PALH METAR Lake Hood Seaplane Base

Anchorage, AlaskaElevation 71 ftSeaplane base

CURRENT STATUS

MVFR45 min old

Ceiling 2,800 ft, visibility 4 SM, mist.

FLIGHT CATEGORY

MVFR

ceiling & visibility

WIND

160@3

steady

VISIBILITY

4 SM

6.4 km

CEILING

2,800 ft

lowest BKN/OVC

DENSITY ALT

-1,340 ft

-1,411 ft vs field

CURRENT METAR

Decoded observation

Observed 2353Z (3:53 PM local) · 45 min old

PALH is currently MVFR. Winds are from the south at 3 knots. Visibility is 4 statute miles. The ceiling is 2,800 feet AGL. Reported weather: mist. The main issue is mist reported.

WIND

160° at 3 kt

Steady.

VISIBILITY

4 statute miles

6.4 km, reduced (MVFR).

CEILING & SKY

Ceiling 2,800 ft

Lowest broken or overcast layer.

TEMP / DEWPOINT

5°C / 4°C

41°F / 39°F. 1°C spread.

ALTIMETER

30.16 inHg

1021.3 hPa, above standard.

WEATHER & HAZARDS

BR, LOW CIG, LOW VIS

Mist reported.

Codes in this report: BR BKN 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)

RAE20

rain ended at :20 past the hour

SLP213

sea-level pressure 1021.3 hPa

P0001

0.01 inches of precipitation in the last hour

60006

0.06 inches of precipitation in the last 3-6 hours

T00500044

precise temperature 5.0°C, dew point 4.4°C

10050

6-hour maximum temperature 5.0°C

20039

6-hour minimum temperature 3.9°C

53004

3-hour pressure tendency: rising quickly (0.4 hPa change)

SUGGESTED RISK · TRAINING USE

Suggested risk level: Moderate

›Conditions are MVFR.

›Mist reported.

›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 MVFR, wind from 160° at 3 kt, visibility 4 SM, ceiling 2,800 ft. Forecast suggests this afternoon scattered rain showers, high near 43F, low near 36F, 54% chance of precipitation. Key risks: strong winds in the forecast. Note: the NWS forecast for now reads "Isolated Rain Showers" 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.

Day	Conditions	Temp F	Wind	Gusts	Precip	Pilot note
This Afternoon	Scattered Rain Showers	43/36	S 13 kt	–	54%
Monday	Slight Chance Light Rain then Partly Sunny	47/33	S 13 kt	26 kt	19%	Strong winds in the forecast
Tuesday	Mostly Sunny	40/31	N 4 kt	–	1%
Wednesday	Partly Sunny then Slight Chance Light Rain	41/35	NE 4 kt	–	34%
Thursday	Chance Light Rain	42/36	NE 4 kt	–	67%
Friday	Light Rain Likely	44/36	SE 9 kt	–	67%
Saturday	Chance Rain And Snow	42/34	E 4 kt	–	35%

Note: the NWS forecast for now reads "Isolated Rain Showers" 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 AER). Forecast issued 2356Z.

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RUNWAYS & WIND

1 runway · 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

160° at 3 kt

Components computed from the current on-field METAR wind.

RECOMMENDED

RWY 143 kt headwind · no crosswind

RUNWAYS BY WIND · best end

HEAD

3 kt

CROSS

calm

BEST

HEAD

3 kt tail

CROSS

calm

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

RUNWAYS

Runway detail & declared distances

4 runways · longest 4,541 ft

SE/NW

Dimensions

1,369 x 150 ft

Surface

Water

RWY NW

RWY SE

N/S

Dimensions

1,930 x 200 ft

Surface

Water

RWY N

RWY S

E/W

Dimensions

4,541 x 188 ft

Surface

Water

RWY E

RWY W

14/32

Dimensions

2,200 x 75 ft

Surface

Gravel

Edge lights

MED

RWY 14153°T

RWY 32333°T

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

-1,340 ft

Pressure altitude

-169 ft

Field elevation

71 ft MSL

Temperature

5°C (41°F)

Dewpoint

4°C (39°F)

Altimeter

30.16 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

0218Z 6:18 PM

Sunrise

1711Z 9:11 AM

Loggable night

0303Z (7:03 PM local) → 1625Z (8:25 AM local)

end of evening to start of morning civil twilight

Position lights required

0218Z (6:18 PM local) → 1711Z (9:11 AM local)

sunset to sunrise (91.209)

Night passenger currency

0318Z (7:18 PM local) → 1611Z (8:11 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

Lake Hood Seaplane Base is in Anchorage, Alaska. Field elevation 71 ft MSL. Airport facts are drawn from OurAirports and the FAA NASR dataset.

OPERATIONS & CONTACT

OwnershipPublicly owned

UseOpen to the public

TypeSeaplane base

ManagerTIM COONS

Manager phone907-266-2741

AttendedContinuous (24 hours)

CHARTS & AIRSPACE

ICAO / IATAPALH

SectionalANCHORAGE

Center (ARTCC)ANCHORAGE

Flight service (AFSS)KENAI

RegionAlaska

CountryUnited States

Coordinates61.1800, -149.9720

Distance from city3 NM SW

SERVICES & LIGHTING

Fuel100 · 100LL · Jet A

Control towerTowered

Field lightingSunset to sunrise

Traffic pattern alt600 ft MSL

CTAF126.800

FREQUENCIES

Communications

126.800

CTAF

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

AIRCRAFT ACTIVITY

PALH 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

43.5

AVG OPS/DAY

53.1

Operations trend (18 days)

Busiest day: Fri · Busiest month: Jul

FLEET MIX

Unknown 52%Airliner 37%Turboprop 6%Piston single 3%Jet 1%

Fleet composition unclear from available data.

TOP AIRCRAFT TYPES

›T206 (Unknown) · ~314 landings/mo

›DHC2 (Unknown) · ~228 landings/mo

›UNKN (Unknown) · ~183 landings/mo

›E75L (Airliner) · ~159 landings/mo

›B739 (Airliner) · ~157 landings/mo

LIKELY BASED AIRCRAFT

Low-confidence estimate

Aircraft likely based near this airport (estimate), mostly aircraft of unknown type.

›T206 (Unknown)

›DHC2 (Unknown)

›C180 (Unknown)

›C185 (Unknown)

›DH3T (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.

PANC Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

VFR

PAED Elmendorf Air Force Base

6 NM NE

MVFR

PAFR Bryant Army Airfield

11 NM NE

MVFR

PABV Birchwood Airport

VFR

AIRPORT REMARKS

Operational remarks

›ARR & DEP ROUTES; SEE AREA NOTICES.

›TWY V PCL SECURITY GATE E OF TWY E; KEY 121.75 3 TIMES.

›SEE NOTICE IN SECTION C FOR ARPT LAYOUT GRAPHIC.

›FLOATING DEBRIS ON LAKE.

›NOISE SENSITIVE AREA IN EFCT - AMGR FOR INFO.

›CTN: PAEW; TWY/ROAD AROUND LAKE HOOD MULTI USE; RCMD LNDG LGT DURG TAX.

›ANCHORAGE WX CAMERA AVBL ON INTERNET AT HTTPS://WEATHERCAMS.FAA.GOV

›LCTD RWY 14/32 TSNT PRKG & FBO.

›PUB RAMPS ON N & W SHORE OF LAKE HOOD.

›LTD TO 9000 LB OR LESS.

›TFC PAT OVERLAPS SEADROME PAT.

›TWY H-2/LAKESHORE TWY GATES PCL; KEY 121.75 3 TIMES.

›NON-RDO OPS PPR - 907-271-5936; REQ TSFR TO ATCT; RMN WI 15 MIN OF ETA. NGT NON-RDO OPS NA.

›LAKE CLSD TO ACFT OVR 12500 LB FREEZUP-DEC 31; OVERFLOWS INTO ICE MAY OCR DURG WINTER.

›AREA NW & SW OF LAKE SPENARD FM CANAL EASTWARD 1500 FT NOT VSBL FM ATCT.

›WATERFOWL, NESTING AREAS & LRG FLOCKS OF BIRDS SPRING-FALL INVOF ARPT.

›BFR LV SLIPS ADJ TO N/S WATER LANE ALG SHORELINE CTC ATCT - 126.8 OR 907-271-6549.

›FOR PRIOR WINTER SKI OPS AVBLTY - LCL NOTAMS & ATCT.

›N POTHOLE DSGND NO WAKE AREA.

›WATERLANES TO LAKE HOOD SEAPLANE BASE ELEV 76 FT.

OFFICIAL LINKS & SOURCES

↗Search NOTAMs (official FAA NOTAM Search)

↗Wikipedia

↗PALH on OurAirports

FREQUENTLY ASKED

Does PALH have a METAR?

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

Does PALH have a TAF?

When PALH 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 PALH?

PALH sits at 71 ft MSL, which factors into the density-altitude estimate on this page.

Is this an official preflight weather briefing for PALH?

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.