A very important part of preflight planning is obtaining weather information. It really pays off to start observing the weather a number of days ahead of the flight to see what the weather systems are doing. Make sure you also read the forecasts for the day of your flight. Using this technique it is easy to see if the forecasts are reasonably correct and if the sources they use are reliable. Below you will find links to sites with meteorological information usable for flight planning and they have provided good meteo info in the past.

Worldwide Weather

International weather sites:

• NOAA - National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration -- Detailed info on Aviation Routine Weather Report and Aerodrome Forecast Information
• NOAA's Aviation Weather Center -- US and International radar and satellite pictures
• NWS Internet Aviation Weather Source -- gives METAR TAF based on ICAO codes and Current weather observations on selected stations
• World Meteorological Organization -- The World Weather Information Service from WMO, including severe weather forecasts
• The Weather Network -- Good site on weather in Canada
• MetService New Zealand -- New Zealands National Meteorological Service
• Bureau of Meteorology Australia -- Australian Aviation Weather Service

European Weather

More European weather sites:

• KNMI -- Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, Weather charts and also METAR and TAF. Call by phone for an official weather briefing
• KNMI Luchtvaart -- Direct link to the aviation forecast section of the KNMI
• SATREP -- European weather site. Satellite Reports just opened, great site
• European Weather Alarm (NEW) -- European weather site. Reports weather alerts with colors per country
• Wetterzentrale -- German Weather site
• European Aviation Weather Center -- Good Bracknell surface, Jeppesen, JETstream charts and more; also has information about airports
• 21st Operational Weather Squadron -- Military source for European weather, public website
• European Weather Radar -- New weather radar for EUROPE. New site and has very current radar images
• Germany's worldwide weathersite WetterOnline -- Radar, satelite and lots of weather data
• United Kingdom Met Office -- The official UK Met Office
• World Meteorological Organization Europe -- WMO's Europe subsite, see below

Weather in the Benelux

Some more links to sites for weather in the low countries:

• KNMI - (Royal Dutch Meteorological Institute, Weather charts and also METAR and TAF. Call by phone for an official weather briefing)
• KNMI Luchtvaart - (Direct link to the aviation forecast section of the KNMI)
• Buienradar - (Weather radar BENELUX: Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg. Very current and with 1 hour forecast!)
• MeteoConsult - (Dutch and European weather, radar and satellite)
• Weer Online - (Dutch site, some parts are only available with a subscription)
• Sky Stef - (Site dedicated to weather and aviation in Belgium, contains great images)