JUHE API Marketplace
RyanCardin15 avatar
MCP Server

LocalTides MCP Server

This server provides tools for interacting with the NOAA Tides and Currents API, enabling access to water level data, tide predictions, currents data, station information, and astronomical information like moon phases and sun times.

4
GitHub Stars
8/23/2025
Last Updated
No Configuration
Please check the documentation below.

README Documentation

🌊 NOAA Tides & Currents MCP Server

smithery badge

🚀 Lightning-fast access to NOAA's oceanic and atmospheric data through MCP

Your one-stop solution for tides, currents, weather, astronomy, and climate data

📦 Quick Start🛠️ Tools📖 Examples🏗️ Advanced


✨ What Makes This Awesome

🌊 25+ Specialized Tools - From basic tide data to advanced climate projections
Lightning Fast - Built on FastMCP for optimal performance
🎯 Zero Config - Works out of the box with Claude Desktop
🌍 Comprehensive Data - Water levels, currents, weather, moon phases, sun data
📊 Climate Research Ready - Sea level trends, flooding projections, extreme events
🚀 NPX Ready - Install and run with a single command


🚀 Quick Start

⚡ NPX Installation (Recommended)

# Install and run immediately - no setup required!
npx @ryancardin/noaa-tides-currents-mcp-server

# Or use the shorter alias
npx noaa-mcp

🔌 Transport Modes

STDIO Mode (Default - MCP Protocol)

# Standard MCP server for Claude Desktop integration
npx @ryancardin/noaa-tides-currents-mcp-server

# Or use the shorter alias
npx noaa-mcp

HTTP Streamable Mode (Web Integration)

# Start HTTP server on default port 3000
npx @ryancardin/noaa-tides-currents-mcp-server --http

# Specify custom port
npx @ryancardin/noaa-tides-currents-mcp-server --http --port 8080

# Using shorter alias
npx noaa-mcp --http --port 8080

# Access via Server-Sent Events
curl http://localhost:3000/sse

🎯 Claude Desktop Integration

Install directly to Claude Desktop via Smithery:

npx -y @smithery/cli install @RyanCardin15/tidesandcurrents --client claude

🔧 Manual Development Setup

# Clone and build
git clone https://github.com/RyanCardin15/NOAA-Tides-And-Currents-MCP.git
cd NOAA-Tides-And-Currents-MCP
npm install && npm run build

# Start the server
npm start

# Test with FastMCP
npx fastmcp dev dist/index.js

🛠️ Available Tools

🌊 Water Data Tools (6 tools)

Water Levels & Tides

  • get_water_levels - Real-time and historical water level data
  • get_tide_predictions - High/low tide predictions and continuous data
  • get_currents - Real-time and historical current measurements
  • get_current_predictions - Current speed and direction forecasts
  • get_meteorological_data - Wind, air temp, water temp, pressure, etc.

Station Information

  • get_stations - Search and list monitoring stations
  • get_station_details - Detailed station metadata and capabilities
🔬 Climate & Research Tools (9 tools)

Sea Level Analysis

  • get_sea_level_trends - Long-term sea level rise trends and rates
  • get_extreme_water_levels - Statistical analysis of extreme events

High Tide Flooding Analysis

  • get_high_tide_flooding_daily - Daily flood event counts
  • get_high_tide_flooding_monthly - Monthly flooding patterns
  • get_high_tide_flooding_seasonal - Seasonal flood analysis
  • get_high_tide_flooding_annual - Yearly flooding trends
  • get_high_tide_flooding_projections - Future flood risk scenarios
  • get_high_tide_flooding_likelihoods - Daily flood probability

Historical Extremes

  • get_top_ten_water_levels - Highest/lowest water levels on record
🌙 Astronomy Tools (7 tools)

Moon Phase Calculations

  • get_moon_phase - Current moon phase and illumination
  • get_moon_phases_range - Moon phases over date ranges
  • get_next_moon_phase - Find next new/full/quarter moons

Solar Calculations

  • get_sun_times - Sunrise, sunset, dawn, dusk times
  • get_sun_times_range - Solar times over date ranges
  • get_sun_position - Real-time sun azimuth and elevation
  • get_next_sun_event - Next sunrise, sunset, or solar noon
⚙️ Configuration Tools (1 tool)

API Parameters

  • get_parameter_definitions - Valid values for all API parameters

📖 Usage Examples

🌊 Get Current Tide Conditions

# Get latest water levels for Boston Harbor
get_water_levels station="8443970" date="latest"

# Get today's tide predictions for Miami
get_tide_predictions station="8723214" begin_date="today" end_date="today" interval="hilo"

🌀 Hurricane Preparedness

# Get extreme water level statistics for storm planning
get_extreme_water_levels station="8518750" units="english"

# Check flooding likelihood for tomorrow
get_high_tide_flooding_likelihoods station="8518750" date="2024-12-16" threshold="minor"

🔬 Climate Research

# Analyze 30-year sea level trends
get_sea_level_trends station="8518750" affiliation="US"

# Get high tide flooding projections for 2050s under intermediate sea level rise
get_high_tide_flooding_projections station="8518750" scenario="intermediate" decade="2050s"

🌙 Astronomy & Navigation

# Get tonight's moon phase for navigation
get_moon_phase date="2024-12-15" latitude="42.3601" longitude="-71.0589"

# Calculate sunrise/sunset for sailing
get_sun_times date="2024-12-15" latitude="25.7617" longitude="-80.1918" timezone="America/New_York"

🎣 Fishing & Recreation

# Best fishing times with current predictions
get_current_predictions station="ACT0446" date="today" interval="MAX_SLACK"

# Wind and weather conditions
get_meteorological_data station="8443970" product="wind" date="today"

🏗️ Advanced Usage

🔧 Development & Testing

# Run in development mode (stdio)
npm run dev

# Development with HTTP transport
npm run dev:http

# Production builds with different transports
npm start                    # STDIO mode (default)
npm run start:http          # HTTP on port 3000
npm run start:http:3001     # HTTP on port 3001
npm run start:http:8080     # HTTP on port 8080

# Inspect server capabilities
npx fastmcp inspect dist/index.js

🌐 HTTP Stream Integration

When running in HTTP mode, the server provides Server-Sent Events (SSE) at /sse:

# Start HTTP server
npx @ryancardin/noaa-tides-currents-mcp-server --http --port 3000

# Test the endpoint
curl -N http://localhost:3000/sse

# Or integrate with web applications
fetch('http://localhost:3000/sse')
  .then(response => response.body.getReader())
  .then(reader => {
    // Handle streaming MCP responses
  });

Use Cases for HTTP Mode:

  • 🌐 Web Applications - Integrate with React, Vue, Angular apps
  • 📱 Mobile Apps - REST-like access from mobile applications
  • 🔗 API Gateways - Proxy through load balancers or API gateways
  • 🧪 Testing - Easy curl-based testing and debugging

📊 Data Formats & Export

All tools support multiple output formats:

  • JSON (default) - Perfect for programmatic use
  • XML - Legacy system integration
  • CSV - Direct spreadsheet import

🌍 Global Station Coverage

  • 13,000+ stations worldwide
  • Real-time data from NOAA's CO-OPS network
  • Historical records dating back decades
  • Global tide predictions and current forecasts

🚦 API Endpoints

This server integrates with three NOAA APIs:

APIPurposeBase URL
Data APIReal-time observations & predictionsapi.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/api/prod/
Metadata APIStation information & capabilitiesapi.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/mdapi/prod/
Derived Products APIClimate analysis & research dataapi.tidesandcurrents.noaa.gov/dpapi/prod/

🛠️ Technical Details

Architecture

  • 🚀 FastMCP Framework - High-performance MCP server
  • 📝 TypeScript - Full type safety and IntelliSense
  • 🔧 Zod Validation - Runtime parameter validation
  • ⚡ Axios HTTP Client - Reliable API communication
  • 🌙 SunCalc Integration - Precise astronomical calculations

Transport Options

  • 📡 STDIO Transport - Standard MCP protocol for desktop clients
  • 🌐 HTTP Stream Transport - Server-Sent Events for web integration
  • 🔄 Dual Mode Support - Switch between transports via command-line flags

System Requirements

  • Node.js 18+
  • NPM 8+
  • MCP Client (Claude Desktop, etc.)

Package Size

  • 📦 Bundled: 43.9 KB
  • 📂 Installed: 286.2 KB
  • ⚡ Load Time: <100ms

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues & Solutions

Server Won't Start

# Check Node.js version
node --version  # Should be 18+

# Rebuild TypeScript
npm run build

API Errors

  • Invalid Station ID: Use get_stations to find valid stations
  • Date Format Issues: Use YYYYMMDD or MM/DD/YYYY formats
  • Rate Limiting: NOAA APIs have usage limits - space out requests

MCP Connection Issues

  • Ensure Claude Desktop MCP settings are configured correctly
  • Check that the server binary has execute permissions: chmod +x dist/index.js

📈 Roadmap

  • 🌊 Real-time Alerts - Webhook support for tide/weather alerts
  • 📱 Mobile SDK - React Native integration
  • 🗺️ GIS Integration - Shapefile and KML export
  • 🤖 AI Insights - Automated pattern recognition
  • GraphQL API - Modern query interface
  • 🌐 Multi-language - I18n support

🤝 Contributing

We love contributions! Here's how to get started:

  1. 🍴 Fork the repository
  2. 🌿 Branch for your feature (git checkout -b amazing-feature)
  3. 💻 Code your improvements
  4. ✅ Test with npm test
  5. 📤 Submit a pull request

Development Commands

npm run build    # Build TypeScript
npm run dev      # Development mode  
npm run test     # Run test suite
npm run format   # Format with Prettier

📄 License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Built with ❤️ by Ryan Cardin


🔗 Links & Resources

⭐ Star this repo if it helped you!

Made possible by NOAA's commitment to open oceanic data 🌊

Quick Actions

Key Features

Model Context Protocol
Secure Communication
Real-time Updates
Open Source