🌩️ MCP Weather Alerts Tool using FastMCP + Claude Desktop
About
A Python MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that fetches real-time weather alerts by U.S. state using api.weather.gov, built with FastMCP and integrated into Claude Desktop.
Explore
- Implements a custom MCP server with FastMCP Python SDK
- Uses httpx to call real-time weather alerts from api.weather.gov
- Returns structured information: event, severity, description, and instructions
- Integrates directly with Claude Desktop as an MCP tool
- Testable interactively via MCP Inspector
Setting up with Highlight
This MCP is not yet compatible with Highlight’s one-click setup. However, you can still use it with Highlight by following these steps:
- Download and install Highlight from highlightai.com/download
- Navigate to the plugins tab and select "Add Custom Plugin"
-
Configure the plugin with the settings below
Plugin Name
🌩️ MCP Weather Alerts Tool using FastMCP + Claude DesktopCommand (node, npx, python, etc.)Please refer to the README for specific instructions on how to obtain API keys or other required environment variables.
- Enable "Start Automatically" if you want the plugin to start when Highlight launches
From the repository
pipx install uv # install uv if you haven't
uv init mcpcrashcourse # start new project
cd mcpcrashcourse
uv add "mcp[cli]" httpx # add dependencies
This project demonstrates how to build an MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool using the official FastMCP Python SDK. It integrates with Claude Desktop to enable an AI assistant to retrieve weather alerts by U.S. state via the api.weather.gov API.
---
``python
@mcp.tool()
async def get_alerts(state: str) -> list[dict]:
Place your weather.py in the server/ folder, containing the logic for get_alerts`.
---
Claude Desktop / Cursor
Paste into your MCP client config file to install this server.
{
"mcpServers": {
"\ud83c\udf29\ufe0f mcp weather alerts tool using fastmcp + claude desktop": {
"mcp-weather-alert-tool": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"init",
"mcpcrashcourse",
"#",
"start",
"new",
"project"
]
}
}
}
}McpServers
{
"mcp-weather-alert-tool": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"init",
"mcpcrashcourse",
"#",
"start",
"new",
"project"
]
}
}This project demonstrates how to build an MCP (Model Context Protocol) tool using the official FastMCP Python SDK. It integrates with Claude Desktop to enable an AI assistant to retrieve weather alerts by U.S. state via the api.weather.gov API.
---
🚀 What This Project Does
- ✅ Implements a custom MCP server with FastMCP
- 🌐 Uses httpx to call real-time weather alerts from api.weather.gov
- 📦 Returns structured information: event, severity, description, and instructions
- 🧠 Integrates with Claude Desktop
- 🌈 Can be tested interactively via MCP Inspector
---
🧱 Tech Stack
| Tool/Library | Purpose |
|--------------|---------|
| mcp[cli] | MCP server toolkit with CLI tools |
| httpx | Async HTTP client |
| uv | Modern Python package/dependency manager |
| Claude Desktop | AI interface for LLM + MCP |
| MCP Inspector | UI to debug MCP endpoints |
---
📁 Project Structure
mcpcrashcourse/
├── server/
│ └── weather.py # MCP server logic (get_alerts)
├── pyproject.toml # Project metadata + dependencies
├── uv.lock # Locked versions (auto-generated by uv)
└── README.md # You're reading it!
---
🧠 Tool Logic: get_alerts
@mcp.tool()
async def get_alerts(state: str) -> list[dict]:
# Fetch weather alerts for a given U.S. state (e.g., 'CA')
url = "https://api.weather.gov/alerts/active"
params = {"area": state.upper()}
async with httpx.AsyncClient() as client:
response = await client.get(url, params=params)
data = response.json()
return [
{
"event": alert.get("event"),
"severity": alert.get("severity"),
"description": alert.get("description"),
"instruction": alert.get("instruction"),
}
for alert in data.get("features", [])
if alert.get("properties")
]
---
🛠️ Installation & Setup
1. Create & Configure Project
pipx install uv # install uv if you haven't
uv init mcpcrashcourse # start new project
cd mcpcrashcourse
uv add "mcp[cli]" httpx # add dependencies
2. Add Your Tool
Place your weather.py in the server/ folder, containing the logic for get_alerts.
---
🧪 Run & Inspect
Launch with MCP Inspector
uv run mcp dev server/weather.py
Then open http://localhost:6757 to:
- View your get_alerts tool
- Try calling it with input like "TX"
---
🤖 Claude Desktop Integration
1. Update your claude_desktop_config.json:
{
"mcpServers": {
"weather": {
"command": "uv",
"args": [
"run",
"--with",
"mcp[cli]",
"mcp",
"run",
"<your-project-directory>/server/weather.py"
]
}
}
}
2. Restart Claude Desktop
3. Prompt:
> "What are the weather alerts for Texas?"
Claude will call your MCP tool and display structured output.
---
💡 What is MCP?
The Model Context Protocol standardizes how apps send context (data, tools, prompts) to LLMs. It separates the "context provider" from the LLM layer.
Three core primitives:
| Type | Use Case | Analogy |
|----------|-----------------------|-------------------|
| Tools | Execute functions | POST endpoint |
| Resources| Provide static data | GET endpoint |
| Prompts | Reusable interactions | LLM templates |
---
📎 Credits
- FastMCP Python SDK
- api.weather.gov
- Claude Desktop
- Project structure based on examples from the official MCP docs
---
📄 License
This project is open-sourced under the MIT License.
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