thx, bliako, for this very useful script. I amaze at how quickly you can throw it together. You have just enough comments to teach me how this works as I work it. From the original, I had to dink around with the gridpoints by looking at the json from these urls in this form:

# https://api.weather.gov/points/{latitude},{longitude}
# https://api.weather.gov/points/45.4836356,-122.4170501
[download]

, from which we glean the RHS of the url to be fetched:

I customized the program to output orderly to a log as well, in time sequence and added times in Pacific Time.

#!/usr/bin/env perl

use strict;
use warnings;

use DateTime::Format::Strptime;
use REST::Client;
use Data::Roundtrip qw/:all/;
use 5.016;
use Log::Log4perl;

my $log_conf3 = "/home/hogan/Documents/hogan/logs/conf_files/3.conf";
my $log_conf4 = "/home/hogan/Documents/hogan/logs/conf_files/4.conf";

#Log::Log4perl::init($log_conf3); #debug
Log::Log4perl::init($log_conf4);    #info
my $logger = Log::Log4perl->get_logger();
$logger->info($0);

# this is our fetcher, similar to LWP::UserAgent
# but better suited for this kind of web service: REST
my $rest = REST::Client->new() or die "failed to construct client";

# see examples in
# https://www.weather.gov/documentation/services-web-api

# set the host
$rest->setHost('https://api.weather.gov');

# https://api.weather.gov/points/{latitude},{longitude}
# https://api.weather.gov/points/45.4836356,-122.4170501

# and this is our query with lat,long specified above
#my $query = "gridpoints/TOP/$lat,$long/forecast";

my $query = "gridpoints/PQR/120,99/forecast";

# make the request and check the response code, 200 is good
my $response = $rest->GET($query) or die "failed to GET($query)";
if ( $rest->responseCode() != 200 ) {
  die "failed to GET("
    . $rest->getHost()
    . "/$query) with "
    . $rest->responseCode();
}

# we get back JSON
my $jsonstr = $response->responseContent();

# convert JSON string to a perl variable
my $pv = json2perl($jsonstr);
if ( !defined $pv ) {
  die "something wrong with this alleged json : '$jsonstr'";
}

# go to the interesting part
my $forecasts = $pv->{'properties'}->{'periods'};

# or print it all and examine it
# print perl2dump($pv);

# we have some dates in the data in ISO8601 format
# this is a parser to convert that date to a DateTime
# object which we can query about things (like seconds-unix-epoch)
my $dateparser = DateTime::Format::Strptime->new(

  # parses 2020-04-26T06:00:00-05:00,
  # %F then literal T then %T then timezone offset
  pattern => '%FT%T%z'
) or die "failed to DateTime::Format::Strptime->new()";

# we store each prediction in this hash, keyed on start-end dates
# see below $key

### hash no longer at this scope

### make an array container

my @ordered;
my $refordered = \@ordered;
my $index      = 0;

for my $aforecast (@$forecasts) {
  print "go: " . $aforecast->{'name'} . "\n";

  # extract various things from 1 prediction record
  # examine the record like : print perl2dump($aforecast);
  # like "This Afternoon"
  #print perl2dump($aforecast);

  my $period_str = $aforecast->{'name'};

  # start and end times of the prediction, convert them to objects
  my $start_time_str = $aforecast->{'startTime'};
  say "start is $start_time_str";
  my $start_time_dateobj = $dateparser->parse_datetime($start_time_str
+)
    or die "parsing date '$start_time_str'.";

  $start_time_dateobj->set_time_zone('America/Los_Angeles');
  my $st               = $start_time_dateobj->strftime('%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M
+:%S %Z');
  my $end_time_str     = $aforecast->{'endTime'};
  my $end_time_dateobj = $dateparser->parse_datetime($end_time_str)
    or die "parsing date '$start_time_str'.";
  $end_time_dateobj->set_time_zone('America/Los_Angeles');
  my $et = $end_time_dateobj->strftime('%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S %Z');

  # sunny?
  my $forecast_str = $aforecast->{'shortForecast'};

  # temperature as a number, see later for the units
  my $temp = $aforecast->{'temperature'};

  # new scope for hash
  my %parsed;

  # store this record/prediction in our %parsed hash
  # keyed on this:
  my $key = $start_time_str . " to " . $end_time_str;
  $parsed{$key} = {

    'date-human-str'  => $period_str,       # edit: added this
    'date-from'       => $start_time_str,
    'date-from-local' => $st,
    'date-to'         => $end_time_str,
    'date-to-local'   => $et,
    'date-span-hours' =>
      ( $end_time_dateobj->epoch() - $start_time_dateobj->epoch() ) / 
+3600,
    'date-from-epoch' => $start_time_dateobj->epoch(),
    'date-to-epoch'   => $end_time_dateobj->epoch(),
    'forecast-string' => $forecast_str,

    # we append temp unit to the key, e.g. 'F'
    'forecast-temp-' . $aforecast->{'temperatureUnit'} => $temp,
  };
  my $refparsed = \%parsed;
  $ordered[$index] = $refparsed;
  $logger->info( perl2dump $refparsed);
  ++$index;
}

__END__
[download]

Log excerpt:

2020/05/01 08:59:21 INFO ./1.6.weather.pl 
2020/05/01 08:59:21 INFO $VAR1 = {
  '2020-05-01T08:00:00-07:00 to 2020-05-01T18:00:00-07:00' => {
    'date-from-epoch' => 1588345200,
    'date-span-hours' => '10',
    'date-to-local' => '2020-05-01-18:00:00 PDT',
    'date-to-epoch' => 1588381200,
    'date-to' => '2020-05-01T18:00:00-07:00',
    'date-from-local' => '2020-05-01-08:00:00 PDT',
    'date-from' => '2020-05-01T08:00:00-07:00',
    'forecast-string' => 'Chance Rain Showers',
    'date-human-str' => 'Today',
    'forecast-temp-F' => 65
  }
};
 
2020/05/01 08:59:21 INFO $VAR1 = {
  '2020-05-01T18:00:00-07:00 to 2020-05-02T06:00:00-07:00' => {
    'date-from' => '2020-05-01T18:00:00-07:00',
    'date-from-local' => '2020-05-01-18:00:00 PDT',
    'date-to' => '2020-05-02T06:00:00-07:00',
    'date-to-epoch' => 1588424400,
    'date-to-local' => '2020-05-02-06:00:00 PDT',
    'date-span-hours' => '12',
    'date-from-epoch' => 1588381200,
    'forecast-temp-F' => 50,
    'date-human-str' => 'Tonight',
    'forecast-string' => 'Rain Showers'
  }
};
 
2020/05/01 08:59:21 INFO $VAR1 = {
  '2020-05-02T06:00:00-07:00 to 2020-05-02T18:00:00-07:00' => {
    'date-from-local' => '2020-05-02-06:00:00 PDT',
    'date-to' => '2020-05-02T18:00:00-07:00',
    'date-from' => '2020-05-02T06:00:00-07:00',
    'date-span-hours' => '12',
    'date-to-local' => '2020-05-02-18:00:00 PDT',
    'date-from-epoch' => 1588424400,
    'date-to-epoch' => 1588467600,
    'forecast-temp-F' => 60,
    'forecast-string' => 'Rain Showers',
    'date-human-str' => 'Saturday'
  }
};
[download]

When I get to the part where I'm keeping count for real, I think a SQLite database is the right tool.

You know, it takes me all week to figure out a script that is written at a level that stretches my vistas, and then figure how I'm going to "make it my own," maybe extend it, and how I'm going to write it up. During this week and change, it has happened several times that I've been in situations where it was sunny and raining. I think we have to start somewhere other than where I suggested in the original post.

That's just it. I've been spending as much time and effort as I can to find actual data, but the most I see is GUI representations as opposed to JSON. I'm also realizing that conditions at Troutdale Airport might be completely different than here on Hogan Butte. Troutdale is right in the mouth of the Columbia Gorge, which is a very interesting formation for the way it channels wind, for example.

Q2 Can anybody see a way to get current conditions in JSON form?

I found more reading re sunlight v cvirus here: a bbc article.

Thanks all for comments, but especially:

for (@responses){
[bliako]++;
}
[download]

Q2 Can anybody see a way to get current conditions in JSON form?

Yes, for a given station. As per the documentation, use e.g.: https://api.weather.gov/stations/RRWO3/observations/latest which returns

Read more... (6 kB)

Is that what you meant? Obviously replace RRWO3 with the station of interest.