How SkiesToday works
SkiesToday turns free public aviation data into a plain-English picture of what flying across the United States looks like today. Everything here comes from official sources you can check yourself.
Where the data comes from
- FAA National Airspace System status
Ground stops, ground delay programs, airport closures, current arrival and departure delays, and the FAA's plan for the rest of the day.
- Aviation Weather Center — convective forecast (TCF)
Where thunderstorms are expected to develop. Storms are the main reason flights get rerouted or held.
- Aviation Weather Center — SIGMETs and AIRMETs
Official warnings to pilots about hazardous weather that is happening now.
- Aviation Weather Center — G-AIRMET forecasts
Forecast areas of turbulence, icing and low visibility for the hours ahead.
- Aviation Weather Center — pilot reports (PIREPs)
Bumps and conditions crews actually reported in flight. Voluntary, so coverage has gaps.
- Aviation Weather Center — METAR and TAF
Current conditions and short-term forecasts at individual airports.
How often it refreshes
Our server collects every source on a schedule — about every 15 minutes during the day, and once an hour overnight when the airspace is quiet — and shares that one snapshot with everyone who visits, so the FAA and weather services only see a handful of requests from us. Each page shows when the data behind it was last read.
- Up to date — we read this source on the latest refresh.
- Stale — the source didn't answer, so you're seeing the last update we received.
- Unavailable — we have nothing usable for that source right now. We say so rather than showing you a zero.
How we describe conditions
- Severe — flights are being held on the ground or an airport is closed.
- Elevated — a delay program is running, or delays are already being reported.
- Watch — the FAA is considering restrictions later, or weather could cause them.
- Calm — nothing active, nothing planned, no meaningful weather signal.
- Unknown — we couldn't read the data needed to judge. We never call that calm.
The wording each FAA term translates to is listed on the terms page.
What this can't tell you
- It is not a flight status service. Only your airline knows what your specific flight is doing.
- Anything labelled planned, possible or likely is a forecast from FAA planners — it may never happen.
- Turbulence forecasts and pilot reports cover the contiguous United States and only where a pilot happened to report. Empty areas do not mean smooth air.
- Nothing here is operational guidance for pilots or dispatchers.