METAR TAF Parser (mivek)

1.11.0 verified Fri May 01 auth: no python

A Python library for parsing METAR and TAF aviation weather messages. Version 1.11.0 supports runway visual range units and operates on Python >=3.9. The library parses raw METAR/TAF strings into structured model objects with weather phenomena, clouds, wind, visibility, etc. Released on PyPI as metar-taf-parser-mivek, with a development cadence of approximately 2-3 releases per year.

pip install metar-taf-parser-mivek

Common errors

error AttributeError: 'NoneType' object has no attribute 'speed' ↓

cause Accessing wind attributes when wind is None (e.g., on TAF without wind or when parsing fails).

fix

Check if metar.wind is not None before accessing .speed or .direction.

error metar_taf_parser.model.metar.Metar object has no attribute 'wind_speed' ↓

cause Using old attribute names from earlier versions; model attributes changed to nested objects.

fix

Use metar.wind.speed, metar.wind.direction instead of flat attributes.

error ImportError: cannot import name 'TafParser' from 'metar_taf_parser' ↓

cause TafParser is not in the top-level module; must import from parser submodule.

fix

from metar_taf_parser.parser.taf import TafParser

error ValueError: No METAR found ↓

cause Parser expects strict METAR format; extra whitespace or invalid prefix causes failure.

fix

Ensure raw string starts with a valid ICAO code and does not have leading/trailing garbage. Trim whitespace and validate format.

Warnings

gotcha The parser raises ValueError or ParseException on malformed input; always wrap in try/except. ↓

fix Wrap parser.parse() in try/except Exception.

gotcha Wind direction is 0 when variable or calm; do not assume 0 means north. ↓

fix Check metar.wind.direction is not None or use metar.wind.unit. For variable wind, direction returns 0 with variable flag.

gotcha Cloud height is in feet; visibility may be in meters or statute miles, check unit field. ↓

fix Always confirm unit property (e.g., metar.visibility.unit) before interpreting values.

deprecated In v1.8.0, the top-level __init__.py exports were reduced; importing from 'metar_taf_parser' directly may break in future versions. ↓

fix Use explicit submodule imports (e.g., from metar_taf_parser.parser.metar import MetarParser).

Imports

MetarParser

from metar_taf_parser.parser.metar import MetarParser

TafParser
wrong
```
from metar_taf_parser import TafParser
```
correct
```
from metar_taf_parser.parser.taf import TafParser
```
Top-level does not expose TafParser directly; must import from submodule.

Metar

from metar_taf_parser.model.metar import Metar

Wind

from metar_taf_parser.model.metar import Wind

Quickstart

Parse a METAR string and access wind data.

from metar_taf_parser.parser.metar import MetarParser

raw = "LFPG 251300Z AUTO 23012KT 9999 -RA SCT025 BKN035 12/10 Q1015 NOSIG"
parser = MetarParser()
try:
    metar = parser.parse(raw)
    print(metar.wind.speed, metar.wind.direction)
    # 12 230
except Exception as e:
    print(f"Parse error: {e}")