StormIntel™ Data API
Your storm data, on demand.
Direct API access to StormIntel's proprietary Hail Swaths, Wind Swaths, Real Time and Post-Event Tornado Paths and more — the analysis behind the maps your claims, CAT and underwriting teams already use. Filter to your book of business by territory, date and threshold; load it into ArcGIS, your claims platform or your data pipeline in the format it wants; go back years for validation and modeling. Same-day data, refreshed every 10 minutes.
StormIntel data is used by 6 of the top 10 U.S. P&C carriers and licensed by all of the leading core insurance software platforms. Over 1,500 customers in insurance, restoration and data licensing.
Built for carriers, and the platforms that serve them
Designed with insurance carriers, for the systems carriers and their software vendors already run — and open to anyone who needs to know where the storm hit.
Insurance carriers and MGAs
Claims, catastrophe response, underwriting and portfolio analytics, each pulling the same proprietary swaths and paths directly into their own systems — no files to fetch, no map to screenshot.
Claims: was this policy location inside a hail or wind swath on the date of loss, and at what size or gust? CAT: today's hail and wind footprint over your policies-in-force, refreshed every 10 minutes, and real-time tornado paths while the storm is still moving — to size the event and dispatch adjusters first where it matters most. Underwriting and analytics: years of history against your book for validation, pricing and climatology.
Standard geospatial API — OGC API – Features — so ArcGIS, QGIS, FME and your data pipeline connect to it like any other source. Subscriptions scoped to your territory and history depth; data outside the scope is never returned.
Core insurance software platforms and analytics vendors
License StormIntel layers into your own product — claims, policy, CAT or analytics — and serve your carrier customers from one integration. Per-customer keys with per-layer and per-territory entitlements let you resell scoped access without re-cutting data.
Every feature carries its report date, the exact 24-hour window it covers and whether the day is complete, so your integration never has to learn conventions. A status endpoint reports freshness per layer. Interactive documentation with a try-it console and an OpenAPI definition for code generators, available on request.
Restoration networks, contractors and adjusters
No software needed. Ask whether a ZIP, an address radius or a state was hit yesterday and get size or gust, square miles, population, households and businesses — then open the day's storm map in Google Earth or a web map with one click.
What's in the data
WeatherGuidance's proprietary hail, wind and tornado analysis, produced in-house by our own methods — the same data behind StormIntel's interactive maps and delivered daily to carriers today — plus wildfire, lightning and earthquake layers, with near-real-time flood data coming soon.
| Layer | Content | How current | Turnkey history* |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hail Swaths | Daily hail footprint polygons by maximum hail size, from ¼″ to 5″ in ¼-inch steps. Smoothed and unsmoothed versions of every swath. | Today's swath updates as storms occur, refreshed every 10 minutes; each day is final at 12:00 UTC the following morning. | August 2009 to present* |
| Wind Swaths | Daily wind footprint polygons by maximum gust, 40 mph and up in 5-mph steps. Smoothed and unsmoothed. | Same as hail. | March 2015 to present* |
| Tornado Paths real-time and post-event | Real-time preliminary paths while the storm is still on the map — developed for carrier catastrophe teams and rapid claims response, and currently offered by no one else. Then the post-event surveyed paths: tracks and damage areas with EF rating, path length and width, injuries and fatalities. | Preliminary paths in near real time; ground survey results as they are made available by the government survey teams. | 2013 to present* |
| Wildfire | Ground perimeters, satellite fire detections and observed smoke. | Perimeters as information is received; satellite detections in near real time; smoke hourly. | 2012 to present* |
| Lightning | Cloud-to-ground lightning strikes. | Near real time. | 2012 to present* |
| Earthquake | Earthquake events. | Near real time. | 2009 to present* |
| Flood coming soon | Near-real-time flood data. | Near real time. | — |
| ZIP-level statistics | For every swath, path or event and every ZIP it touches: square miles affected, population, households and businesses — the plain-language answer behind the simple queries. | Computed with each layer, at the layer's cadence. | Same as the layer |
*Additional historical years may be populated upon request.
Only from StormIntel: tornado paths in real time. Every other tornado dataset arrives after the survey. StormIntel's preliminary paths are on the map while the storm is still moving — built specifically for catastrophe teams sizing the event and rapid claims response teams deciding where to send adjusters first. Preliminary paths stay available for analysis; ground survey results are published as they are made available by the government survey teams.
Four ways in
One key, scoped to your layers and territory, opens all of them.
Full geospatial API
OGC API – Features standard, so GIS software connects like any other data source. Query by bounding box, date range, hail size or gust threshold, state or ZIP; paging for large results; GeoJSON, KML, zipped shapefile (WGS84) or CSV out.
Simple queries
By ZIP code, by radius around a point, or by state and date. Plain JSON: hit or not, size or gust, square miles, population, households, businesses. No GIS knowledge needed.
Map links
A URL that returns a day's swaths as KML for Google Earth, GeoJSON for ArcGIS Online, QGIS or web maps, a zipped shapefile, or CSV — filtered by state or ZIP. Works from a browser address bar.
Status endpoint
Reports data freshness per layer, so an integration can verify it has the latest data before it acts on it. Daily files by SFTP remain available for customers who prefer them; the API provides everything the files do and more.
How it works
Get a key
Issued at onboarding, scoped to your layers and your territory — national, state, county or a custom area — and to the history depth and same-day access your plan includes. Keys can be rotated or revoked at any time; usage is reported.
Query or link
Call the API from your software over HTTPS with the key in a header, connect from ArcGIS, QGIS or FME, or paste a map link into a browser. JSON and GeoJSON, WGS84 coordinates — the universal defaults.
Get answers
Plain JSON for ZIP, radius and state questions, or storm footprints in GeoJSON, KML, shapefile or CSV. Every feature carries its report date, the exact 24-hour window it covers, and whether the day is complete.
Interactive documentation with a try-it console and an OpenAPI definition are available on request — along with sample data and evaluation access, so your team can test before you commit.
Request API access
Tell us who you are, which layers you need and the territory you cover. We'll scope a plan, issue a key and send the documentation.
- Plans scoped by layer, territory, history depth and same-day access — contact us for plans
- Per-customer keys with entitlements, rate limits and usage reporting
- Documentation, OpenAPI definition, sample data and evaluation access on request — test before you commit
- Daily SFTP files continue for customers who prefer them
Prefer to talk first? Call 512-504-3151 or email stormintel@weatherguidance.com during business hours.
Questions about the API
How current is the StormIntel API data?
Today's hail and wind swaths update as storms occur, every 10 minutes. Each day's data is final at 12:00 UTC the following morning. Tornado paths are available in near real time as preliminary paths while the storm is still moving — a StormIntel capability developed for catastrophe and rapid claims response teams — and ground survey results published as they are made available by the government survey teams.
What are real-time tornado paths?
Preliminary tornado paths published by StormIntel while the storm is still on the map, before any damage survey. They were developed specifically for insurance catastrophe teams and rapid claims response teams, and StormIntel is currently the only provider offering them. Preliminary paths stay available for analysis. Ground survey results — with EF rating, length, width, injuries and fatalities — are published as they are made available by the government survey teams.
Which layers does the API include?
Hail Swaths, Wind Swaths and Tornado Paths (real-time preliminary and post-event surveyed), plus Wildfire (ground perimeters, satellite detections and observed smoke), Lightning and Earthquake, each with ZIP-level statistics. Near-real-time Flood data is coming soon. Subscriptions are scoped by layer.
What formats does the API return?
GeoJSON, KML, zipped shapefile (WGS84) and CSV, plus plain JSON for ZIP, radius and state queries.
Can a subscription be limited to our territory?
Yes. Subscriptions are scoped by layer, by geography — national, state, county or a custom area — by history depth and by whether same-day data is included. Data outside the scope is never returned; polygons are clipped at the boundary.
Is there historical data?
Turnkey history: Hail Swaths from August 2009, Wind Swaths from March 2015, Tornado Paths from 2013, Wildfire and Lightning from 2012, Earthquake from 2009. Additional historical years may be populated upon request.
Do we need GIS software to use it?
No. ZIP-code, radius and state queries return plain answers, and map links open a day's swaths in Google Earth or a browser. GIS teams connect ArcGIS, QGIS or FME to the full OGC API – Features endpoint.
How is access controlled?
Per-customer API keys with per-layer and per-territory entitlements, rate limits and usage reporting. Keys can be revoked or rotated at any time.
Can we keep receiving daily files by SFTP?
Yes. SFTP delivery continues for customers who prefer it. The API provides everything the files do, in the same formats, on demand for any date, plus filtering and simple queries; migrating is a change of download step, not a re-integration.
Not building an integration? The same data is on the map in StormIntel interactive maps, and by address in verification reports.