# Aviation Weather METAR Scraper (`parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper`) Actor

Scrapes METAR aviation weather reports for ICAO airport codes. Returns decoded wind, visibility, ceiling, temperature, dew point, and altimeter for each observation.

- **URL**: https://apify.com/parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper.md
- **Developed by:** [ParseForge](https://apify.com/parseforge) (community)
- **Categories:** Automation, Integrations, Travel
- **Stats:** 3 total users, 0 monthly users, 94.7% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks
- **User rating**: No ratings yet

## Pricing

from $7.50 / 1,000 results

This Actor is paid per event. You are not charged for the Apify platform usage, but only a fixed price for specific events.
Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have.

Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/actors/running/actors-in-store.md#pay-per-event

## What's an Apify Actor?

Actors are web data automations that power AI and operations. They run on the Apify platform to scrape websites, process data, connect APIs, and automate workflows.
In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours,
and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store.
In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server.
Actors are written with capital "A".

## How to integrate an Actor?

If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects.
You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready.
The best way to integrate Actors is as follows.

- **AI agents and MCP clients** — the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/integrations/mcp.md) at `https://mcp.apify.com` (remote, streamable HTTP, OAuth on first use).
- **Agentic workflows and local Actor development** — [Agent Skills](https://apify.com/.well-known/agent-skills/index.json) with the [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): `npm install -g apify-cli`, then `apify login`.
- **JavaScript/TypeScript projects** — the official [JS/TS client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs.md): `npm install apify-client`.
- **Python projects** — the official [Python client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs.md): `pip install apify-client`.
- **Any other language** — the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md).

For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below.

For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt).

# README

[![ParseForge](https://raw.githubusercontent.com/ParseForge/apify-assets/main/banner.jpg)](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp)

### Aviation Weather METAR Scraper

**Scrape METAR aviation weather reports for any airport, up to a million per run.** Each report comes with raw and decoded fields, station details, and observation time. No API key. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

Aviation Weather Center's METAR feeds are the standard for current airport conditions, but pulling them manually means copying raw strings and decoding them by hand. This Actor reads the public METAR data for the ICAO stations you specify, looks back up to 48 hours, and returns each report in one flat, decoded row.

| Who uses it | What they scrape Aviation Weather for |
|---|---|
| Pilots and flight planners | Checking current conditions at departure, destination, and alternate airports before a flight |
| Aviation weather researchers | Building a dataset of recent METAR observations to study weather patterns at specific airports |
| Drone operators | Verifying wind, visibility, and ceiling at nearby airports before a mission |
| Aviation app developers | Feeding decoded METAR data into flight planning or weather display tools |

### What it does

This Actor collects METAR reports for the ICAO station codes you provide and returns each observation as a flat row with raw text and decoded weather elements.

- 🛫 **Station filtering:** comma-separated ICAO codes like KJFK, KLAX, KORD, or any valid station worldwide.
- ⏱️ **Time window:** look back from 1 to 48 hours before now.
- 📊 **Decoded fields:** wind, visibility, ceiling, temperature, dew point, and altimeter are parsed from the raw METAR string.
- 📦 **Flat output:** one row per report, ready for CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML export.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

### What you can do with Aviation Weather data

**✈️ Pre-flight weather checks.**

A private pilot enters departure, destination, and alternate ICAO codes, runs the Actor, and reviews decoded METAR reports to decide whether conditions are safe to fly.

**📈 Airport weather trend analysis.**

A researcher collects 48 hours of METAR data for a set of airports and compares wind and visibility trends to study local weather patterns.

**🚁 Drone mission planning.**

A drone operator checks METAR reports for nearby airports to confirm wind speed and ceiling are within operational limits before launching.

**🧩 Aviation app data feed.**

A developer runs the Actor on a schedule to pull fresh METAR reports for a list of airports and feeds the decoded rows into a flight planning app.

### Why choose this scraper

| | What you get |
|---|---|
| **No API key** | Reads public METAR data directly, no registration or token needed |
| **Decoded, not raw** | Each row includes parsed wind, visibility, ceiling, temperature, and altimeter |
| **Up to 48 hours back** | Collect recent history for trend checks or post-flight review |
| **Any ICAO station** | Works with airports worldwide, from KJFK to EGLL to RJTT |

### How it compares

No other Store actor targets Aviation Weather the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

| | Aviation Weather METAR Scraper | Build it in-house | By hand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setup | Run it now, zero config | Days of engineering | None, but hours per pull |
| When Aviation Weather changes | Maintained for you | You fix it | You re-learn the page |
| Proxies, retries, anti-bot | Built in | Your problem | Browser only |
| Output | Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export | Whatever you build | Copy-paste |
| Cost | Pay per result | Engineering time | Analyst hours |

### Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a comma-separated list of ICAO station codes and a look-back window in hours. Filters run as each report is read, so only matching observations reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 10,
 "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
 "hoursBefore": 2
}
```

A larger pull:

```json
{
 "maxItems": 200,
 "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
 "hoursBefore": 2
}
```

### Pricing

Pay-per-result: **$0.0085 per result** collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

| Results collected | Approximate cost |
|---|---|
| 100 results | $0.85 |
| 1,000 results | $8.50 |
| 10,000 results | $85.00 |

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

### Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. [Upgrade your Apify plan](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp) to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

### Run it

1. [Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit](https://console.apify.com/sign-up?fpr=vmoqkp).
2. Open the [Aviation Weather METAR Scraper](https://apify.com/parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper?fpr=vmoqkp).
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click **Start**.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the **Dataset** tab.

Run it programmatically through the [Apify API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2) (`run-sync-get-dataset-items`) or the [ApifyClient](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js) for JavaScript and Python.

### Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Aviation Weather through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

```bash
claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper"
```

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

### Troubleshooting

**Why am I getting no results?**

Check that the ICAO codes are valid and comma-separated without spaces. Also confirm the hoursBefore window is not too small for the station's reporting frequency.

**Why are some fields empty in the output?**

Some METAR reports omit certain elements, such as visibility or weather phenomena. The Actor leaves those fields empty rather than guessing.

**Can I get more than 48 hours of history?**

No, the Actor is limited to the last 48 hours. For longer history, you would need a different data source or repeated scheduled runs.

**Why did the run fail with a station error?**

One of the ICAO codes may be invalid or the station may not report METAR data. Remove the code and try again.

**How do I export the data?**

After the run finishes, open the dataset in Apify and use the export buttons to download CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

### FAQ

| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| What is a METAR report? | METAR is the international standard format for hourly airport weather observations. It includes wind, visibility, weather phenomena, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting. |
| Which stations can I scrape? | Any station with a valid ICAO code that reports METAR data. Examples include KJFK, KLAX, KORD, EGLL, and RJTT. |
| How far back can I get data? | The Actor can look back up to 48 hours before the run time. Use the hoursBefore input to set the window. |
| Do I need an API key? | No. The Actor reads public METAR data directly from the Aviation Weather Center, so no registration or token is required. |
| What format is the output? | Each report is returned as a flat row with raw METAR text and decoded fields. You can export the dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML. |
| Can I scrape multiple airports in one run? | Yes. Enter a comma-separated list of ICAO codes in the stations input, and the Actor will collect reports for all of them. |
| How many reports can I get per run? | You can set maxItems up to 1,000,000 reports per run. The default is 10. |
| Does the Actor decode the raw METAR string? | Yes. Each row includes parsed wind, visibility, ceiling, temperature, dew point, and altimeter, alongside the original raw text. |
| Is this only for US airports? | No. It works with any ICAO station worldwide that reports METAR data. |
| Can I schedule this Actor to run automatically? | Yes. You can set up a schedule in Apify to run the Actor at regular intervals and keep your METAR dataset fresh. |

### Related actors

Browse the full [ParseForge collection](https://apify.com/parseforge?fpr=vmoqkp) for more scrapers.

🆘 **Need help?** Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ **Disclaimer.** This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Aviation Weather Center. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.

# Actor input Schema

## `maxItems` (type: `integer`):

How many METAR reports to collect per run.

## `stations` (type: `string`):

Comma-separated ICAO codes (e.g. KJFK,KLAX,KORD).

## `hoursBefore` (type: `integer`):

Look back this many hours.

## Actor input object example

```json
{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
  "hoursBefore": 2
}
```

# Actor output Schema

## `results` (type: `string`):

No description

# API

You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup.

## JavaScript example

```javascript
import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client';

// Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
// Replace the '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token
const client = new ApifyClient({
    token: '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>',
});

// Prepare Actor input
const input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
    "hoursBefore": 2
};

// Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
const run = await client.actor("parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper").call(input);

// Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any)
console.log('Results from dataset');
console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`);
const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems();
items.forEach((item) => {
    console.dir(item);
});

// 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs

```

## Python example

```python
from apify_client import ApifyClient

# Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token
# Replace '<YOUR_API_TOKEN>' with your token.
client = ApifyClient("<YOUR_API_TOKEN>")

# Prepare the Actor input
run_input = {
    "maxItems": 10,
    "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
    "hoursBefore": 2,
}

# Run the Actor and wait for it to finish
run = client.actor("parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper").call(run_input=run_input)

# Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any)
print(f"💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/{run.default_dataset_id}")
for item in client.dataset(run.default_dataset_id).iterate_items():
    print(item)

# 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start

```

## CLI example

```bash
echo '{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "stations": "KJFK,KLAX,KORD",
  "hoursBefore": 2
}' |
apify call parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper --silent --output-dataset

```

## MCP server setup

```json
{
    "mcpServers": {
        "apify": {
            "type": "http",
            "url": "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=fetch-actor-details,parseforge/aviation-weather-metar-scraper"
        }
    }
}

```

The hosted server signs you in with OAuth on first connect, so no API token belongs in this config. Clients without OAuth support can send an `Authorization: Bearer <APIFY_API_TOKEN>` header instead, using a token from API & Integrations in Apify Console (https://console.apify.com/settings/integrations).

## OpenAPI specification

Download the OpenAPI definition: https://api.apify.com/v2/actors/bTuzqopgsNrromMM8/builds/ZONbu0sA3LWcQWM16/openapi.json