Weather Map API
Part of the Foreca Weather API: radar, satellite and forecast maps on top of the map your app already uses, so your users can see rain coming and what the weather does next.
40+ map layers: radar, satellite, forecasts, air quality and pollen
Radar every 5 minutes · forecast maps up to 5 days
Included in the Stratus plan · free 30-day trial
Built for weather, news and outdoor apps
A map shows at a glance what a forecast table cannot: where the weather is and where it is going.
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Weather apps: Show the rain radar so users see when a shower reaches them, and forecast maps for the days ahead.
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News and media sites: Add a live weather map to weather pages and storm coverage, so readers see where a storm front is now.
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Outdoor and travel apps: Show wind for sailing and cycling, snow depth for skiing or sea temperature for a beach day.
Weather Map API at a glance
The Stratus plan includes Weather Map API. Explore the included features below.
Map layers
Radar, satellite, lightning, temperature, wind, clouds, pressure, snow depth, sea temperature, UV index, air quality, pollen, and more.
Coverage
Global, with regional radar and pollen layers.
Radar
New radar images every 5 to 20 minutes, with a radar forecast up to 4 hours ahead.
Forecast maps
Hourly steps first, then 3-hourly, up to 5 days ahead.
Map tiles
256 × 256 PNG tiles in the standard z/x/y scheme, with the same zoom levels as Google Maps.
Map libraries
Works with OpenStreetMap, Leaflet, MapLibre and Google Maps.
Layer details
Available times, colour schemes and coverage for each layer, from one request.
Format
REST API. Map tiles as PNG images, layer details and city symbols as JSON.
How your app gets the data
As map tiles that you lay over your own base map, with a colour legend for each layer.
What it works best for
Showing where the weather is and how it moves: rain on its way, a storm front, tomorrow's temperatures across a region.
Combine with point forecasts
Show a local forecast alongside the map so your users can see the weather at their location and what’s heading their way.
What each group of map layers shows
Each group of layers has its own coverage and time range. Radar layers show the latest observations and a short radar forecast; forecast layers show the days ahead.
Map layer groups
| Layer group (number of layers) | Coverage | Time step | Time range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Precipitation radar (18) | Europe, the USA (with Alaska, Hawaii and Puerto Rico) and parts of Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, parts of Laos and Cambodia, Australia, Turkey and the Canary Islands. | 5–20 minutes | Past 3 hours to 1 day, radar forecast up to 4 hours. Some layers add a rain forecast up to 3 days. |
| Precipitation forecast (1) | Global | 15 minutes, then 3 hours | Up to 3 days |
| Precipitation accumulation (4) | Europe, North America | 1 hour | 1-hour and 24-hour totals, going back a few days |
| Lightning (1) | Americas, Europe, Africa and the Middle East | 10 minutes | Latest observations |
| Satellite (3) | Global | 10 minutes or 1 hour | Latest images, cloudiness forecast up to 2 days |
| Temperature, clouds and UV index (3) | Global | 1 hour, then 3 hours (UV index daily) | Up to 5 days (clouds 3.5 days) |
| Wind and pressure (4) | Global | 1 hour, then 3 hours (pressure 3 hours) | Up to 3.5 days (pressure 4 days) |
| Snow depth and sea temperature (2) | Global | 1 to 6 hours | Snow depth up to 10 days, sea temperature 3.5 days |
| Air quality index (1) | Global | 1 hour, then 3 hours | Up to 4 days |
| Pollen (6) | Europe | 1 hour, then 3 hours | Up to 2 days |
New map layers and radar areas are added from time to time. See the map layer list for the current coverage of each layer.
Weather Map API FAQ
Does every map tile count as an API request?
Yes. Each tile your app loads counts as one request, so one map view uses several requests. Cache the tiles to save requests and make the map load faster: keep radar tiles for a shorter time than temperature tiles, because radar changes more often.
Do I need my own base map?
Yes. Weather Maps gives the weather layers, not the streets and place names under them. Many layers are transparent, so they sit on top of your base map. The temperature, cloud, wind, UV index, air quality and pressure layers also come in an opaque colour scheme: use it if you want to draw borders, roads and city names on top.
Does my country have weather radar?
Possibly not. The radar layers cover the regions in the table above, not the whole world. Elsewhere, use the global precipitation forecast and the satellite layers to show where rain and clouds are.
Can I show radar images older than one day?
Mostly no. Radar images go back up to one day, depending on the layer. The radar precipitation accumulation maps for Europe and North America go back a few days. For older dates, Historical Weather gives past weather as data.
Do I need the Pollen or Air Quality feature for pollen and air quality maps?
No. Weather Maps includes every map layer, also the pollen and air quality layers. The Pollen and Air Quality features add forecasts for one location as data.
Can I show city temperatures and weather symbols on the map?
Yes. The symbol request returns temperatures and weather symbols for the cities in a map tile: for the current hour, hourly up to 5 days, or daily. Your app draws them on the map.
Can I show wind in mph or knots and temperature in Fahrenheit?
Yes. Wind symbols can be in metres per second, knots, km/h or mph, and city temperatures in Celsius or Fahrenheit. The temperature and sea temperature layers also come in Fahrenheit and the wind layer in mph.
Start building with weather maps
Tile requests, legends and city symbols are in the Weather Maps documentation. Every layer with its coverage and time steps is in the map layer list, and you can try the layers on the demo map.
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