Weather sources — METAR and TAF for sUAS operations
sUAS operators rely on the same weather products as manned aviation. The two most commonly tested on the UAG are:
**METAR** (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) — current surface observations issued hourly (at 55 minutes past the hour). Encoded format. Key elements in order: station identifier, date/time Zulu, wind (direction + speed), visibility, weather phenomena, sky condition, temperature/dew point, altimeter. Example: `KDEN 151453Z 15004KT 10SM FEW250 18/M01 A3012`
**TAF** (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) — 24 or 30-hour forecast issued every 6 hours (0000Z, 0600Z, 1200Z, 1800Z). Valid within a 5-SM radius of the reporting station. Uses FM (from), BECMG (becoming), TEMPO (temporary), and PROB (probability) groups to delineate changing conditions.
For micro-scale weather at flight altitude, the Area Forecast Discussion (AFD) and PIREPs provide context METAR/TAF miss. aviationweather.gov is the canonical FAA-authoritative source.