alerts.py

#!/usr/local/bin/python
# coding: latin-1
"""
alerts.py -- Display weather alerts for 95051 using Weather Underground's API
"""
# MLPrince 2012 ｡◕ ‿ ◕｡ 

import urllib2
import json
from private import APIKEY

def get_alert():
    """ 
    Makes a call to wunderground's API and displays weather alerts 
    if there are any. 
    """
    # Open url, make call to the API using an API key.
    f = urllib2.urlopen('http://api.wunderground.com/api/' + APIKEY + '/alerts/q/95051.json')
    json_string = f.read() # Save response as a json string.
    parsed_json = json.loads(json_string) # Parse the json string.

    # If there are alerts...
    if parsed_json['alerts']:

                # Print the date, expiration date, and message to the console.
        for alert in parsed_json['alerts']:
            print "Date: %s" % alert['date']
            print "Expires: %s" % alert['expires']
            print alert['message']

    # Otherwise...
    else:

        # Print the following string.
        print "There are no alerts today."

    # Hang up the phone.
    f.close()

def main():
    get_alert()

if __name__ == '__main__':
    main()