VFR weather briefing: process & checklist
A complete briefing is more than a glance at the current METAR. This article arranges the building blocks – METAR, TAF, NOTAM, official warnings and more – into a timeline that works well in practice, linking to the relevant deep dives along the way.
Days ahead: rough feasibility
A first look at the daily forecast and the regional model trend shows whether the flight day is realistic at all. At this stage, it's about the big picture – frontal systems, high-pressure areas, temperature trend – not reliable detail.
The day before: firming up the picture
- Check the TAF for departure, destination and possible alternates – usually available up to about 30 hours ahead.
- Get the bigger picture from GAMET and official warnings.
- If heat is expected, roughly estimate density altitude – it quickly becomes the limiting factor on hot days.
- Pull NOTAMs for departure, destination, alternates and the airspace you'll cross.
On the day, shortly before departure
- Current METAR for departure and destination, plus TAF change groups (
TEMPO/BECMG) falling within your flight window. - Re-check official warnings – the picture can shift between the day before and departure.
- Calculate the crosswind component for the active runway.
- Confirm VFR flight is actually permitted in the planned airspace – see VFR minima. Important: the MVFR/IFR/LIFR weather category alone doesn't answer this question.
- Check NOTAMs one last time for changes since the day before.
During the cross-country flight
Keep an eye on upper-wind and en-route weather along the planned route, as well as possible diversion airports. Current SIGMETs along the route – embedded thunderstorms or strong turbulence, for example – should be monitored en route too, not just during preparation.
Checklist
- ☐ Daily forecast / regional model trend (days ahead)
- ☐ TAF for departure, destination, alternates (day before)
- ☐ GAMET / official warnings (day before)
- ☐ Rough density altitude estimate if heat is expected (day before)
- ☐ NOTAMs for departure, destination, alternates, airspace (day before + again on the day)
- ☐ Current METAR for departure/destination + relevant TAF change groups (day of flight)
- ☐ Crosswind component for the active runway (day of flight)
- ☐ VFR minima confirmed for the planned airspace (day of flight)
- ☐ SIGMETs along the route (day of flight + during the flight)
Frequently asked questions
How long before the flight should I start weather preparation?
For rough feasibility, a look 2-3 days ahead is enough. The assessment becomes reliable once a TAF is available (up to about 30 hours ahead) and gets refined further on the day of the flight with a current METAR and GAMET.
Does a weather app replace the official briefing?
No. Apps like VFR Wetter bundle publicly available weather sources into an understandable assessment, but they replace neither an official flight weather briefing nor your own independent check of NOTAMs, airspace and current regulations.
What belongs in every briefing, regardless of weather?
NOTAMs for departure, destination and alternate airports plus the airspace you'll cross – they aren't a weather product and no weather app delivers them.
What's next?
The individual building blocks of this checklist are covered in more depth in the Learn section. For the part VFR Wetter automates – the central assessment, METAR/TAF decoder, route as a hazard corridor, performance tab and the shareable briefing PDF – see the app guide.
This checklist does not replace aviation training or an official flight weather briefing. Responsibility for complete, correct flight preparation always rests with the pilot in command.