# Weather along your route

CAVacars 2 can show the real-world weather for your flight: the latest METAR and TAF for your departure and arrival airports, every reporting station along your route on the map, and a warning if your destination's weather turns bad while you're flying.

The weather comes from [aviationweather.gov](https://aviationweather.gov), so it's the real-world weather. It only matches what you fly in if your sim is using live weather.

## Turning it on

On the **Flight Tracking** screen, click **Weather** in the buttons above the map. It turns blue when it's on, and CAVacars 2 remembers your choice for next time.

When it's on, you get:

- a **Route weather** card under your flight card
- coloured dots on the map for the weather stations along your route

## The Route weather card

| Part | What it shows |
|---|---|
| **DEP** and **ARR** | Your departure and arrival airports with their flight category, wind, visibility, ceiling and any precipitation or fog. Click a row to see the full METAR (and how old it is) and the TAF. |
| **Below CAT I** | Shown in red when an airport's ceiling is below 200 ft or its visibility is below ½ statute mile, the lowest a normal ILS approach goes. |
| **Along the route** | How many stations along your route are reporting each flight category, then the worst of them (IFR or LIFR), worst first. |

The card refreshes by itself every few minutes.

## Flight categories

| Category | Colour | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| **VFR** | Green | Ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility over 5 SM |
| **MVFR** | Blue | Ceiling 1,000–3,000 ft, or visibility 3–5 SM |
| **IFR** | Red | Ceiling 500–999 ft, or visibility 1 to under 3 SM |
| **LIFR** | Magenta | Ceiling below 500 ft, or visibility below 1 SM |

## Stations on the map

Every weather station within about 30 nm of your route is drawn as a dot coloured by its flight category. Click a dot to see the station's name, a summary and the full METAR.

The route is your SimBrief plan when you have one for this flight (see [Planning with SimBrief](https://kb.canadaairvirtual.ca/books/cavacars-2-pilot-guide/page/planning-with-simbrief)). Otherwise it's a straight line from your departure to your arrival. Automatic stations that don't report cloud or visibility aren't shown.

## Destination weather alerts

While a flight is being tracked, CAVacars 2 checks your destination's METAR every few minutes, **whether or not the Weather button is on**. You get an alert when:

- the destination drops to **IFR or LIFR** from something better, or
- it goes **below CAT I minimums** (ceiling under 200 ft or visibility under ½ SM). If it's already that bad when you start tracking, you're told straight away.

The alert shows as a red message in the app, an entry in your flight log, and a desktop notification if CAVacars 2 is in the background (see [Starting with Windows and notifications](https://kb.canadaairvirtual.ca/books/cavacars-2-pilot-guide/page/starting-with-windows-and-notifications)). You only hear about each change once.

An alert is a heads-up, not an instruction. Check the TAF, and think about your alternate or holding fuel. If you do divert, CAVacars 2 handles that when you file (see [Filing your PIREP](https://kb.canadaairvirtual.ca/books/cavacars-2-pilot-guide/page/filing-your-pirep)).

## Good to know

- Some smaller airports don't report weather. They show **N/A** and "No current METAR".
- The weather card also works in a browser or on an iPad connected to CAVacars 2 (see [Using CAVacars 2 in a browser or on an iPad](https://kb.canadaairvirtual.ca/books/cavacars-2-pilot-guide/page/using-cavacars-2-in-a-browser-or-on-an-ipad)). The alerts come from the desktop app.