National Weather Service (NWS)
NWS provides weather alerts that may cause or correlate with power and network outages.
Overview
| Property |
Value |
| Type |
Power outages (weather-related) |
| Coverage |
United States |
| Update Frequency |
15 minutes |
| Confidence Score |
0.85 |
| Source Identifier |
nws |
Data Provided
- Severe weather alerts
- Geographic areas affected
- Alert severity and urgency
- Expected duration
API Endpoint
https://api.weather.gov/alerts/active
Alert Types Monitored
| Alert Type |
Relevance |
| Hurricane Warning |
High - likely power outages |
| Tornado Warning |
High - infrastructure damage |
| Severe Thunderstorm |
Medium - localized outages |
| Ice Storm |
High - widespread outages |
| High Wind |
Medium - power line damage |
Incident Fields
| Field |
Source |
id |
Generated: nws-{alert_id} |
kind |
Always "power" |
region |
Alert area name |
summary |
Alert headline |
incidentCause |
WEATHER |
Example Response
{
"id": "nws-alert-123456",
"kind": "power",
"status": "ongoing",
"startedAt": "2025-01-15T06:00:00Z",
"endedAt": "2025-01-15T18:00:00Z",
"confidence": 0.85,
"summary": "Ice Storm Warning for Alameda County",
"region": "Alameda County, CA",
"source": "nws",
"incidentCause": "WEATHER",
"lat": 37.6017,
"lon": -122.0583
}
Filtering Logic
Only alerts with potential infrastructure impact are included:
- Excludes minor advisories
- Focuses on severe weather events
- Prioritizes events affecting populated areas
Advantages
- Official government source
- Predictive (alerts issued before impact)
- High geographic precision
- Well-structured API
Limitations
- Weather alerts don't guarantee outages
- No direct customer impact data
- US coverage only