AVTweets - SMS - Twitter
METAR Feeds from AirportView.net
Current weather reports, in the form of METARs, are posted to 2186 Twitter accounts every hour. Every active AWOS (Automated Weather Observation Station) has its own Twitter account. We provide full coverage for over 53 states and territories, including the top 100 General Aviation airports all across the US. The compact METAR format is perfect for the short, 140-character messages used in Twitter. The image below is an annotated example of a typical METAR Tweet.
AWOS reports come directly from the National Weather Service (NWS) web servers. They are as current as possible. Most AWOS report once per hour. Some report about every 20 minutes. Whatever the schedule, AVTweets will post the reports within 10 minutes of receiving them. The only way to get a more current report is by phoning each station. With AVTweets, all the stations you follow will automatically send their reports directly to your phone. No calling necessary.
You can learn to read METARs using this summary from the NWS. The TAF card explains both the METAR and TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast).
You can also get current METARs on your phone without using Twitter. Visit AirportView.net Mobile and enter the station ID of any AWOS in the world. Click 'Go' and you will see the most recent METAR. Then bookmark that page so you can get the latest report with one click on your favorites list.
Finding Weather Data on AirportView.net
Countries with Full Coverage in Green, In-progress is blue.
Map courtesy of BYU Geography Department.
There are two ways to find an AVTweets feed on the AirportView.net web site. For your home airport, start with the Airport Directory search box on the AirportView.net home page. Search for your city or airport, then select your airport. Each station on the Wx tab that has a Twitter account will display a small, blue Twitter icon. Click the icon to go to Twitter and see the station feed. Then you can login to Twitter and follow that AWOS.
The other way is to use the AWOS directory. On the AWOS Directory page, select your state. On the AWOS List tab, scroll down to the station you want and click the Twitter icon. You can also search the AWOS directory by station ID, station name, city or country.
The map shows our progress in adding AWOS to AVTweets. We finished the entire collection of US stations in August, 2011. Completed nations are mapped in green. The country that is being added currently shows in blue. Let us know if you have a need for stations in a particular country. Requests from groups and associations carry more weight for prioritization.
