Reading your flyability status
How UAV Meteo turns raw weather data into a simple go / caution / no-go signal.
UAV Meteo pulls live numbers from Open-Meteo and NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center, then compares each value against limits commonly recommended for small consumer and prosumer multirotor drones. The banner at the top of the app always reflects the single worst condition — if wind is fine but visibility is poor, you'll still see a warning.
Wind speed & gusts
Sustained wind at 10 m above ground is rated good up to 18 km/h, caution up to 25 km/h, and not suitable beyond that. Gusts follow a similar curve: good up to 28 km/h, caution up to 35 km/h. Gusts matter more than average speed because they cause sudden attitude changes a drone's flight controller has to fight against.
Wind by altitude
The expandable panel on the home screen shows modeled wind speed at 10 m, 80 m, 120 m and 180 m. These come straight from Open-Meteo's atmospheric model levels. If wind increases sharply with altitude, expect stronger gusts as you climb — useful when planning aerial photography or long-range flights.
Precipitation probability
Most consumer drones are not weather-sealed. A precipitation probability under 20% is rated good, 20–40% is caution, and above 40% is flagged as not suitable, regardless of whether rain has actually started falling yet.
Visibility
Visual line-of-sight rules in most countries require you to be able to see your aircraft clearly. Visibility of 8 km or more is rated good, 5–8 km is caution, and below 5 km is treated as not suitable.
Cloud cover & temperature
Heavy overcast (above 90%) is flagged mainly because it reduces available light for cameras and can precede fast-changing conditions. Temperature outside 0–40°C is marked caution or bad because lithium battery performance and capacity drop sharply in the cold and LiPo chemistry becomes unstable at high heat.
Planetary Kp index
The Kp index measures global geomagnetic disturbance on a 0–9 scale, updated by NOAA roughly every minute. Elevated Kp values correlate with GPS positioning errors and compass/magnetometer drift, both of which can cause a drone to "toilet bowl" or lose its home-point lock. UAV Meteo treats Kp 3 and below as good, up to 4.99 as caution, and 5+ as not suitable to fly.
Humidity & UV index
These two are informational rather than hard go/no-go blockers, so they only ever reach a "caution" state, never "not suitable." High humidity (above 85%) raises the risk of lens and electronics condensation, especially at temperature swings around sunrise/sunset. A high UV index (above 8) mostly affects the pilot — screen glare and sun exposure — rather than the aircraft.
Air quality & barometric pressure
Air Quality shows the US AQI for your location — above 100 is flagged as caution (haze can reduce visibility and image quality even when the raw visibility figure still looks fine), and above 200 is flagged as poor air quality. Barometric pressure is shown for reference and trend only — it isn't rated, but a rapidly falling pressure trend often precedes a change in weather faster than the forecast updates.
Daylight & twilight
The Daylight card shows whether it's currently full daylight, civil twilight, or night at your location, computed from precise sun-position astronomy (via the SunCalc library) rather than just the sunrise/sunset times alone. Many jurisdictions — including FAA Part 107 in the US — have separate rules for twilight and night operations (e.g. anti-collision lighting requirements), so knowing which phase you're in matters beyond just knowing it's "light out."
Trend arrows
Several cards show a small up/down/flat arrow next to the label, comparing the current value to where it's headed over roughly the next two hours. This is a lightweight glance at whether conditions are improving or deteriorating without having to open the full hourly forecast.
Favorites
Tap the star icon in the top bar to save your current location. Saved locations appear as quick-switch chips just below the top bar so you can jump between the spots you fly most without re-searching each time. Favorites are stored only in your browser.
Drone profiles
Different aircraft tolerate wind differently. Use the drone profile selector on the home screen to switch between presets (standard consumer, lightweight/sub-250g, or prosumer/cinema) — every threshold above shifts accordingly.
Visible satellites
Visible-satellite count is computed server-side using real-time SGP4 orbital propagation against live GPS constellation data from CelesTrak, counting how many GPS satellites are geometrically above the horizon for your location right now. It can't account for local obstructions (buildings, terrain, your drone's orientation) or which satellites your specific receiver has actually locked onto — a true lock count needs direct access to a device's GNSS chipset, which will be available in the upcoming UAV Meteo mobile apps.
Airspace & no-fly zones
UAV Meteo focuses on weather, not airspace restrictions. See our airspace & no-fly zone page for links to the official tools you should check before every flight, or our NOTAM reader if you already have a NOTAM you need decoded.
This is guidance, not a clearance to fly
These thresholds are general-purpose defaults, not manufacturer specifications or aviation authority regulations. Always check your drone's official operating limits, local airspace restrictions, and current regulations before every flight. See our legal & disclaimer page for full details.