aero_weather

This module provides functionality for fetching, displaying, and caching real-time weather data using the WeatherAPI.com. It allows site administrators to add a fully customizable Aero Weather Block showing live weather conditions and a multi-day forecast for a specified location.

This module offers flexible layout options, a variety of color palettes, and optional background images. Administrators can choose to display a forecast for a configurable number of days, toggle between Celsius and Fahrenheit, and select which metrics (like wind, precipitation, or humidity) to show. Caching controls are also available to optimize API requests and improve site performance.

Ideal for news sites, travel portals, or any website needing dynamic weather information, the Aero Weather module ensures users have accurate and up-to-date meteorological data.

Requirements

This module requires only Drupal core.

Installation

Install as you would normally install a contributed Drupal module. For more information, see Installing Drupal Modules.

If using Composer:

composer require drupal/aero_weather

Enable the module using Drush:

drush en aero_weather

API Key Setup

To fetch weather data, the module requires a valid API key from WeatherAPI.com. You can also configure caching to reduce API calls and improve performance. Follow these steps:

1. Sign up at WeatherAPI.com and obtain your API key.
2. Go to: Configuration → System → Aero Weather Settings.
3. Enter your API Key in the provided field.
4. Configure caching options:
   • Enable Cache: Toggle caching on or off.
   • Cache Duration: Enter a numeric value for how long to cache data (default: 1).
   • Cache Unit: Choose minutes or hours for the duration.
5. Save the configuration.

Proper cache configuration ensures up-to-date weather information while minimizing unnecessary API requests and improving site performance.

Configuration

Aero Weather Block

The Aero Weather module provides two distinct block types that can be configured to display weather information.

1. Go to: Structure → Block layout → Place block.
2. Place an Aero Weather (Horizontal) or Aero Weather (Vertical) block in the desired region.
3. In the block configuration form:
   • Enter the Location Name (e.g., New York, USA).
   • Select the Layout (for vertical block) and Color Palette.
   • Choose to display a Round Border or upload a Background Image.
   • For the Vertical block, you can also select to Show Forecast for a specified number of days.
4. Save the block configuration.

Icon Customization

The icons for various weather metrics (humidity, wind, precipitation, etc.) can be customized via the module's global settings.

1. Go to: Configuration → System → Aero Weather Settings.
2. Under the Icon Settings section, you can configure each icon individually.
3. For each metric, you can choose one of three options:
   • Upload File: Upload a custom image (SVG, PNG, JPG, etc.).
   • URL: Provide a URL to an external image file.
   • Font: Enter the HTML markup for a font icon (e.g., <i class="wi wi-humidity"></i>).
4. Save the configuration to apply the changes to all blocks.

Blocks Provided

• Aero Weather (Horizontal) – Displays live weather for a single location in a horizontal layout.
• Aero Weather (Vertical) – Displays live weather with additional details and an optional daily forecast in a vertical layout.

Hooks

The module provides the following hook for extensibility:

• hook_aero_weather_data_alter(array &$weather_data) – Allows other modules to add, modify, or remove data from the API response before it is rendered.

Services

The module defines the following service:

• aero_weather.api – Fetches and caches weather data from WeatherAPI.com.

Caching

Weather data is cached to minimize API calls. The caching options include:

• Enable/disable cache in the global module configuration.
• Set cache duration (default: 1 hour) and unit (minutes or hours).
• Cached data expires automatically based on the chosen duration.

Customization

You can customize the appearance of the weather blocks by overriding their Twig templates in your theme.

1. Identify the template you wish to override:
   • For the Horizontal block: aero-weather-horizontal-block.html.twig
   • For the Vertical block: aero-weather-vertical-block.html.twig
2. Copy the template file from the module's templates/ directory to your theme's templates/ directory.
3. Clear the Drupal cache (e.g., drush cr) to register the new template.
4. Edit the template file to apply your custom HTML or CSS classes.

The block layouts use Swiper.js for the metric and forecast carousels, which you can configure or replace as needed within your template override.

Troubleshooting

• Ensure the block is placed in an active region and visible.
• Check API key validity if weather data does not display.
• Verify cache settings to ensure data is updated correctly.
• Inspect template overrides and CSS if the layout does not display as expected.