Building Forecast Genius: My Journey Creating an AI Weather Assistant
I just spent the past few days building something I'm genuinely excited about - an AI weather agent called Forecast Genius. Let me walk you through what I built and, more importantly, the rollercoaster of getting it actually working.
The "Why" Behind Forecast Genius
We've all been there - checking the weather app, seeing it's 22°C, and still having no clue what to wear or whether it's a good day for that hike you've been planning. Most weather apps give you raw data, but zero context. That's where Forecast Genius comes in.
I wanted to build something that doesn't just spit out numbers but actually helps you make decisions. Should you bring an umbrella? Is it good beach weather? What should you wear for that outdoor brunch? These are the questions real people actually have.
What It Actually Does
Forecast Genius is smarter than your average weather bot. Here's what it can handle:
"What's the weather in Tokyo?" - Straightforward, gets current conditions
"3-day forecast for Paris" - Plans ahead for your trip
"What activities can I do in Miami this weekend?" - Suggests beach days, museum trips, or indoor alternatives
"What should I wear in London today?" - Actually gives practical clothing advice
"Weather in 北京" - Yes, it handles translations too
The magic happens when you ask complex questions like "Plan my weekend in Tokyo - weather, activities, and what to pack." It pieces together forecasts, activity suggestions, and clothing advice into a coherent plan.
The Technical Struggle Bus
Let me be real - the coding part was smooth. The integration? That's where things got messy.
I built this using Mastra, which is fantastic for creating AI agents. Getting the weather data from Open-Meteo's API? No problem. Setting up the Groq AI to power the responses? Easy enough. But getting it to actually talk to Telex.im via their A2A protocol? That took some serious debugging.
The Telex integration was particularly tricky. Their system would connect to my agent, send requests, but then choke on the responses with this cryptic "too many values to unpack" error. Turns out their Python backend expected a very specific JSON format that my TypeScript agent wasn't quite matching.
After what felt like a hundred failed deployments and endless console logs, I finally got the handshake working. The moment I saw "Successfully connected to centrifugo ✅" in the logs was pure relief.
The Payoff
Seeing Forecast Genius actually work in Telex.im, responding to weather questions with helpful, contextual advice - that made all the debugging worth it. It's not just another weather app; it's a proper planning assistant that understands you're trying to make decisions, not just read numbers.
If you're building AI agents, my biggest lesson was this: the AI part might be straightforward, but the integration and deployment will test your patience. Stick with it - that moment when everything finally clicks is incredibly satisfying.
Now if you'll excuse me, I need to ask Forecast Genius if I should water my plants today...
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