K79S METAR Fort Benton Airport

Fort Benton, MontanaElevation 2,869 ftSmall airport

CURRENT STATUS

VFR9 min old

No ceiling, visibility 10 SM.

FLIGHT CATEGORY

VFR

ceiling & visibility

WIND

210@6

steady

VISIBILITY

10 SM

16.1 km

CEILING

None

no BKN/OVC layer

DENSITY ALT

1,708 ft

-1,161 ft vs field

CURRENT METAR

Decoded observation

Observed 2335Z (5:35 PM local) · 9 min old

K79S is currently VFR. Winds are from the southwest at 6 knots. Visibility is 10 statute miles. There is no ceiling.

WIND

210° at 6 kt

Steady.

VISIBILITY

10 statute miles

16.1 km, good.

CEILING & SKY

CLR

FEW and SCT layers are not ceilings.

TEMP / DEWPOINT

3°C / 0°C

37°F / 32°F. 3°C spread.

ALTIMETER

30.33 inHg

1027.1 hPa, above standard.

WEATHER & HAZARDS

No significant hazards

No precipitation or obscuration reported.

Codes in this report: AUTO CLR RMK AO2

Hover or tap any group for a plain-English explanation.

REMARKS: DECODED

AO2

automated station with a precipitation discriminator (can tell rain from snow)

T00341004

precise temperature 3.4°C, dew point -0.4°C

station needs maintenance

SUGGESTED RISK · TRAINING USE

Suggested risk level: Low

›No TAF available for this airport.

A suggested risk level for training and situational awareness only, not a go/no-go authority. Verify with official sources and apply your personal minimums.

FORECAST & PILOT NOTES · SUPPLEMENTAL

Extended forecast and pilot notes

Current aviation conditions show flight category VFR, wind from 210° at 6 kt, visibility 10 SM, ceiling none. Forecast suggests this afternoon mostly sunny, high near 45F, low near 24F, 0% chance of precipitation. Key risks: strong winds in the forecast.

PILOT WEATHER NOTES

Strong winds in the forecastWeather.gov

Tuesday: winds up to 25 kt. Re-check crosswind components closer to departure.

Day	Conditions	Temp F	Wind	Gusts	Precip	Pilot note
This Afternoon	Mostly Sunny	45/24	E 7 kt	–	0%
Monday	Areas Of Fog then Mostly Sunny	52/31	E 8 kt	–	54%
Tuesday	Rain And Snow Likely	53/33	WSW 17 kt	25 kt	58%	Strong winds in the forecast
Wednesday	Sunny	54/27	WSW 8 kt	–	11%
Thursday	Partly Sunny	42/25	NNE 5 kt	–	40%
Friday	Slight Chance Light Snow then Mostly Cloudy	42/23	ENE 4 kt	–	20%
Saturday	Partly Sunny	47/26	WSW 2 kt	–	14%

Source: National Weather Service (office TFX). Forecast issued 2344Z.

Radar

Radar data: NOAA/NWS MRMS composite reflectivity. For situational awareness only, not a substitute for an official weather briefing.

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RUNWAYS & WIND

2 runways · crosswind ranking

ON-FIELD METAR

READING THE BARB · SWIPE FOR MORE →

Calm

5 kt

10 kt

15 kt

20 kt

25 kt

30 kt

35 kt

40 kt

45 kt

50 kt

65 kt

75 kt

100 kt

105 kt

Half feather = 5 kt, full = 10 kt, filled pennant = 50 kt; add them up. The staff points the direction the wind blows from.

WIND USED

210° at 6 kt

Components computed from the current on-field METAR wind.

RECOMMENDED

RWY 235 kt headwind · 3 kt crosswind

RUNWAYS BY WIND · best end

HEAD

5 kt

CROSS

3 kt L

BEST

HEAD

3 kt

CROSS

5 kt R

HEAD

3 kt tail

CROSS

5 kt L

HEAD

5 kt tail

CROSS

3 kt R

Components are estimates from the current METAR wind and runway heading. Verify with the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.

RUNWAYS

Runway detail & declared distances

2 runways · longest 4,300 ft

14/32

Dimensions

1,700 x 75 ft

Surface

Dirt (good)

RWY 14152°T

RWY 32332°T

05/23

Dimensions

4,300 x 75 ft

Surface

Asphalt (excellent)

Edge lights

MED

RWY 0562°T

VGSIPAPI (P2L)

RWY 23242°T

VGSIPAPI (P2L)

Runway data from the FAA NASR dataset (effective 2026-06-11). Verify with the current Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.

FIELD CONDITIONS

Performance & density altitude

Density altitude

1,708 ft

Pressure altitude

2,459 ft

Field elevation

2,869 ft MSL

Temperature

3°C (37°F)

Dewpoint

0°C (32°F)

Altimeter

30.33 inHg

Density altitude estimates how the aircraft performs versus standard atmosphere. Higher density altitude reduces climb performance and increases takeoff distance.

DAYLIGHT & NIGHT

Sun & logging windows

Sunset

0016Z 6:16 PM

Sunrise

1357Z 7:57 AM

Loggable night

0048Z (6:48 PM local) → 1325Z (7:25 AM local)

end of evening to start of morning civil twilight

Position lights required

0016Z (6:16 PM local) → 1357Z (7:57 AM local)

sunset to sunrise (91.209)

Night passenger currency

0116Z (7:16 PM local) → 1257Z (6:57 AM local)

1 hr after sunset to 1 hr before sunrise (61.57(b))

FAA definitions, shown in Zulu with airport-local time. Verify for your operation.

AIRPORT INFORMATION

Facility & services

Fort Benton Airport is in Fort Benton, Montana. Field elevation 2,869 ft MSL. Airport facts are drawn from OurAirports and the FAA NASR dataset.

OPERATIONS & CONTACT

OwnershipPublicly owned

UseOpen to the public

TypeSmall airport

ManagerMIKE MAY

Manager phone(406) 781-9478

AttendedUNATNDD

CHARTS & AIRSPACE

ICAO / IATAK79S

SectionalGREAT FALLS

Center (ARTCC)SALT LAKE CITY

Flight service (AFSS)GREAT FALLS

RegionMontana

CountryUnited States

Coordinates47.8451, -110.6360

Distance from city1 NM NE

SERVICES & LIGHTING

Fuel100LL

Control towerNon-towered

Field lightingSee remarks

BeaconSunset to sunrise · White-green (lighted land airport)

CTAF122.800

UNICOM122.800

FREQUENCIES

Communications

122.8

CTAF/UNICOM

UNIC

122.800

CTAF

122.800

UNICOM

Not all tower/ground/approach frequencies are in our datasets. Verify with the FAA Chart Supplement.

AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY

Traffic patterns

Aircraft activity data is not available for this airport yet.

NEARBY AIRPORTS

Weather reference stations

Current flight category at nearby reporting stations.

KGTF Great Falls International Airport

37 NM SW

VFR

KHVR Havre City County Airport

54 NM NE

VFR

KSBX Shelby Airport

65 NM NW

VFR

KCTB Cut Bank International Airport

83 NM NW

MVFR

KHLN Helena Regional Airport

92 NM SW

VFR

AIRPORT REMARKS

Operational remarks

›FOR CD CTC SALT LAKE ARTCC AT 801-320-2568.

›(PAY PHONE) PAY PHONE AVAILABLE.

›OR CONTACT ANDY TAYLOR @ 406-622-5682.

›ACTVT PAPI RWY 05 & 23; MIRL RWY 05/23 - CTAF.

OFFICIAL LINKS & SOURCES

↗Search NOTAMs (official FAA NOTAM Search)

↗K79S on OurAirports

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Does K79S have a METAR?

Yes. K79S has a current METAR observation, decoded into plain English on this page.

Does K79S have a TAF?

When K79S issues a TAF, its decoded forecast timeline loads live on this page; otherwise use the nearest TAF-issuing field as a planning reference.

What is the field elevation at K79S?

K79S sits at 2,869 ft MSL, which factors into the density-altitude estimate on this page.

Is this an official preflight weather briefing for K79S?

No. wxdecoder.com is for education and situational awareness only. It is not an official weather briefing or a substitute for official sources, NOTAM review, and pilot judgment.

This app is for aviation weather education, training, and situational awareness only. It is not a substitute for an official weather briefing, approved flight-planning software, flight service, dispatch procedures, current FAA regulations, or pilot judgment. Always verify weather with official sources before flight.