code`	string	Storm category at this position
`basin`	string	Basin at this position
`subbasin`	string	Sub-basin at this position
`wind_gusts`	number	Maximum wind gusts (knots)
`max_sustained_wind`	number	Maximum sustained wind (knots)
`min_mslp`	number	Minimum sea-level pressure (hPa)
`movement_direction`	number	Direction storm is moving toward (degrees from N)
`movement_speed`	number	Speed of storm movement (knots)
`wind_extent_radii`	object	Wind Radii for 34, 50, 64 kt thresholds (NE/SE/NW/SW quadrants, nautical miles)
`time`	string	Valid time (observed track only)
`forecast_time`	string	Valid time (forecast track only)
`forecast_hour`	integer	Hours from advisory issuance (forecast track only)

Storm KMZ¶

GET /storm/kmz

Retrieve storm data as KMZ file for visualization in Google Earth Pro.

Parameters¶

Same parameters as /storm/json.

Example Request¶

Shell

Python

Node.js

curl -OJ -X GET \
  'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/kmz?name=Beryl&status=any' \
  -H 'spire-api-key: YOUR_API_KEY'

import requests

response = requests.get(
    "https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/kmz",
    params={"name": "Beryl", "status": "any"},
    headers={"spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY"},
)

with open("Beryl.kmz", "wb") as f:
    f.write(response.content)

import { writeFile } from "fs/promises";

const response = await fetch(
  "https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/kmz?name=Beryl&status=any",
  { headers: { "spire-api-key": "YOUR_API_KEY" } }
);

const buffer = Buffer.from(await response.arrayBuffer());
await writeFile("Beryl.kmz", buffer);

Python Example¶

Track active storms and monitor intensity:

import requests

headers = {'spire-api-key': 'YOUR_API_KEY'}

# Get all active storms
response = requests.get(
    'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json',
    headers=headers,
    params={'status': 'active'}
)

storms = response.json()

for storm in storms:
    print(f"\n{storm['storm_name']} ({storm['atcf_id']})")
    print(f"  Basin: {storm['basin']}")
    print(f"  Category: {storm['max_development_category']}")
    print(f"  Max Wind: {storm['max_sustained_wind']} kt")
    print(f"  Min Pressure: {storm['min_mslp']} hPa")
    print(f"  Active: {storm['is_active']}")

    # Get latest observed position
    if storm['observed_track']:
        latest = storm['observed_track'][-1]
        print(f"  Latest Position: {latest['lat']:.1f}N, {latest['lon']:.1f}E")
        print(f"  As of: {latest['time']}")

    # Show forecast positions
    if storm.get('forecast_track'):
        print(f"  Forecast positions: {len(storm['forecast_track'])}")
        for pos in storm['forecast_track'][:3]:
            print(f"    +{pos['forecast_hour']}h: {pos['lat']:.1f}N, {pos['lon']:.1f}E "
                  f"({pos['category_code']}, {pos['max_sustained_wind']} kt)")

Plot Storm Tracks¶

import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import cartopy.crs as ccrs
import cartopy.feature as cfeature

# Get historical storms for Atlantic 2024 season
response = requests.get(
    'https://api.wx.spire.com/storm/json',
    headers=headers,
    params={
        'region': 'NA',
        'period': '2024-06-01,2024-11-30',
        'status': 'inactive'
    }
)

storms = response.json()

fig, ax = plt.subplots(
    figsize=(12, 8),
    subplot_kw={'projection': ccrs.PlateCarree()}
)

ax.add_feature(cfeature.LAND)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.OCEAN)
ax.add_feature(cfeature.COASTLINE)
ax.set_extent([-100, -10, 5, 50])

for storm in storms:
    # Plot observed track
    obs = storm.get('observed_track', [])
    if obs:
        lats = [p['lat'] for p in obs]
        lons = [p['lon'] for p in obs]
        ax.plot(lons, lats, label=storm['storm_name'], transform=ccrs.PlateCarree())

ax.legend(loc='upper left')
plt.title('Atlantic Tropical Cyclones 2024')
plt.show()