Why This Matters (Developer Use Cases)

Understanding grids, zones, and WFOs helps you:

• request the right gridpoint forecasts
• interpret zone-based alerts
• organize cached weather data by region
• handle multi-region or nationwide apps reliably

If you know how a point maps to a grid and zone, you will know which endpoint to use in the following use cases:

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Use Case 1: Getting a point forecast

• You must resolve a point to a grid cell
• Why: Forecasts arfor exampleid-based
• Workflow: /points → forecast URL → /gridpoints

Use Case 2: Showing regional alerts

• Alerts reference zone IDs
• Workflow: /points → zone links → /zones → /alerts?zone=...

Use Case 3: Mapping or visualizing coverage

• Zones provide boundaries
• Grids provide local detail
• Use include-geometry when you need polygon shapes

Use Case 4: Building scalable weather widgets

• Grid-based forecasts are stable and cacheable
• Zones help avoid duplicate alert checks

Use Case 5: Supporting marine or fire-weather users

• /points identifies special zone types
• Different zone types map to different forecast products

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Putting It All Together

The NWS API always follows the same pattern:

• A point maps to a grid and one or more zones
• Those structures belong to a forecast office (WFO)
• Every forecast or alert request follows this chain
• gridId, gridX, gridY, and zone IDs are stable keys you can rely on
• /points is the entry point that ties everything together

Guidance:

When in doubt, start with /points/{lat},{lon}.
It will always give you the correct links to follow next.

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