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Skywatch

weather

The skywatch weather subcommand exposes individual data sources. All commands support --format json|text. When output is a TTY the default is text; when piped the default is json.

Commands

Section titled “Commands”
CommandDescriptionExample
metarCurrent METAR(s) for one or more stationsskywatch weather metar KCDW
tafCurrent TAF(s) for one or more stationsskywatch weather taf KACK
pirepsRecent PIREPs near a stationskywatch weather pireps KCDW --radius 100
windsWinds aloft forecast for a stationskywatch weather winds JFK
sigmetsAll active SIGMETsskywatch weather sigmets
airmetsAll active AIRMETsskywatch weather airmets --product sierra
afdArea Forecast Discussion for a WFOskywatch weather afd OKX
categoriesFlight categories for one or more stationsskywatch weather categories KCDW KEWR
crosswindCrosswind component for a runwayskywatch weather crosswind KCDW --runway 220

metar

Section titled “metar”

Fetch the current METAR for one or more stations:

Terminal window
skywatch weather metar KCDW
skywatch weather metar KCDW KEWR KJFK

Add --raw to print only the raw METAR string without decoding:

Terminal window
skywatch weather metar KCDW --raw

taf

Section titled “taf”

Fetch the current TAF:

Terminal window
skywatch weather taf KACK
skywatch weather taf KCDW KACY

pireps

Section titled “pireps”

Fetch recent PIREPs within a radius of a station:

Terminal window
skywatch weather pireps KCDW --radius 100

Default radius is 100 NM.

winds

Section titled “winds”

Fetch winds aloft forecast:

Terminal window
skywatch weather winds JFK
skywatch weather winds JFK --altitude 9000

--altitude filters to a specific altitude in feet.

sigmets

Section titled “sigmets”

List all currently active SIGMETs (no arguments required):

Terminal window
skywatch weather sigmets

airmets

Section titled “airmets”

List all active AIRMETs. Optionally filter by product:

Terminal window
skywatch weather airmets
skywatch weather airmets --product sierra
skywatch weather airmets --product tango
skywatch weather airmets --product zulu

Products: sierra (IFR/mountain obscuration), tango (turbulence), zulu (icing/freezing level).

afd

Section titled “afd”

Fetch the Area Forecast Discussion for a Weather Forecast Office (WFO):

Terminal window
skywatch weather afd OKX

WFO codes follow standard NWS three-letter identifiers (e.g., OKX for New York, BOS for Boston, PHI for Philadelphia).

categories

Section titled “categories”

Report flight categories (VFR/MVFR/IFR/LIFR) for one or more stations:

Terminal window
skywatch weather categories KCDW KEWR

crosswind

Section titled “crosswind”

Calculate the crosswind component given the current METAR wind and a runway heading:

Terminal window
skywatch weather crosswind KCDW --runway 220

--runway is required and takes a runway heading in degrees magnetic (e.g., runway 22 = 220 degrees).