The National Weather Service's official aviation portal: METARs, TAFs, PIREPs, SIGMETs, G-AIRMETs, icing and turbulence products, and graphical forecasts.
Aviation Weather Resources
Free and paid weather services, tools, and training for flight planning
The Colorado Pilots Association does not endorse any weather source listed here.
This directory is provided purely as a resource for your flight planning purposes. Inclusion is not a
recommendation, and CPA receives no compensation from any provider on this page. Evaluate any service
against your own needs, and remember that only an official source — such as
1800wxbrief.com or
aviationweather.gov —
constitutes a preflight weather briefing.
Pricing shown was verified in August 2026 and is listed for individual pilots on annual billing where a choice exists. Rates change without notice — confirm the current price with the provider before subscribing. Spotted something out of date? Let us know.
Official & Government Sources
Start here. Only an official source satisfies your preflight information requirement under 14 CFR 91.103 — everything further down this page supplements these, it does not replace them.
Official FAA-contracted preflight briefings, flight plan filing, and adverse condition alerting. A logged briefing here is the one that counts if anything is ever questioned.
Convective outlooks, mesoscale discussions, and watches. Useful in Colorado for judging afternoon thunderstorm risk a day or two out.
FAA Weather Cameras
FreeLive camera imagery at airports and mountain sites, with clear-day reference shots for comparison. Operated in Colorado with CDOT Aeronautics.
AOPA Aviation Weather
Free · paid tiersWeather planning tools bundled with AOPA membership, including imagery and route briefings. Requires an AOPA account to access.
Included with AOPA membership
Area forecast discussions from the Boulder, Pueblo, and Grand Junction offices explain the reasoning behind the forecast, not just the output.
COtrip (CDOT)
FreeColorado road and mountain pass conditions. A closed or snow-packed pass at the surface is a useful sanity check on what the air above it is doing.
Flight Planning Apps & EFBs
Most pilots get their weather through one of these. Prices are for individual pilots on annual billing; commercial and multi-pilot tiers cost more.
ForeFlight
PaidThe most widely used EFB in general aviation. Integrated briefings, imagery, and flight planning across all tiers; higher tiers add hazard advisors and synthetic vision.
Starter $130/yr · Essential $260/yr · Premium $390/yr
Garmin Pilot
PaidGarmin's EFB, with the tightest integration if you already fly behind Garmin panel avionics or use a GDL portable receiver.
Standard about $109/yr · Premium about $210/yr
FltPlan Go
FreeA genuinely free EFB with weather, charts, and filing. Owned by Garmin. Fewer conveniences than the paid apps, but the price is hard to argue with.
EZWxBrief
PaidBuilt by meteorologist and CFI Scott Dennstaedt specifically to teach interpretation, not just display data. Route-based visualization with an expert-progressive slant.
$8.99/month after a 30-day free trial
SkyVector
FreeFree browser-based sectional and IFR chart viewer with weather overlays and route planning. No account required for basic use.
FlyQ EFB
PaidSeattle Avionics' EFB, with a lower entry price than the major players and a 30-day trial.
VFR subscription about $100/yr
iFlightPlanner
PaidWeb and iOS flight planning with integrated weather. AOPA members receive a discount on Core and Premium memberships.
From about $50/yr
Avare
FreeFree open-source Android EFB using public FAA data. Spartan next to the commercial apps, but capable and genuinely free.
Visualization & Model Data
Raw model output and high-resolution imagery. Powerful for building a mental picture, but none of these are aviation-specific briefings.
Windy.com
Free · paid tiersAnimated multi-model visualization — wind, cloud, precipitation, and soundings. The altitude slider makes it a quick way to picture flow over the Front Range and passes.
Free; optional Premium subscription — see their plans page for current rates
Ventusky
Free · paid tiersSimilar model visualization with a clean interface and easy layer switching. Good second opinion when a forecast looks marginal.
Free; optional premium tier
Pivotal Weather
Free · paid tiersModel output at a level of detail normally reserved for forecasters. Steep learning curve; excellent once you know what you are looking at.
Free tier; Plus subscription for higher resolution and more models
University-hosted satellite, radar, and model archive. Long a favourite of weather enthusiasts, and entirely free.
RadarScope
PaidPresents Level 3 and Super-Resolution radar the way a meteorologist reads it, rather than the smoothed consumer version. Best-in-class for convective detail. Also available for Android, macOS, and Windows. (Linked to the App Store listing — radarscope.app now redirects to the vendor's support site.)
About $10 one-time for the app; optional Pro tiers from about $10/yr
Tropical Tidbits
FreeFast, no-frills model comparison. Despite the name, the model pages cover the continental U.S. well.
Interactive mapping with METAR, TAF, and PIREP overlays on one screen. A quick way to see station conditions across a route without clicking through each one.
In-Flight & Datalink Weather
Weather in the cockpit. Note the distinction: FIS-B costs nothing to receive but needs hardware, while satellite delivery carries a monthly fee and works where ADS-B ground coverage does not — which in Colorado means low altitudes and behind terrain.
ADS-B FIS-B (via portable receiver)
Free · paid tiersThe FAA broadcasts subscription-free weather to any ADS-B In receiver — Sentry, Stratus, GDL and similar. Reception depends on ground station line of sight, so coverage degrades low and in the mountains.
Broadcast is free; receiver hardware typically $200–$1,000 one-time
SiriusXM Aviation
PaidSatellite-delivered weather with nationwide coverage independent of altitude or terrain, including higher-resolution radar than FIS-B. Requires a compatible receiver.
Packages roughly $30–$100/month depending on tier, plus hardware
Weather Training & Education
Data is only as good as your ability to read it. Several of the best options here cost nothing.
The FAA's consolidated weather reference, replacing the old AC 00-6 and 00-45 series. Free PDF download and the most authoritative single source available.
Free online courses, quizzes, and accident case studies, including a substantial weather series. Free to all pilots, not only AOPA members.
Free FAA courses and seminars, many weather-focused, that also earn WINGS credit toward your flight review.
SKYbrary
FreeFree aviation safety knowledge base with well-written articles on mountain waves, icing, turbulence, and windshear.
Structured video course covering weather theory and practical interpretation, with lifetime access.
About $100 one-time
Monthly scenario-based decision-making exercises, many built around weather judgement calls rather than theory.
Subscriptions from about $19/month
Our own presentation on how Colorado terrain drives local weather. Start here if you are new to flying the high country.
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