Aviation Weather MCP Server

Aviation weather briefings directly in Claude. METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, SIGMETs, and ICON-D2 NWP forecasts — no API key required.

Just ask Claude things like:

• "METAR EDDM"

• "Preflight briefing EDLI"

• "Route weather EDDM to LOWI"

• "Any SIGMETs over Germany?"

Prerequisites

You need two things installed:

1. Claude Desktop — download from https://claude.ai/download

2. Node.js (version 18 or later) — download from https://nodejs.org (pick the LTS version)

To check if Node.js is already installed, open Terminal (Mac) or Command Prompt (Windows) and type:

node --version

If you see a version number like v22.x.x, you're good to go.

Related MCP server: SimBrief Flight Planning MCP Server

Setup (3 minutes)

Step 1: Open the Claude Desktop config

1. Open Claude Desktop

2. Click the gear icon (top right) to open Settings

3. Go to Developer

4. Click Edit Config

This opens a JSON file in your text editor.

Step 2: Add the weather server

If the file is empty or just has {}, replace it with:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "aviation-weather": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "aviation-weather-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

If the file already has content (e.g. other MCP servers), add the "aviation-weather" block inside the existing "mcpServers" section.

Step 3: Restart Claude Desktop

Quit Claude Desktop completely and reopen it. The first start may take 10-15 seconds longer while it downloads the weather server.

Step 4: Test it

Start a new chat and ask: "METAR EDDF"

Claude should respond with the current weather at Frankfurt airport. If it works, you're all set!

What can it do?

Data Sources

• aviationweather.gov — METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, SIGMETs (FAA/NOAA, worldwide)

• Open-Meteo — ICON-D2 / ICON-EU NWP forecasts (DWD models)

• Open-Meteo Ensemble — ensemble forecasts (ECMWF-ENS, GEFS) for the long-range outlook

• OurAirports — bundled offline ICAO → coordinates database (~22k airports, incl. GA fields), Public Domain

Notes

• Works worldwide for METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, and SIGMETs

• ICON-D2 high-resolution forecasts (2km) cover Central Europe (43-58°N / 4-21°E, 48h horizon)

• Outside Central Europe, it falls back to ICON-EU (7km resolution, 120h horizon)

• ICAO codes are resolved automatically — just use the 4-letter code. Resolution works offline from a bundled airport database, so even pure GA fields without a METAR (e.g. EDVY) work; you can also pass lat/lon directly

• Visibility is reported in km

• Open-Meteo serves no usable cloud base, so the hourly NWP forecasts (wx_icon_d2, wx_preflight, wx_route) derive a cloud ceiling from pressure-level cloud cover (lowest broken/overcast deck ≥50%, in ft AGL). The output always states it explicitly — ceil ~1700ft, ceil none<8600ft (no deck below), or ceil n/a (no data) — so a missing ceiling never looks like clear skies

• The 3–15 day outlook is a coarse confidence measure (share of ensemble members with poor VFR conditions), not a precise forecast. It uses low-cloud cover as the VFR proxy (Open-Meteo serves no usable cloud base) and shows the ECMWF-IFS trend plus an ICON-EU cross-check for the first ~5 days

Usage with Claude Code

claude mcp add aviation-weather -- npx -y aviation-weather-mcp

Troubleshooting

Claude doesn't show weather tools: Make sure you restarted Claude Desktop after editing the config. Check that the JSON syntax is valid (no trailing commas, matching brackets).

"npx: command not found": Node.js is not installed or not in your PATH. Download it from https://nodejs.org.

Slow first start: The first time, npx downloads the package (~30KB). After that it's cached and starts instantly.

Disclaimer

This tool is for informational purposes only and is not a replacement for an official pre-flight weather briefing. Always use approved weather services and follow your national aviation authority's requirements for flight preparation.

License

MIT