NWS Weather Alerts & Severe Storm Warnings Scraper (USA)

Here is one real result, with every field the actor returns:

{
  "alertId": "urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.9a8f54e6e50ad7bfae50e06ec65ad9bc9a666615.001.1",
  "event": "Extreme Heat Warning",
  "headline": "Extreme Heat Warning issued August 20 at 1:41PM PDT until August 23 at 8:00PM PDT by NWS San Diego CA",
  "severity": "Severe",
  "urgency": "Expected",
  "certainty": "Likely",
  "category": "Met",
  "messageType": "Update",
  "status": "Actual",
  "areaDesc": "Coachella Valley; San Diego County Deserts; San Gorgonio Pass Near Banning",
  "states": ["CA"],
  "senderName": "NWS San Diego CA",
  "sent": "2026-08-20T13:41:00-07:00",
  "effective": "2026-08-20T13:41:00-07:00",
  "onset": "2026-08-20T13:41:00-07:00",
  "expires": "2026-08-20T21:45:00-07:00",
  "ends": "2026-08-23T20:00:00-07:00",
  "description": "* WHAT...Dangerously hot conditions with temperatures up to 113.\n\n* WHERE...Coachella Valley, San Diego County Deserts, and San Gorgonio Pass near Banning.\n\n* WHEN...Until 8 PM PDT Sunday.\n\n* IMPACTS...Heat related illnesses increase significantly during extreme heat events.",
  "instruction": "Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.",
  "nwsHeadline": "EXTREME HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 PM PDT SUNDAY",
  "vtec": "/O.CON.KSGX.XH.W.0008.000000T0000Z-260824T0300Z/",
  "affectedZoneCount": 3,
  "affectedZonesUGC": ["CAZ061", "CAZ062", "CAZ065"],
  "affectedSameCodes": ["006065", "006073"],
  "allClear": false,
  "queryArea": "CA",
  "queryPoint": null,
  "forecastPeriod": null,
  "forecastTemperature": null,
  "forecastTemperatureUnit": null,
  "forecastWindSpeed": null,
  "forecastWindDirection": null,
  "forecastShort": null,
  "forecastDetailed": null,
  "forecastOffice": null,
  "forecastCity": null,
  "aiPlainSummary": null,
  "aiWhoIsAffected": null,
  "aiRecommendedAction": null,
  "aiRiskLevel": null,
  "source": "NWS",
  "observedAt": "2026-08-21T00:25:13.047Z",
  "error": null
}

The most complete US weather alerts scraper available. It returns every field the National Weather Service publishes for each active alert, including the full description and protective-action instructions, plus derived fields (state codes, affected zone and county codes, an all-clear flag), and gives you six filters plus two paid add-ons to target exactly the alerts you need.

📥 Input · 📤 Output · 💰 Pricing · ▶️ Examples

Table of contents

• What it does
• Quickstart
• Input reference
• Output reference
• Example output record
• Run via API and CLI
• Fetch results
• Billing and limits
• FAQ and troubleshooting

What it does

The actor pulls active US National Weather Service alerts for the states or point you pass, applies your filters, and writes one normalized record per alert to the run's dataset. It covers every alert type the NWS issues: tornado, severe thunderstorm, flash flood, hurricane and tropical storm, winter storm, blizzard, extreme heat, air quality, red flag fire, coastal and marine warnings, and more.

Each record carries the alert event, severity, urgency and certainty, the affected counties and zones, the issuing office, the full timing (sent, effective, onset, expires, ends), the complete description, and the recommended protective actions. Derived fields are added on top of the raw source: two-letter states, the affected affectedZonesUGC and affectedSameCodes code lists, and an allClear flag. When a state or point has no active alerts, the actor returns a single allClear row and does not charge for it.

Two opt-in paid add-ons are available: a short-term location forecast for a point input, and an AI action summary that turns each alert into a plain-language summary, who is affected, a recommended action, and a risk level.

Quickstart

Open the actor, paste this into the input, and press Run. It returns up to 10 active alerts for Texas.

{
  "area": "TX",
  "maxResults": 10
}

Pass a comma-separated list to cover several states in one run, for example "area": "FL,GA,AL". Use a point instead of area to get alerts covering one exact location, for example "point": "29.76,-95.36". Add severity or event to narrow the results.

Input reference

Field	Type	Required	Default	Description
area	string	conditional	(empty)	One or more two-letter US state or territory codes, comma separated, for example TX, FL,GA or CA,OR,WA. Provide this or point.
point	string	conditional	(empty)	Latitude and longitude as lat,lon, for example 29.76,-95.36, to get alerts covering that exact location. Provide this or area.
event	string	no	(empty)	Keep only alerts whose event name contains this text, for example Tornado, Flood, Hurricane, Winter Storm, Heat. Case-insensitive.
severity	enum	no	(any)	Return only alerts at this severity: Extreme, Severe, Moderate, Minor.
urgency	enum	no	(any)	Return only alerts at this urgency: Immediate, Expected, Future.
status	enum	no	actual	actual returns real operational alerts. test returns system test messages.
includeForecast	boolean	no	false	Paid add-on (paid plans, point input only). Adds the short-term NWS forecast for the point. Charged only when a real forecast is returned.
aiAlertAction	boolean	no	false	Paid add-on (paid plans). Adds an AI plain-language summary, who is affected, a recommended action, and a risk level per alert. Charged only when a usable result is produced.
maxResults	integer	no	10	Maximum alert records to return across the run. Free Apify plans are capped at 10 per run.

Either area or point is required. Filters combine with logical AND.

Output reference

One dataset item per active alert. Types: string, number, boolean, string[], or null when the source value is absent.

Field	Type	Description
alertId	string	Unique NWS alert identifier.
event	string	Alert event type, for example Tornado Warning, Flood Watch, Extreme Heat Warning.
headline	string	Human-readable alert headline.
severity	string	Extreme, Severe, Moderate, Minor, or Unknown.
urgency	string	Immediate, Expected, Future, Past, or Unknown.
certainty	string	Observed, Likely, Possible, Unlikely, or Unknown.
category	string	Alert category, for example Met (meteorological).
messageType	string	Alert, Update, or Cancel.
status	string	Alert status, for example Actual or Test.
areaDesc	string	Affected areas described (counties and zones), semicolon separated.
states	string[]	Two-letter US state codes covered by the alert.
senderName	string	Issuing NWS office.
sent	string	When the alert was sent (ISO 8601).
effective	string	When the alert becomes effective (ISO 8601).
onset	string	When the hazard is expected to begin (ISO 8601).
expires	string	When the alert message expires (ISO 8601).
ends	string	When the hazard is expected to end (ISO 8601).
description	string	Full alert description narrative.
instruction	string	Recommended protective action instructions.
nwsHeadline	string	Extra NWS headline parameter, if present.
vtec	string	VTEC event code string, if present.
affectedZoneCount	number	Number of affected forecast or county zones.
affectedZonesUGC	string[]	UGC zone and county codes affected.
affectedSameCodes	string[]	SAME (FIPS) county codes affected.
allClear	boolean	true when there are no active alerts for the query. These rows are not charged.
queryArea	string	The area input that produced this record.
queryPoint	string	The point input that produced this record.
forecastPeriod	string	Forecast add-on: period name, for example Tonight.
forecastTemperature	number	Forecast add-on: temperature.
forecastTemperatureUnit	string	Forecast add-on: temperature unit (F or C).
forecastWindSpeed	string	Forecast add-on: wind speed.
forecastWindDirection	string	Forecast add-on: wind direction.
forecastShort	string	Forecast add-on: short forecast text.
forecastDetailed	string	Forecast add-on: detailed forecast text.
forecastOffice	string	Forecast add-on: NWS forecast office code.
forecastCity	string	Forecast add-on: nearest city to the point.
aiPlainSummary	string	AI add-on: plain-language summary of the alert.
aiWhoIsAffected	string	AI add-on: who and where is affected.
aiRecommendedAction	string	AI add-on: most important recommended action.
aiRiskLevel	string	AI add-on: risk level (low, moderate, high, extreme).
source	string	Data source.
observedAt	string	ISO 8601 timestamp of when the record was collected.
error	string	null on success. On a failed run, a single item with a populated error field is written instead.

Example output record

Real record from a live run with the location forecast add-on (input {"point": "29.76,-95.36", "includeForecast": true}):

{
  "alertId": "urn:oid:2.49.0.1.840.0.c35c7a4380227a208f17cf70594085980a2954d2.001.1",
  "event": "Heat Advisory",
  "headline": "Heat Advisory issued August 20 at 1:30PM CDT until August 21 at 7:00PM CDT by NWS Houston/Galveston TX",
  "severity": "Moderate",
  "urgency": "Expected",
  "certainty": "Likely",
  "category": "Met",
  "messageType": "Update",
  "status": "Actual",
  "areaDesc": "Houston; Trinity; Madison; Walker; San Jacinto; Polk; Burleson; Brazos; Montgomery; Inland Harris; Fort Bend; Coastal Galveston; Galveston Island",
  "states": ["TX"],
  "senderName": "NWS Houston/Galveston TX",
  "onset": "2026-08-20T13:30:00-05:00",
  "expires": "2026-08-20T21:30:00-05:00",
  "ends": "2026-08-21T19:00:00-05:00",
  "instruction": "Drink plenty of fluids, stay in an air-conditioned room, stay out of the sun, and check up on relatives and neighbors.",
  "affectedZoneCount": 33,
  "queryArea": null,
  "queryPoint": "29.76,-95.36",
  "forecastPeriod": "Tonight",
  "forecastTemperature": 81,
  "forecastTemperatureUnit": "F",
  "forecastWindSpeed": "5 to 10 mph",
  "forecastWindDirection": "S",
  "forecastShort": "Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms then Partly Cloudy",
  "forecastOffice": "HGX",
  "forecastCity": "Houston",
  "source": "NWS",
  "error": null
}

Run via API and CLI

Start a run and wait for it to finish, then read the dataset. Replace <TOKEN> with your Apify API token.

Run synchronously and get dataset items in one call:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~nws-weather-alerts-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"area":"TX,OK","event":"Tornado","maxResults":50}'

Start a run asynchronously:

curl -X POST "https://api.apify.com/v2/acts/scrapers_lat~nws-weather-alerts-scraper/runs?token=<TOKEN>" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"area":"CA","severity":"Severe","maxResults":100}'

Apify CLI:

apify call scrapers_lat/nws-weather-alerts-scraper \
  --input '{"point":"29.76,-95.36","includeForecast":true}'

Fetch results

Every run writes to a dataset. Fetch items as JSON, CSV, or Excel by changing format:

# JSON
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=json"

# CSV
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&clean=true&format=csv"

# Paginate large datasets
curl "https://api.apify.com/v2/datasets/<DATASET_ID>/items?token=<TOKEN>&offset=1000&limit=1000"

<DATASET_ID> is returned as defaultDatasetId in the run object. Use offset and limit to page through large result sets. clean=true drops empty and internal fields.

Billing and limits

• Pay per result. You are charged per active alert returned (result event). See the pricing tab for the current per-result price.
• No charge on all-clear or failure. When a state or point has no active alerts, the actor returns a single allClear row and does not charge. If a run errors, it writes a single item with a populated error field and does not charge for it.
• Add-ons are opt-in and paid-plan only. The location forecast and AI alert action add-ons are disabled for free users, default off, and charge only when they genuinely return data.
• Spend cap respected. Set maxTotalChargeUsd on the run; once reached, the actor stops emitting and charging further billable results.
• Free Apify plans are capped at 10 records per run. Upgrade for higher maxResults.

FAQ and troubleshooting

A run returned a single row with allClear: true. Why? That state or point has no active alerts right now. This is a valid all-clear response and is not charged. Many states have zero active alerts on a calm day.

How do I get only the most serious warnings? Set severity to Extreme or Severe, or set event to a specific type such as Tornado or Hurricane. You can combine both.

Can I monitor several states at once? Yes. Pass a comma-separated list in area, for example FL,GA,AL,SC.

What is the difference between area and point? area returns every active alert for the listed states. point returns only the alerts whose polygon or zone covers that exact latitude and longitude, which is useful for a single facility, farm, or route waypoint.

What does the location forecast add-on add? For a point input, it fetches the short-term NWS forecast for that location (period, temperature, wind, and conditions) and attaches it to the alerts, so you get both the warning and the near-term outlook in one row.

What does the AI alert action add-on add? It reads each alert and returns a plain-language summary, who is affected, the single most important action to take, and a risk level, so non-specialists can act on the alert quickly.

Is this an official NWS tool? No. This actor is independent and has no affiliation with the National Weather Service or NOAA. It reads only data that is publicly available. Always follow official guidance from local authorities during a weather emergency.

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Independent tool, not affiliated with the National Weather Service or NOAA. Accesses only publicly available data. Always follow official guidance from local authorities during a weather emergency.