Topic: Oops.. API outage for gridpoint forecasts 22-Dec-2023 to 1-Jan-2024

[saratogaWX]

On the admin messages link:

SENIOR DUTY METEOROLOGIST NWS ALERT ADMINISTRATIVE MESSAGE
NWS NCEP CENTRAL OPERATIONS COLLEGE PARK MD
1837Z FRI DEC 22 2023


...API FORECAST GRIDPOINT OUTAGE UNTIL 1 JAN 2024...

Due to a known software issue, the API gridpoint forecast
service will be unavailable until Monday 1 January 2024.


Kempisty/SDM/NCO/NCEP

Impact: 

advforecast2.php V5.19 - 27-Dec-2022 will only retrieve Zone forecasts until issue is resolved.

advforecast2.php V4.05 - 21-May-2018 operates normally (page scraper script for forecast.weather.gov)

If you want the non-Zone forecast in Base-USA templates, download the V4.05 script from the link above and replace advforecast2.php on your website.

[ValentineWeather]

Thanks, Ken may do that with an approaching storm. Jan 1 is a long ways out.

[Renate]

I move around a lot and rely on the:

• https://api.weather.gov/points/
  
• https://api.weather.gov/gridpoints/

So when gridpoints failed, I googled and ended up here.

It's giving me a 502 Bad Gateway. That seems a pretty sloppy way to take a service offline.
I've never found gridpoints to be that reliable. I often get 500 Server Error.
I've reported them in the past but never got any resolution or improvement.
It's probably because the gridpoints I ask for have not already been queried by a zillion people already that day.
Or does this belong in a separate thread?

[saratogaWX]

Discussion on the API github discussion area seems to indicate that a very old chunk of code that loads the data into the API for distribution has failed and really needs replacement, but priority has not been placed on this heretofor.  Send a note to nco.ops@noaa.gov to let them know the repair / replacement should be given high priority.

[Renate]

Send a note to nco.ops@noaa.gov to let them know the repair / replacement should be given high priority.

I did, but I forgot to complain about any number of other things.

• They should stop indenting, that cuts the JSON file size in half. There has to be some savings there for everybody.
  
• 15 decimal places for latitude/longitude??? I just want to know when a tornado is within 4" of me. 6 decimal places should suffice. Ok, apparently they store 7 places so that is the maximum they should format.

[W3DRM]

Thanks Ken! Now just hope I can remember to change back to the latest version once this issue is resolved.

Merry Christmas to all. We had some snow here in the Boise, Idaho area this morning. Will probably be gone by tonight though...

[saratogaWX]

No worries, Don.  I'll post here when the API is running normally again so it's ok to switch back to V5.18

Have a happy and prosperous New Year!

[Renate]

It's back!

Edit: Lol, three hours later got my first 500 "Unexpected Problem".
They should change that to "Expected Problem".

Edit^2: I only hit the API twice a day, I don't want to be a pest.
I've gotten four 500s in a row in the last two days.
I guess that I should just keep slamming it until I get a sensible response.
That's not very efficient.