# Live Rain Radar AI Agent Connect

> Live Rain Radar MCP provides your AI agent with direct access to the RainViewer global radar network. You can pull specific radar tiles for any latitude and longitude, list the most recent precipitation sweeps, or generate a sequence of tile URLs to create playable rain animations. It works with any MCP-compatible client like Claude, Cursor, or Windsurf.

## Overview
- **Category:** weather-climate
- **Price:** Free
- **Endpoint:** https://edge.vinkius.com/vk_preview_I5EIiBdobDF49V3OsxYPdr2JN7x3goYIPP7bYpah/ai-agent-connect
- **Tags:** weather, radar, precipitation, rain, real-time, maps, tiles, rainviewer

## Description

This MCP gives your AI agent eyes on the weather. Instead of relying on static forecast icons, you can ask your agent for actual precipitation data pulled from the RainViewer network. You can request specific radar tiles for a city, check the last two hours of rain movement, or build an animation sequence to visualize how a storm is moving across a region. The data refreshes roughly every 10 minutes, providing a near real-time view of what is actually falling from the sky. Because the tile URLs are ephemeral, your agent can quickly fetch fresh frames whenever you need an updated view. It is a direct way to bring live, visual weather intelligence into your chat interface or custom application without managing complex API keys or heavy weather datasets.

## Tools

### list_radar_frames
This tool lists all currently available precipitation radar frames from the RainViewer network. It provides Unix timestamps and ISO timestamps for the most recent sweeps and nowcasts.

### build_radar_animation
This tool generates an ordered sequence of radar tile URLs for a specific location. Your agent uses these URLs to create a playable animation showing rain movement over time.

### get_radar_tile
This tool retrieves a specific PNG radar tile URL for a given latitude, longitude, and zoom level. You can target the latest sweep or a specific frame from the available list.

## Prompt Examples

**Prompt:** 
```
Is it raining in Lisbon right now? Show me the radar.
```

**Response:** 
```
Here is the latest radar tile for Lisbon. You can check the intensity by looking at the color patterns in the image.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
Give me an animation of the last two hours of rain over Berlin.
```

**Response:** 
```
I have generated twelve tile URLs representing the last two hours of rain in 10-minute intervals. You can play these in sequence to see the storm movement.
```

**Prompt:** 
```
How fresh is the radar data right now?
```

**Response:** 
```
The latest available frame is from the most recent 10-minute sweep. The archive currently holds about two hours of past data.
```

## Capabilities

### Real-time monitoring
Your agent checks the latest 10-minute radar sweeps to see current precipitation.

### Visual tile retrieval
The agent fetches specific PNG URLs for any coordinate and zoom level.

### Motion visualization
Your agent builds sequences of URLs to animate rain movement.

### Historical sweeps
The agent accesses up to two hours of recent radar data to track storm paths.

## Use Cases

### Route Planning
Check if a storm is currently moving through a planned delivery or travel path.

### Event Management
Monitor real-time precipitation at a specific venue to manage outdoor activities.

### App Prototyping
Quickly pull radar tiles into a custom interface using agent-driven commands.

### Local Weather Checks
Ask your agent if it is actually raining at your current location using live sweeps.

## Benefits

- Access global radar data without needing a personal API key.
- Get specific image URLs that work directly in UIs or chat windows.
- Avoid manual weather data management by letting your agent handle the retrieval.
- Visualize storm movement through generated animation sequences.

## How It Works

Connecting to this MCP gives your agent immediate access to the RainViewer API.

1. Connect the MCP to your preferred client like Claude or Cursor.
2. Ask your agent for radar data, such as a specific tile or an animation.
3. The agent calls the necessary tools to fetch timestamps or URLs.
4. The agent returns ready-to-use image URLs for you to view.

## Frequently Asked Questions

**Do I need an API key to use this?**
No, this MCP uses the RainViewer public API, so no personal account or key is required.

**How often does the radar update?**
Radar sweeps refresh approximately every 10 minutes.

**What happens if a radar tile URL stops working?**
Tile URLs are ephemeral and can expire after a few minutes. If a URL fails, your agent should rebuild it from a fresh frame list.

**Can I see a forecast for the future?**
The tool provides real-time sweeps and nowcasts. Nowcast frames are only available when precipitation is expected within about 30 minutes of a covered area.

**How much historical data can I access?**
You can access the last two hours of radar sweeps at 10-minute intervals.

**Does this need an API key?**
No. RainViewer's public radar index and tile cache are open. Subscribe and ask away.

**Why do I get image URLs instead of the picture itself?**
Radar tiles are raster images — megabytes of PNG. An MCP tool passes text, so this server builds the exact URL for the frame, location, zoom and colour scheme you asked for. Hand it to any browser, image tag or fetch call.

**A tile URL I got earlier now returns 404. What happened?**
Each radar frame is addressed by a short-lived hash that ages out minutes after the frame leaves the index. Call list_radar_frames again and rebuild — a fresh frame resolves immediately.