National Weather Service FTPMAIL


The National Weather Service (NWS) FTPMAIL Server is intended to allow Internet access for users who do not have direct access to the World Wide Web but who are equipped with an e-mail system [such as someone using WinLink from a field location]. The service is free and no signup is required. 

Using FTPMAIL, users can request files from NWS and have them automatically e-mailed back.  Turnaround is generally less than one hour, however, performance may vary widely and the NWS cannot guarantee receipt.

Before disaster strikes, go to your search engine of choice and search for NWS Weather Forecast Zones. It should take you here (https://www.weather.gov/pimar/PubZone). Choose your state and download a copy of the map(s) you want.

If you are in Pierce County, WA and want the forecast for Western Washington, open the Washington map and you will see that the zone for Pierce/Lewis County is 569.  

This is where it gets a little confusing, but basically if you copy and paste the following script into an e-mail to NWS.FTPMail.OPS@noaa.gov you’ll get a return e-mail with the forecast.

open
cd data
cd forecasts
cd zone
cd wa
get waz569.txt
quit

To get a forecast for some other area, you just need to change "wa" to your state’s initials, and then for the get line (the requested file), it is just the state initials, z, for zone forecast, and then the number you chose off the map. If you want the weather for Albuquerque, after cd zone, change your request to

cd nm
get nmz219.txt
quit


A detailed Help File is available by e-mailing the word "help" to NWS.FTPMail.OPS@noaa.gov. Just type help in the body of the e-mail, no capitalization or quotation marks. This system is case sensitive and wayward spaces will also throw things off, everything is in lower case. 

Note that this is an FTP Server, so e-mail must be in Text format (not HTLM); which is what we have with systems like WinLink, but you may have to adjust your Internet e-mail if you use it to test the system.

----

The Alaska Weather Information Service will also return a weather forecast to you via SMS/Text if you text them at (907) 654-5793 with the state/zone in the body of the text message. For example, text waz569 to (907) 654-5793 and you will receive a response with the weather forecast for Pierce/Lewis County, WA. While the Alaska Weather Information Service is, of course, focused on Alaska, the service will return a weather forecast for any requested state/zone.


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