What is METAR?
METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is the standard aviation weather report format. Issued hourly by airports worldwide; the source data behind most aviation weather tools.
METAR is a coded weather observation taken at airport weather stations, typically issued hourly. The format is shorthand-heavy: 'KATL 211553Z 21015G25KT 10SM BKN045 28/19 A2992' translates to Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson at 15:53 UTC on the 21st, wind 210° at 15 knots gusting 25, 10 statute miles visibility, broken clouds at 4,500 ft, temperature 28°C / dewpoint 19°C, altimeter 29.92 inHg.
For drone pilots, METARs are the source of truth for surface wind and visibility at airports. They don't directly answer the question 'what's the wind at 300 ft AGL?' — that requires either upper-air forecasts (TAF) or modeled data (Open-Meteo, NOAA).
METARs are free at aviationweather.gov. Most drone pilots use simplified weather tools rather than raw METAR.
What this means for pilots
Learn to read a METAR — it's on the Part 107 exam. For day-to-day flight planning, use a drone-specific weather tool that converts METAR into AGL wind, visibility, and cloud-cover predictions. Altoa surfaces flight-altitude wind directly.
FAQ
How do I read a METAR?
FAA AC 00-45H is the official guide. Online translators at aviationweather.gov decode automatically.
What's the difference between METAR and TAF?
METAR is current observation. TAF is forecast (typically 24–30 hours).
Do I need to read METARs to fly drones?
Not in practice — drone-specific tools translate them. Reading raw METAR is on the Part 107 exam.
Related terms
FAA regulations change. Verify current rules at faa.gov/uas before relying on this article for flight planning. Altoa is not the FAA.