WxDecoder

KPAO/PAO METAR Palo Alto Airport

Palo Alto, CaliforniaElevation 4 ftMedium airport
CURRENT STATUS
VFRMore than 1 hour old
No ceiling, visibility 10 SM.
FLIGHT CATEGORY
VFR
ceiling & visibility
WIND
Calm
no steady wind
VISIBILITY
10 SM
16.1 km
CEILING
None
no BKN/OVC layer
DENSITY ALT
34 ft
+30 ft vs field
ACTIVE NWS ALERTS

Active weather alerts

Coastal Flood AdvisoryMinor · Expected · Likely
24 2034Z to 29 2200Z
San Francisco; North Bay Interior Valleys; San Francisco Bay Shoreline; Northern Monterey Bay; Southern Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast
* WHAT...Up to 1.9ft of inundation above ground level is possible in low-lying areas near shorelines and tidal waterways. * WHERE...Bay Shoreline locations of San Francisco Bay, Monterey Bay and Big Sur Coast. * WHEN...Until 3 PM PDT Thursday. * IMPACTS...High tides will result in flooding of low-lying infrastructure, isolated road closures, and coastal erosion. Rising tides will bring water an…
If travel is required, allow extra time as some roads may be closed. Do not drive around barricades or through water of unknown depth. Take the necessary actions to protect flood-prone property.

Alerts from the National Weather Service. For situational awareness only; always confirm against an official briefing.

CURRENT METAR

Decoded observation

Observed 0347Z (8:47 PM local) · More than 1 hour old

KPAO is currently VFR. Winds are calm. Visibility is 10 statute miles. There is no ceiling. The main issue is metar is 313 minutes old.

WIND
Calm
No steady wind.
VISIBILITY
10 statute miles
16.1 km, good.
CEILING & SKY
SKC
FEW and SCT layers are not ceilings.
TEMP / DEWPOINT
16°C / 12°C
61°F / 54°F. 4°C spread.
ALTIMETER
30.01 inHg
1016.3 hPa, near standard.
WEATHER & HAZARDS
No significant hazards
No precipitation or obscuration reported.

Codes in this report: SKC RMK

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

REMARKS: DECODED
LAST
last observation before a break in coverage
FAA: no delays reported at PAO.

Source: FAA System Operations (ASWS). Operational status only; verify with official FAA sources and NOTAMs.

SUGGESTED RISK · TRAINING USE

Suggested risk level: Moderate

›METAR is stale (313 minutes old).
›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 calm, visibility 10 SM, ceiling none. This report is older than usual, so treat it with caution. Forecast suggests sunday partly sunny, high near 70F, low near 51F, 0% chance of precipitation. Key risks: no significant hazards are highlighted right now, but always confirm against an official briefing.

DayConditionsTemp FWindGustsPrecipPilot note
Sunday Partly Sunny 70/51 NW 7 kt – 0%
Monday Mostly Sunny 66/48 WNW 14 kt 18 kt 0%
Tuesday Mostly Sunny 66/48 WNW 12 kt – 0%
Wednesday Partly Sunny 65/50 SW 10 kt – 1%
Thursday Partly Sunny 64/48 W 13 kt – 16%
Friday Slight Chance Light Rain 61/46 WNW 14 kt – 26%
Saturday Chance Light Rain 61 W 12 kt – 28%

Source: National Weather Service (office MTR). Forecast issued 0859Z.

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
1 runway · crosswind ranking
NESW1331CALMCALMCALMCALMCALM
WIND USED
Wind calm or variable
Crosswind ranking is unavailable until the wind has a steady direction.
Components are estimates from the current METAR wind and runway heading. Verify with the Chart Supplement and NOTAMs.
RUNWAYS

Runway detail & declared distances

1 runway · longest 2,441 ft

13/31
Dimensions
2,441 x 70 ft
Surface
Asphalt (good)
Edge lights
MED
RWY 13142°T
REILYes
VGSIPAPI (P2L)
Traffic patternLeft
RWY 31322°T
REILYes
VGSIPAPI (P2L)
Traffic patternRight

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
34 ft
Pressure altitude
-86 ft
Field elevation
4 ft MSL
Temperature
16°C (61°F)
Dewpoint
12°C (54°F)
Altimeter
30.01 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
0119Z 6:19 PM
Sunrise
1426Z 7:26 AM
Loggable night
0146Z (6:46 PM local) → 1359Z (6:59 AM local)
end of evening to start of morning civil twilight
Position lights required
0119Z (6:19 PM local) → 1426Z (7:26 AM local)
sunset to sunrise (91.209)
Night passenger currency
0219Z (7:19 PM local) → 1326Z (6:26 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

Palo Alto Airport is in Palo Alto, California. Field elevation 4 ft MSL. Airport facts are drawn from OurAirports and the FAA NASR dataset.

OPERATIONS & CONTACT
OwnershipPublicly owned
UseOpen to the public
TypeMedium airport
ManagerANDREW SWANSON
Manager phone(650) 329-2444
AttendedDaily, 0600–2000
CHARTS & AIRSPACE
ICAO / IATAKPAO / PAO
SectionalSAN FRANCISCO
Center (ARTCC)OAKLAND
Flight service (AFSS)OAKLAND
RegionCalifornia
CountryUnited States
Coordinates37.4611, -122.1150
Distance from city0 NM E
SERVICES & LIGHTING
Fuel100LL · Jet A
Control towerTowered
Field lightingSee remarks
BeaconSunset to sunrise · White-green (lighted land airport)
CTAF118.600
UNICOM122.950
FREQUENCIES

Communications

33.82
NORCAL APP
APP
121.3
NORCAL APP
APP
135.275
ATIS
ATIS
118.6
CTAF
CTAF
121.3
NORCAL DEP
DEP
125
GND
GND
118.6
TWR
TWR
122.95
UNICOM
UNIC
122.950
UNICOM
UNICOM

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

AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY

KPAO traffic patterns

2026-06-12 to 2026-10-23, 70 days observed · data 2026-10-23

High confidence
TRAFFIC VOLUME (30-DAY)
AVG LANDINGS/DAY
180
AVG OPS/DAY
247.3
Activity trend over 18 days: rising, from 224 to 241 operations per dayOperations trend (18 days)

Busiest day: Sun · Busiest month: Jun

FLEET MIX
Piston single 74%Unknown 22%Turboprop 2%

Mostly small piston aircraft.

TOP AIRCRAFT TYPES
›C172 (Piston single) · ~1922 landings/mo
›C182 (Piston single) · ~277 landings/mo
›UNKN (Unknown) · ~213 landings/mo
›CH7A (Unknown) · ~195 landings/mo
›C152 (Piston single) · ~142 landings/mo
LIKELY BASED AIRCRAFT
Low-confidence estimate

Aircraft likely based near this airport (estimate), mostly single-engine piston aircraft.

›C172 (Piston single)
›C182 (Piston single)
›SR20 (Piston single)
›UNKN (Unknown)
›S22T (Unknown)

This is an estimate based on repeated flight patterns, not registration data. Do not rely on it to identify specific aircraft or owners.

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.

KNUQ Moffett Federal Airfield
4 NM SE
VFR
KSQL San Carlos Airport
7 NM NW
VFR
KSJC Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport
11 NM SE
VFR
KHWD Hayward Executive Airport
12 NM N
VFR
KSFO San Francisco International Airport
16 NM NW
VFR
KRHV Reid-Hillview Airport of Santa Clara County
16 NM SE
VFR
AIRPORT REMARKS

Operational remarks

›ARPT SCTY PRODS IN EFCT.
›NOISE SENSITIVE AREA SE THRU NW OF ARPT. RCMD ACFT LDG AT PALO ALTO ARPT FLY AT OR ABOVE 1500 FT UNTIL XNG THE BAYSHORE FREEWAY, AND RCMD ACFT DEP RWY 31 TURN 10 DEG RIGHT AFTER TKOF TIL RCHG DUMBARTON AUTO BRIDGE.
›CONS PEDESTRIAN/VEHICLE ACT ON ACFT TAXI LANES NOT DESIGNATED AS TWY MOV AREAS.
›ARPT LGTS OPERATE CONTINUOUSLY WHEN ATCT CLSD.
›RY 31 +5 FT DIKE 230 FT FROM RY END, OBSTN LGTD.
›SELF-FUELING AVAILBLE 24/7.
›TPA 1000 FT W & 800 FT E.
›+100 FT TRANSMISSION TWRS E OF ARPT.
›FOR CD WHEN ATCT IS CLSD CTC NORCAL APCH AT 916-361-3748.
›BE ALERT FOR PEDESTRAINS XNG A DIKE ROAD 8 FT HIGH AND 300 FT FROM RWY 13 END.
›ARPT RSTRD BY ARPT OPR TO ACFT WITH MAX CERTD WT OF 12500 LBS OR LESS.
›BIRDS ON AND INVOF AP.
›RY 13 +8 FT DIKE 300 FT FROM RY END, OBSTN LGTD.
›ON APCH TO RWY 31 BE ALERT TO POSS STG UPDRAFT FM WIND TUNNEL LCTD ON W SIDE OF MOFFETT FEDERAL AIRFIELD.
OFFICIAL LINKS & SOURCES
↗Official METAR on AviationWeather.gov
↗Search NOTAMs (official FAA NOTAM Search)
↗Official airport website
↗Wikipedia
↗KPAO on OurAirports
FREQUENTLY ASKED
Does KPAO have a METAR?
Yes. KPAO has a current METAR observation, decoded into plain English on this page.
Does KPAO have a TAF?
When KPAO 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 KPAO?
KPAO sits at 4 ft MSL, which factors into the density-altitude estimate on this page.
Is this an official preflight weather briefing for KPAO?
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.