1. Set the Schedule

Every automation needs a trigger to tell it when to run.

• Trigger: Choose Schedule.

• Frequency: Set it to run Every Month, Every Day, and Every Hour.

• Minute: Set it to At minute: 0. This ensures your display updates at the top of every hour.

2. Check the Forecast

To get the minimum temperature it will be overnight, we'll first need a variable to store it.

• Create a new variable: Name it overnight-temperature
• Variable Block: Add an Set Variable block for the variable you just created

Next, set the variable to the weather forecast metric you want (overnight temperature).

• Weather Metrics: Select the Weather block.

  • Set the location (e.g., Brooklyn), the time to Today, and the metric to Overnight: Temperature Min.

3. Set the NeoPixel LEDs

Next, to check if it is going to freeze overnight and set the NeoPixel accordingly.

• Add a conditional block.

• Add a compare numbers block.

• Conditional Block

  • If: Set the comparison to <= 

    • Add a Get Variable Block and set it to the overnight-temperature variable.

  • Do: If it is going to frost overnight, use the Set block to change your QT Py NeoPixel to a blue hex color code to indicate frost, like #0047ff.

  • Else: If it’s not going to frost overnight, set the NeoPixel to #000000 (off). The light will only turn on when it's going to frost overnight.

4. Text Me!

With Adafruit IO+, you can receive text messages for alerts. It's easy to add this functionality into your action.

• Add a SMS Block.
• Set the message to something like:

  • 🌱 ❄️ Frost Risk Alert!

    Expected overnight min. temperature of {{ vars.overnight-temperature }}°C

    • For more information about setting the variable in the text block - check out this page.