KSPW/SPW METAR Spencer Municipal Airport

Spencer, IowaElevation 1,339 ftSmall airport

CURRENT STATUS

VFR46 min old

No ceiling, visibility 10 SM.

FLIGHT CATEGORY

VFR

ceiling & visibility

WIND

030@15

steady

VISIBILITY

10 SM

16.1 km

CEILING

None

no BKN/OVC layer

DENSITY ALT

342 ft

-997 ft vs field

CURRENT METAR

Decoded observation

Observed 0353Z (10:53 PM local) · 46 min old

KSPW is currently VFR. Winds are from the northeast at 15 knots. Visibility is 10 statute miles. There is no ceiling.

WIND

30° at 15 kt

Steady.

VISIBILITY

10 statute miles

16.1 km, good.

CEILING & SKY

FEW120

FEW and SCT layers are not ceilings.

TEMP / DEWPOINT

8°C / 3°C

46°F / 37°F. 5°C spread.

ALTIMETER

30.40 inHg

1029.5 hPa, above standard.

WEATHER & HAZARDS

No significant hazards

No precipitation or obscuration reported.

Codes in this report: AUTO FEW 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)

SLP302

sea-level pressure 1030.2 hPa

T00830028

precise temperature 8.3°C, dew point 2.8°C

station needs maintenance

FAA: no delays reported at SPW.

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

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 30° at 15 kt, visibility 10 SM, ceiling none. Forecast suggests tonight cloudy then rain showers likely, low near 40F, 58% chance of precipitation. Key risks: thunderstorms in the forecast.

PILOT WEATHER NOTES

Thunderstorms in the forecastWeather.gov

Wednesday: Slight Chance Rain Showers then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms. Watch for developing convection and plan alternates.

Day	Conditions	Temp F	Wind	Gusts	Precip	Pilot note
Tonight	Cloudy then Rain Showers Likely	40	NE 13 kt	–	58%
Monday	Rain Showers	54/44	ENE 13 kt	22 kt	87%
Tuesday	Partly Sunny	65/50	SW 9 kt	–	18%
Wednesday	Slight Chance Rain Showers then Slight Chance Showers And Thunderstorms	72/48	SSW 9 kt	–	43%	Thunderstorms in the forecast
Thursday	Slight Chance Rain Showers then Mostly Sunny	69/50	NE 4 kt	–	26%
Friday	Chance Rain Showers then Chance Showers And Thunderstorms	71/53	SE 9 kt	–	62%
Saturday	Showers And Thunderstorms Likely	66/48	SSE 9 kt	–	66%
Sunday	Mostly Cloudy	62	WNW 4 kt	–	10%

Source: National Weather Service (office FSD). Forecast issued 0439Z.

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

030° at 15 kt

Components computed from the current on-field METAR wind.

RECOMMENDED

RWY 3614 kt headwind · 6 kt crosswind

RUNWAYS BY WIND · best end

HEAD

14 kt

CROSS

6 kt R

BEST

HEAD

2 kt

CROSS

15 kt R

X-WIND

HEAD

2 kt tail

CROSS

15 kt L

X-WIND

HEAD

14 kt tail

CROSS

6 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 6,001 ft

12/30

Dimensions

6,001 x 100 ft

Surface

Concrete (fair)

Edge lights

MED

RWY 12126°T

ILSILS

Approach lightsMALSR

VGSIVASI (V4L)

Traffic patternLeft

RWY 30306°T

Displaced threshold490 ft

REILYes

VGSIVASI (V2L)

Traffic patternLeft

18/36

Dimensions

5,100 x 75 ft

Surface

Concrete (good)

Edge lights

MED

RWY 18186°T

REILYes

VGSIPAPI (P4L)

RWY 366°T

REILYes

VGSIPAPI (P4L)

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

342 ft

Pressure altitude

859 ft

Field elevation

1,339 ft MSL

Temperature

8°C (46°F)

Dewpoint

3°C (37°F)

Altimeter

30.40 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

2322Z 6:22 PM

Sunrise

1247Z 7:47 AM

Loggable night

2351Z (6:51 PM local) → 1218Z (7:18 AM local)

end of evening to start of morning civil twilight

Position lights required

2322Z (6:22 PM local) → 1247Z (7:47 AM local)

sunset to sunrise (91.209)

Night passenger currency

0022Z (7:22 PM local) → 1147Z (6:47 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

Spencer Municipal Airport is in Spencer, Iowa. Field elevation 1,339 ft MSL. Airport facts are drawn from OurAirports and the FAA NASR dataset.

OPERATIONS & CONTACT

OwnershipPublicly owned

UseOpen to the public

TypeSmall airport

ManagerMARK WHITE

Manager phone712-262-1000

AttendedALL MON-FRI, 0700–1900

CHARTS & AIRSPACE

ICAO / IATAKSPW / SPW

SectionalOMAHA

Center (ARTCC)MINNEAPOLIS

Flight service (AFSS)FORT DODGE

RegionIowa

CountryUnited States

Coordinates43.1655, -95.2028

Distance from city3 NM NW

SERVICES & LIGHTING

Fuel100LL · Jet A

Control towerNon-towered

Field lightingSee remarks

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

CTAF123.000

UNICOM123.000

FREQUENCIES

Communications

126.625

ASOS

127.75

MINNEAPOLIS CNTR

CNTR

122.15

FORT DODGE RDO

RDO

123

CTAF/UNICOM

UNIC

123.000

CTAF

123.000

UNICOM

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

AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY

KSPW traffic patterns

2026-07-12 to 2026-10-05, 11 days observed · data 2026-10-23

Low confidence

TRAFFIC VOLUME (30-DAY)

AVG LANDINGS/DAY

0.7

AVG OPS/DAY

1.3

Operations trend (3 days)

Busiest day: Tue · Busiest month: Aug

FLEET MIX

Piston single 59%Turboprop 14%Jet 14%Helicopter 7%Unknown 7%

Mostly small piston aircraft.

TOP AIRCRAFT TYPES

›C172 (Piston single) · ~4 landings/mo

›BE20 (Turboprop) · ~2 landings/mo

›C177 (Piston single) · ~2 landings/mo

›B06 (Helicopter) · ~1 landings/mo

›C170 (Piston single) · ~1 landings/mo

LIKELY BASED AIRCRAFT

Low-confidence estimate

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

›C172 (Piston single)

›S22T (Piston single)

›BE20 (Turboprop)

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.

KEST Estherville Municipal Airport

25 NM NE

MVFR

KMJQ Jackson Municipal Airport

31 NM N

MVFR

KOTG Worthington Municipal Airport

34 NM NW

VFR

KSLB Storm Lake Municipal Airport

34 NM S

VFR

KAXA Algona Municipal Airport

41 NM E

VFR

KFRM Fairmont Municipal Airport

45 NM NE

VFR

AIRPORT REMARKS

Operational remarks

›WATERFOWL INVOF ARPT.

›EXISTED PRIOR TO 1959.

›ACTVT MIRL RYS 12/30 & 18/36; MALSR RY 12; VASI RYS 12 & 30; PAPI RYS 18 & 36; REIL RYS 30; 18 & 36 - CTAF.

›APCH SLOPE 50:1 FROM DSPLCD THR.

›FOR ATTENDANT AFTER HOURS CALL (712) 262-1000.

›FOR CD IF UNA TO CTC ON FSS FREQ, CTC MINNEAPOLIS ARTCC AT 651-463-5588.

›RY 12 IS CALM WIND RY.

OFFICIAL LINKS & SOURCES

↗Official METAR on AviationWeather.gov

↗Search NOTAMs (official FAA NOTAM Search)

↗Official airport website

↗Wikipedia

↗KSPW on OurAirports

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Does KSPW have a METAR?

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

Does KSPW have a TAF?

When KSPW 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 KSPW?

KSPW sits at 1,339 ft MSL, which factors into the density-altitude estimate on this page.

Is this an official preflight weather briefing for KSPW?

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.