Visual Crossing

Overview

Visual Crossing Weather provides historical, current, and forecast weather for any location, plus a big selection of weather variables (temperature, precipitation, wind, solar, snow, air quality). Key-based REST API with a free tier — popular for agriculture, energy, and logistics use cases.

Quick Start

Timeline weather (replace YOUR_KEY):

curl "https://weather.visualcrossing.com/VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/Paris?key=YOUR_KEY"

Historical range:

curl "https://weather.visualcrossing.com/VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/Paris/2026-08-01/2026-08-10?key=YOUR_KEY"

Include air quality / solar data:

curl "https://weather.visualcrossing.com/VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/Paris?key=YOUR_KEY&include=alerts,current,days"

Authentication

• Register at visualcrossing.com for a free API key (emailed).
• Send it as the key query parameter (an invalid key returns 401 — verified).
• Free tier: 1,000 calls/day, up to 1,000 locations — among the more generous weather free tiers.

Rate Limits & Notes

• Free tier: 1,000 requests/day; paid plans scale up.
• The “Timeline” endpoint is the workhorse: timeline/{location} or timeline/{loc}/{start}/{end}.
• Rich output: hourly/daily breakdowns with 40+ variables; include= selects sections.
• elements/columns params let you trim the response to specific variables.

FAQ

Is Visual Crossing free? Yes — free tier 1,000 requests/day (one of the bigger weather free tiers).

How do I get a key? Register at visualcrossing.com — the key is emailed.

What can I build with it? Weather dashboards, farming/energy planning, historical analysis, and location-based alerts.