Winter weather can be unpredictable, especially when you're trying to decide if it's time to break out the shovel or if you can wait another hour. This project creates a simple, glanceable desktop display that monitors real-time snowfall and daily forecasts using a no-code approach.

By combining a QT Py ESP32 with a 7-segment display, you can keep an eye on the accumulation without having to check your phone or a weather app every ten minutes. The built-in NeoPixel LED on the QT Py acts as a visual alert, glowing blue when it’s actively snowing, while the LED matrix shows exactly how many inches of snow are expected for the day.

Using WipperSnapper firmware and Adafruit IO Actions, this guide will show you how to link cloud-based weather data to your hardware in minutes. All without writing a single line of code.

How it works

This project relies on the power of Adafruit IO Actions to do the heavy lifting. A scheduled trigger checks the weather data for a specific location (like New York City) every hour.

If the current weather conditions report "snow," a command is sent to the QT Py to turn the onboard NeoPixel a bright blue. Simultaneously, the action pulls the daily snowfall forecast, converts the metric to inches (optional), and sends that value directly to the 7-segment display. Because the device is running WipperSnapper firmware, it stays connected to your WiFi and listens for these updates automatically, making the setup process entirely visual.

What is WipperSnapper?

WipperSnapper is a firmware designed to turn any WiFi-capable board into an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device without programming a single line of code. WipperSnapper connects to Adafruit IO, a web platform designed (by Adafruit!) to display, respond, and interact with your project's data.

Simply load the WipperSnapper firmware onto your board, add credentials, and plug it into power. Your board will automatically register itself with your Adafruit IO account.

From there, you can add components to your board such as buttons, switches, potentiometers, sensors, and more! Components are dynamically added to hardware, so you can immediately start interacting, logging, and streaming the data your projects produce without writing code.

Parts

Assuming you have already gone through the WipperSnapper Setup page and connected your board(s) to WipperSnapper, navigate to the WipperSnapper board list. You should see your newly connected QT Py board listed here.

If you do not see your QT Py listed - go back to the WipperSnapper Setup page and make sure its registered with Adafruit.io

On the device page, quickly check that your device is online and is running the latest version of the WipperSnapper firmware.

The device tile on the left indicates the version number of the firmware running on the connected board.

• If the firmware version is green with a checkmark - continue with this guide.
• If the firmware version is red with an "X" - update to the latest WipperSnapper firmware on your board before continuing.

Assembly

All you need to do is take a short STEMMA QT cable and connect the 7-Segment display to your QT Py like this:

Adding Components

From the QT Py device page, click the New Component button.

Search for our first component, the '7-Segment LED Matrix'.

Then click the Create Component button (you don't need to change any of the default settings).

Next, add the built-in Neopixel LED by using the Auto-Config tool. Next to the New Component button, click the Auto-Config button.

Then make sure the NeoPixel is checked. You can also leave the Button checked, but it won't be used for this project.

Now you should be able to confirm everything is working correctly. Go ahead and manually set the 7-segment display to something like 1234, and change the NeoPixel color. You can make these changes directly on the devices page by clicking the pencil icon on the 7-segment component, and clicking the different colors on the NeoPixel component.

Your hardware should respond almost instantly to your changes.

Setting Up the Weather Power-Up

First we need to set up your location in the Adafruit IO Weather Power-Up (if you haven't done this already). Click on Power-Ups in the top navigation bar, then click on the Get Started button on the Weather Power-Up.

You can click and drag the map around, then click on the map to add the latitude and longitude to the Location field. Or you can use a tool like this to just type in a zip code to get the lat/lon coordinates (for those in the U.S.).

Give this location a name, then click Create.

Now let's create the action. In the top navigation bar, click Actions, then click New Action.

Then give this action a title, like Snow Tracker, and give it a good description (Check if it is snowing and how much it is going to snow today). Then click the Create button.

Create the Action

Creating an Adafruit IO Action is what makes this project smart without you having to touch a line of code. By using the Weather Power-Up, we can pull real-time data for your specific location and push it directly to your QT Py.

Here is how to build the Action logic for your snow tracker:

1. Set the Schedule

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

• Trigger Type: Choose Schedule.

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

• Minute: Set it to At minute: 15. This ensures your display updates shortly after the top of every hour.

2. Check for Active Snowfall

Next, to create a conditional statement to see if it is currently snowing.

• If block: Add an "if/do/else" block.

• Weather Metric: Select the Weather block. Set the location (e.g., Minneapolis), the time to This hour, and the metric to Precipitation Type.

• Condition: Set the comparison to = and the text value to "snow".

• Do: If it is snowing, use the Set block to change your QT Py NeoPixel to a nice "winter blue" like #0047ff.

• Else: If it’s not snowing, set the NeoPixel to #000000 (off) so the light only shines when there's action outside.

3. Calculate Daily Snowfall

Finally, to grab the forecast and show it on the 7-segment display.

• Set variable: Create a variable named Snow.

• Weather Forecast: Use another Weather block. Set it to Today and change the metric to Snowfall Amount.

• Unit Conversion: The weather service provides data in millimeters. If you want inches, use a math block to multiply $(\times)$ that value by 0.0393700787.

• Update Display: Use a final Set block to send the value of your Snow variable directly to the 7-Segment LED Matrix.

Live Data

After you click Save & Run, your display should now update. In the example below, for Minneapolis, I'm not expected to get any snow today, and it isn't currently snowing.

So the display reads 0.0, and the NeoPixel on the QT Py is turned off.

I created this super simple 'enclosure' that kind of holds everything together. It actually sits nice on your desk using the wire as a kind of kickstand. It is also just press fit, so you can easily remove the QT Py and the 7-Segment for a different project. You could easily create a little dock for this if you wanted, or use the dimensions to help you create a more complex enclosure.