Paragliding Weather Checker
A serverless web application leveraging AWS infrastructure to deliver real-time weather data for paragliders assessing flight conditions at specific geographic coordinates.
Project Details
Client
Personal Project
Year
2024
Role
Full Stack Developer
Technologies
The Challenge
Designing a reliable, cost-efficient system to deliver critical weather data for paragliders without maintaining server infrastructure. The application needed to handle coordinate-based lookups while abstracting API complexity and providing intuitive visualization of weather conditions relevant to flight safety.
The Solution
Implemented a serverless architecture using AWS Lambda and API Gateway to create a secure, scalable backend that handles authentication and external API integrations. This approach eliminated server maintenance concerns while providing millisecond response times for weather queries at virtually no cost during normal usage patterns.
Technical Implementation
AWS Infrastructure
- •Configured AWS Lambda function with Node.js runtime for OpenWeather API integration
- •Implemented API Gateway with custom domain and CORS policies
- •Set up least-privilege IAM roles following security best practices
- •Created CloudWatch alarms for monitoring API usage and potential cost spikes
Frontend Architecture
- •Built with React and JavaScript for dynamic UI rendering
- •Implemented responsive design with Tailwind CSS and Bootstrap components
- •Optimized component structure to minimize re-renders during state updates
- •Created custom hooks for location data management and API interactions
API Integration
- •Designed Lambda function to proxy and transform OpenWeather API responses
- •Implemented request validation to prevent malformed coordinate submissions
- •Created middleware for request authentication and rate limiting
Deployment Strategy
- •Automated Lambda deployment with AWS SAM templates
- •Implemented CI/CD pipeline for frontend using GitHub Actions
- •Configured environment-specific builds for development and production
- •Set up API Gateway staging for backend version control
Key Features
Serverless Architecture
Fully serverless design using AWS Lambda and API Gateway, enabling auto-scaling with zero infrastructure management
Coordinate-Based Weather
Precise weather lookups using geographic coordinates essential for accurate paragliding flight planning
Real-Time Flight Conditions
Integration with OpenWeather API to provide current temperature, wind speed, direction, and atmospheric conditions
Lessons Learned
This project deepened my understanding of technical concepts and implementation strategies. Key insights include:
- 1.Serverless architectures significantly reduce operational complexity while providing excellent scalability for variable workloads
- 2.API Gateway configuration is critical for security and can be complex to set up correctly with proper CORS and authentication
- 3.Creating a separation between data fetching and UI concerns leads to more maintainable frontend code
- 4.Lambda cold starts can impact user experience and should be addressed with proper warming strategies for production applications
Project Gallery
