Overview
SwiftComply Stormwater tracks precipitation events and integrates with weather services (NOAA, Weather Underground, and Aeris Weather) to pull weather data. Qualifying precipitation events may trigger inspection and sampling requirements under your stormwater permits.
Logging a precipitation event
Open the site.
Navigate to the Precipitation Events section.
Click to add a new event.
Fill in:
Start Date/Time: When the precipitation began.
End Date/Time: When the precipitation ended.
Total: Total rainfall amount.
Aggregate Method: How the rainfall is broken down:
Event Total — A single total for the entire event.
Daily Totals — Rainfall broken down by day.
Hourly Totals — Rainfall broken down by hour.
Qualifying Event: Whether this meets your permit's storm threshold.
Weather Phrase: Description of weather conditions.
Click Save.
All precipitation dates are stored in UTC and automatically converted to your instance's timezone for display.
Qualifying precipitation events
A qualifying precipitation event (QPE) is a storm that meets thresholds defined in your stormwater permit. The system automatically detects QPEs from NOAA forecast data using these default thresholds:
Minimum initial rainfall: 0.5 inches
Minimum continuing rainfall: 0.25 inches
Minimum probability of precipitation: 50%
Forecast period: 24 hours
Qualifying events may trigger:
Required inspections within a defined timeframe.
Sampling requirements at monitoring sites.
Notifications to subscribed users.
Weather data integration
SwiftComply integrates with multiple weather data sources:
NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)
NDFD (National Digital Forecast Database): Forecast data.
NWS (National Weather Service) grid forecasts.
METAR observations from weather stations.
Forecast records for specific sites.
Weather Underground
Current weather observations from nearby stations.
Aeris Weather
Alternative weather observation data source.
Configuring weather stations for a site
Weather stations are configured by site at Settings > Manage Weather Stations. The Weather Summary page (accessible from the left sidebar) shows:
Forecasts by zip code or by site.
Station status: Operational, Reporting Issues, Failed, or Not Available.
Station key management for API access.
Weather in reports
Report templates can include prepopulated weather fields that auto-fill with:
Last storm start and end dates.
Latest storm since last report.
Ongoing storm data.
NOAA forecast attachment (if enabled on the template).
Weather analytics
Go to Analytics > Weather > Precipitation Events to view all precipitation data in a table format. Filter by program, site status, Site Profile, and date range. Export to CSV for regulatory reporting.
FAQ
Q: Does weather auto-fill in inspection reports?
A: Yes. If weather integration is configured, prepopulated fields in reports pull weather data automatically, last storm dates, ongoing storm data, and NOAA forecasts.
Q: What if the automatic weather data is wrong?
A: You can manually log precipitation events with your own observed data. Manual entries override or supplement automatic data.
Q: How are qualifying events detected automatically?
A: The system monitors NOAA forecast data against configured thresholds (0.5" initial, 0.25" continuing, 50% probability). When thresholds are met, a qualifying event is recorded and notifications are sent to subscribed users.
Q: Can I customize the qualifying event thresholds?
A: The default thresholds are set in the system. Contact your administrator or SwiftComply support for threshold customization.