# Weather Wise Wifi Umbrella Stand ## Overview https://youtu.be/drjCfnnu3DQ > You Must Have Seen One Of The Spirits Of The Forest, And That Means You're A Very Lucky Girl. You Can Only See The Spirits If They Want You To. Let's Go Give Them A Proper Greeting. > > Tatsuo, to Mei, "My Neighbor Totoro" Rainy days can get us down. Some mornings taunt us with gorgeous blue skies, promising spring breezes and sunshine all day, but then turn dark and stormy in the afternoon. Did you have time to check a weather app, and remember to bring your umbrella? You did not. Let the spirits of the forest work for you. Build yourself a smart umbrella stand that knows the weather and lets you know with a beautiful glow if you are going to need your umbrella that day. My umbrella stand is themed after "My Neighbor Totoro" and gives me a smile every time I walk past it.  The Raspberry Pi Pico W connects to your WiFi and performs a simple task: is it going to rain today? If the answer is yes, your umbrella stand lights up and glows, reminding you to grab your umbrella.  This is a fairly easy project that's suitable for beginners. You'll need basic soldering skills and a little ingenuity. The code is written in CircuitPython, which is easy to install and update on the Pico W. You'll also need a free account with [Adafruit IO](https://learn.adafruit.com/welcome-to-adafruit-io/what-is-adafruit-io), Adafruit's online cloud service. This is a great project for getting started with internet-connected making. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/120/315/medium800/weather_totoro_stand2.jpeg?1681766775) ## Parts ### Raspberry Pi Pico W [Raspberry Pi Pico W](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5526) The Raspberry Pi foundation changed single-board computing [when they released the Raspberry Pi computer](https://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/723), now they're ready to do the same for microcontrollers with the release of the brand new **Raspberry Pi Pico W**. This... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5526) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5526/guides) ![Angled shot of a green microcontroller with castellated pads.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/640x480/5526-01.jpg) ### Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 60 LED/m [Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 60 LED/m](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2959) So thin. So mini. So teeeeeeny-tiny. It's the 'skinny' version of our classic NeoPixel strips! These NeoPixel strips have 60 digitally-addressable pixel Mini LEDs per meter and are very affordable and are only 7.5 mm wide, 5 mm if you remove the strip from the... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2959) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2959/guides) ![Adafruit NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip with all the LEDs lighting in a rainbow pattern.](https://cdn-shop.adafruit.com/product-videos/640x480/2959-05.jpg) ### Part: USB Cable quantity: 1 USB Micro to USB A Cable [USB Cable](https://www.adafruit.com/product/592) ### Part: Power Supply quantity: 1 5v switching USB Power Supply [Power Supply](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1994) ### Part: Heat Shrink quantity: 1 Clear Heat Shrink Tubing [Heat Shrink](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1020) ### Part: Silicone Stranded Wire quantity: 3 Silicone Stranded wire - Get 3 colors [Silicone Stranded Wire](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2513) ## Additional Materials & Tools - Hot glue gun - Heat gun - Soldering Iron & Accessories - [Devcon Silicone Glue](https://www.acehardware.com/departments/paint-and-supplies/tape-glues-and-adhesives/glues-and-epoxy/19337) - available at most hardware stores I decorated my umbrella stand with a 3d-printed figurine of Totoro, and also a large vinyl sticker. I used an Elegoo Saturn resin printer and a Cricut Maker vinyl cutter to make these. ![](https://cdn-learn.adafruit.com/assets/assets/000/120/308/medium800/weather_totoro_lit.jpeg?1681765223) - [Next Page](https://learn.adafruit.com/weather-wise-wifi-umbrella-stand/wiring-diagram.md) ## Featured Products ### Raspberry Pi Pico W [Raspberry Pi Pico W](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5526) The Raspberry Pi foundation changed single-board computing [when they released the Raspberry Pi computer](https://www.raspberrypi.org/archives/723), now they're ready to do the same for microcontrollers with the release of the brand new **Raspberry Pi Pico W**. This... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/5526) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/5526/guides) ### Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 60 LED/m [Adafruit Mini Skinny NeoPixel Digital RGB LED Strip - 60 LED/m](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2959) So thin. So mini. So teeeeeeny-tiny. It's the 'skinny' version of our classic NeoPixel strips! These NeoPixel strips have 60 digitally-addressable pixel Mini LEDs per meter and are very affordable and are only 7.5 mm wide, 5 mm if you remove the strip from the... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2959) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2959/guides) ### USB cable - USB A to Micro-B [USB cable - USB A to Micro-B](https://www.adafruit.com/product/592) This here is your standard A to micro-B USB cable, for USB 1.1 or 2.0. Perfect for connecting a PC to your Metro, Feather, Raspberry Pi or other dev-board or microcontroller Approximately 3 feet / 1 meter long In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/592) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/592/guides) ### 5V 2A Switching Power Supply w/ USB-A Connector [5V 2A Switching Power Supply w/ USB-A Connector](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1994) Our 5V 2A USB power adapter is the perfect choice for powering single-board computers like Raspberry Pi, BeagleBone, or anything else that's power-hungry! This adapter was specifically designed to provide 5.25V, not 5V, but we still call it a 5V USB adapter. We did this on purpose to... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1994) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1994/guides) ### Food-Grade Heat Shrink - 3/8" diameter 12" long [Food-Grade Heat Shrink - 3/8" diameter 12" long](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1020) We decided to stock this food-safe heat shrink specifically for people who were building beer-brewing or sous-vide projects using our [waterproof DS18B20+ digital temperature sensors](http://www.adafruit.com/products/381). This heat shrink is FDA Compliant for contact with food. The... In Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/1020) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/1020/guides) ### Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire - 25ft 26AWG - Red [Silicone Cover Stranded-Core Wire - 25ft 26AWG - Red](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2513) Silicone-sheathing wire is super-flexible and soft, and its also strong! Able to handle up to 200°C and up to 600V, it will do when PVC covered wire wimps out. We like this wire for being extremely supple and flexible, so it is great for wearables or projects where the wire-harness has to... Out of Stock [Buy Now](https://www.adafruit.com/product/2513) [Related Guides to the Product](https://learn.adafruit.com/products/2513/guides) ## Related Guides - [Crickit Powered Maker Ice Cream Truck!](https://learn.adafruit.com/crickit-maker-ice-cream-truck.md) - [Halo Energy Sword by Mattel NeoPixel Upgrade](https://learn.adafruit.com/halo-energy-sword-by-mattel-neopixel-upgrade.md) - [DIY Darksaber Build - 3D Print with PropMaker FeatherWing and BLE](https://learn.adafruit.com/ble-darksaber-propmaker.md) - [LED Snowboard with Motion-Reactive Animation](https://learn.adafruit.com/led-snowboard-with-motion-reactive-animation.md) - [Glowing Neopixel Resin River Table](https://learn.adafruit.com/glowing-neopixel-resin-river-table.md) - [Adafruit NeoPixel Überguide](https://learn.adafruit.com/adafruit-neopixel-uberguide.md) - [Zelda Master Sword](https://learn.adafruit.com/zelda-master-sword.md) - [NeoPixel Bracelet](https://learn.adafruit.com/neopixel-bracelet.md) - [MicroPython Smart Holiday Lights](https://learn.adafruit.com/micropython-smart-holiday-lights.md) - [Halo Energy Sword RP2040](https://learn.adafruit.com/halo-energy-sword-rp2040.md) - [CircuitPython BLE Controlled NeoPixel Hat](https://learn.adafruit.com/circuitpython-feather-ble-neopixel-hat.md) - [Zelda: Breath of the Wild – 3D Printed Guardian Sword with NeoPixel LEDs](https://learn.adafruit.com/breath-of-the-wild-guardian-sword-led-3d-printed.md) - [NeoPixel Badge Lanyard with Bluetooth LE](https://learn.adafruit.com/bluetooth-neopixel-badge-lanyard.md) - [Glowing Interactive Crystal Staff ](https://learn.adafruit.com/glowing-interactive-crystal-staff.md) - [Bubble Table with LED Animations and IR Remote Control](https://learn.adafruit.com/bubble-table-with-led-animations-and-ir-remote-control.md)