KMDS/XMD METAR Madison Municipal Airport

Madison, South DakotaElevation 1,718 ftSmall airport

CURRENT STATUS

VFR12 min old

Ceiling 3,900 ft, visibility 10 SM.

FLIGHT CATEGORY

VFR

ceiling & visibility

WIND

050@16

steady

VISIBILITY

10 SM

16.1 km

CEILING

3,900 ft

lowest BKN/OVC

DENSITY ALT

434 ft

-1,284 ft vs field

CURRENT METAR

Decoded observation

Observed 0215Z (9:15 PM local) · 12 min old

KMDS is currently VFR. Winds are from the northeast at 16 knots. Visibility is 10 statute miles. The ceiling is 3,900 feet AGL.

WIND

50° at 16 kt

Steady.

VISIBILITY

10 statute miles

16.1 km, good.

CEILING & SKY

Ceiling 3,900 ft

Lowest broken or overcast layer.

TEMP / DEWPOINT

5°C / 1°C

41°F / 34°F. 4°C spread.

ALTIMETER

30.42 inHg

1030.1 hPa, above standard.

WEATHER & HAZARDS

No significant hazards

No precipitation or obscuration reported.

Codes in this report: AUTO OVC 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)

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 50° at 16 kt, visibility 10 SM, ceiling 3,900 ft. Forecast suggests tonight rain showers, low near 37F, 94% chance of precipitation. Key risks: strong winds in the forecast; thunderstorms in the forecast. Note: the NWS forecast for now reads "Rain Showers Likely" but the current METAR shows none of it; the observation and forecast differ, so trust the METAR for current conditions.

PILOT WEATHER NOTES

Strong winds in the forecastWeather.gov

Monday: winds up to 26 kt. Re-check crosswind components closer to departure.

Thunderstorms in the forecastWeather.gov

Saturday: Showers And Thunderstorms Likely. Watch for developing convection and plan alternates.

Day	Conditions	Temp F	Wind	Gusts	Precip	Pilot note
Tonight	Rain Showers	37	NE 13 kt	22 kt	94%
Monday	Rain Showers	44/38	ENE 13 kt	26 kt	99%	Strong winds in the forecast
Tuesday	Mostly Cloudy	55/43	SSW 13 kt	–	6%
Wednesday	Mostly Sunny then Slight Chance Rain Showers	63/40	SW 9 kt	–	24%
Thursday	Mostly Sunny	63/44	E 9 kt	–	5%
Friday	Partly Sunny then Chance Rain Showers	65/47	ESE 9 kt	–	58%
Saturday	Showers And Thunderstorms Likely	61/44	SSE 9 kt	–	58%	Thunderstorms in the forecast
Sunday	Partly Sunny	59	WNW 9 kt	–	11%

Note: the NWS forecast for now reads "Rain Showers Likely" but the current METAR shows none of it; the observation and forecast differ, so trust the METAR for current conditions.

Source: National Weather Service (office FSD). Forecast issued 0221Z.

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

050° at 16 kt

Components computed from the current on-field METAR wind.

RECOMMENDED

RWY 0315 kt headwind · 4 kt crosswind

RUNWAYS BY WIND · best end

HEAD

15 kt

CROSS

4 kt R

BEST

HEAD

4 kt

CROSS

16 kt R

X-WIND

HEAD

4 kt tail

CROSS

16 kt L

X-WIND

HEAD

15 kt tail

CROSS

4 kt L

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 5,000 ft

03/21

Dimensions

2,380 x 200 ft

Surface

Turf (good)

RWY 0334°T

Traffic patternLeft

RWY 21214°T

Traffic patternLeft

15/33

Dimensions

5,000 x 75 ft

Surface

Asphalt

Edge lights

MED

RWY 15154°T

REILYes

VGSIPAPI (P4L)

Traffic patternLeft

RWY 33334°T

REILYes

VGSIPAPI (P4L)

Traffic patternLeft

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

434 ft

Pressure altitude

1,218 ft

Field elevation

1,718 ft MSL

Temperature

5°C (41°F)

Dewpoint

1°C (34°F)

Altimeter

30.42 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

2328Z 6:28 PM

Sunrise

1256Z 7:56 AM

Loggable night

2358Z (6:58 PM local) → 1227Z (7:27 AM local)

end of evening to start of morning civil twilight

Position lights required

2328Z (6:28 PM local) → 1256Z (7:56 AM local)

sunset to sunrise (91.209)

Night passenger currency

0028Z (7:28 PM local) → 1156Z (6:56 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

Madison Municipal Airport is in Madison, South Dakota. Field elevation 1,718 ft MSL. Airport facts are drawn from OurAirports and the FAA NASR dataset.

OPERATIONS & CONTACT

OwnershipPublicly owned

UseOpen to the public

TypeSmall airport

ManagerMORRIS RIGGIN

Manager phone605-256-9774

AttendedALL 7 DAYS A WEEK, 0700–1800

CHARTS & AIRSPACE

ICAO / IATAKMDS / XMD

SectionalOMAHA

Center (ARTCC)MINNEAPOLIS

Flight service (AFSS)HURON

RegionSouth Dakota

CountryUnited States

Coordinates44.0160, -97.0859

Distance from city1 NM NE

SERVICES & LIGHTING

Fuel100LL · Jet A

Control towerNon-towered

Field lightingSee remarks

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

CTAF122.800

UNICOM122.800

FREQUENCIES

Communications

132.05

MINNEAPOLIS CNTR

CNTR

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

KMDS traffic patterns

2026-06-15 to 2026-10-17, 13 days observed · data 2026-10-23

Low confidence

TRAFFIC VOLUME (30-DAY)

AVG LANDINGS/DAY

AVG OPS/DAY

Operations trend (1 days)

Busiest day: Tue · Busiest month: Oct

FLEET MIX

Unknown 67%Piston single 33%

Fleet composition unclear from available data.

TOP AIRCRAFT TYPES

›UNKN (Unknown) · ~2 landings/mo

›C150 (Piston single) · ~1 landings/mo

›C172 (Piston single) · ~1 landings/mo

›C441 (Unknown) · ~1 landings/mo

›C82S (Unknown) · ~1 landings/mo

Data limitations (4)

›ADS-B coverage is incomplete; counts are an observed lower bound, not official totals.

›Some aircraft do not transmit usable ADS-B and are not counted.

›Aircraft types and based estimates are inferred and may be wrong.

›This is not official ATC, FAA, or airport data.

NEARBY AIRPORTS

Weather reference stations

Current flight category at nearby reporting stations.

KBKX Brookings Regional Airport

21 NM NE

VFR

KFSD Sioux Falls Regional Airport

30 NM SE

VFR

KMHE Mitchell Municipal Airport

44 NM W

VFR

KHON Huron Regional Airport

54 NM NW

VFR

KATY Watertown Regional Airport

54 NM N

VFR

KDVP Slayton Municipal Airport

56 NM E

VFR

AIRPORT REMARKS

Operational remarks

›ULTRA-LIGHT ACTIVITY ON AND INVOF ARPT.

›ACTVT MIRL RY 15/33 & REIL RY 15 & 33 - CTAF.

›RY 03/21 MKD WITHBLACK & WHITE CONES.

›RY 03 21 CLSD 1 NOV-1 APR EXCEPT WITH PPR CALL 605-256-9774.

›FOR CD IF UNA VIA GCO CTC MINNEAPOLIS ARTCC AT 651-463-5588.

›GCO AVBL ON FREQ 121.725 (4 CLICKS TO MINNEAPOLIS CENTER AND 6 CLICKS TO FLT SVCS)

OFFICIAL LINKS & SOURCES

↗Official METAR on AviationWeather.gov

↗Search NOTAMs (official FAA NOTAM Search)

↗Wikipedia

↗KMDS on OurAirports

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Does KMDS have a METAR?

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

Does KMDS have a TAF?

When KMDS 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 KMDS?

KMDS sits at 1,718 ft MSL, which factors into the density-altitude estimate on this page.

Is this an official preflight weather briefing for KMDS?

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.