THE WHITE ARCLearn. Fly. Explore.Weather ahead
Your position. Nearby observations. The bigger picture.
A weather picture around you
Check reporting airfields within 100 statute miles (87 NM). Observations describe conditions at each airfield, not at your exact position.
Use another location
Location is requested only when you tap. A rounded search area is sent to NOAA; this app does not store your position. Updates are on demand.
Area colour uses the worst fresh observation, including gusts. Forecast colours are separate and include possible TEMPO / PROB conditions. Missing or stale data cannot give a green area result.
Weather by direction
Airfields grouped by their bearing from the search location: North 315°–<45°, East 45°–<135°, South 135°–<225°, West 225°–<315°. Nearest first in each sector. Sector colours use the worst available observation unless more than half of the listed airfields are unknown. Exactly half unknown still uses available observations. Missing, stale or incomplete observations count as unknown. Counts cover airfields returned by the provider, not every airfield geographically in the sector. Colours describe point observations, not continuous conditions across a sector; TAFs remain separate inside each airfield.
Your traffic light limits
| Measure | Green | Amber | Red |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest cloud base | >1,500 ft | >1,000–1,500 ft | ≤1,000 ft |
| Visibility | ≥10 km | 5–<10 km | <5 km |
| Wind / gusts | <8 mph | 8–13 mph | >13 mph |
Exactly 10 km is green, including 9999 / CAVOK (10 km or more). Wind colours use unrounded values and the greater of mean wind and gusts. Grey means unknown. Thunderstorms, freezing precipitation, squalls, funnel clouds and CB/TCU trigger an additional red hazard flag when reported.
Skyway Code · what the colours cannot tell you
These are your personal screening thresholds, not legal VMC minima or a go/no-go decision. The CAA advises particular attention to terrain and obstacles with a ceiling ≤1,500 ft; flight below 1,000 ft AGL is normally only suitable for circuits or familiar local areas. VFR with reported surface visibility below 5 km is not recommended.
Cloud base includes FEW and SCT. Ceiling means BKN or OVC; both are shown when available. Heights are above the reporting aerodrome, not your strip or nearby hills. CAVOK / no low cloud reported is not proof of an unlimited cloud base. Visibility here is reported surface visibility, not in-flight visibility.
Check route terrain, airspace-specific VMC minima, aircraft and pilot limits, runway crosswind/tailwind, turbulence, fronts, rain, fog, icing, freezing level, daylight and trends. Use an official briefing including UK low-level forecasts F214/F215, warnings and NOTAMs. METARs/TAFs are point reports and forecasts; gaps between stations are not assessed.
TAF rows show decoded groups overlapping your look-ahead, not a continuous forecast at your position. BECMG is treated conservatively from the start of its change window. Unspecified group values stay unknown rather than being guessed. PROB30/40 remain possible conditions. A missing TAF is explicitly marked.