GCLA METAR & TAF — La Palma Airport
Sta Cruz de la Palma, La Palma Island, Canary Islands, Spain
Current METAR
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TAF
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Source: US NWS Aviation Weather Center. Informational only — always obtain an official briefing.
Airport data
| Name | La Palma Airport |
|---|---|
| ICAO | GCLA |
| IATA | SPC |
| Elevation | 107 ft (33 m) |
| Coordinates | 28.6265, -17.7556 |
| Location | Sta Cruz de la Palma, La Palma Island, Canary Islands, Spain |
Reading the GCLA report like a briefing
Work through the raw line in its fixed order. First the timestamp — a METAR is stamped in UTC, so convert to local before judging how fresh it is. Then wind: direction in degrees true and speed in knots, which you can set against the runway orientation at La Palma Airport to estimate the crosswind component before you even open a calculator. Visibility and present weather follow, then the cloud groups — the first broken or overcast layer sets the ceiling, measured above the field, which at La Palma Airport lies 33 m above sea level. Temperature against dew point warns of fog and carburettor icing long before either shows up in the visibility group, and the QNH closes the line.
The wind dial beside the report turns to the live wind the moment the fetch completes, and the flight rules chip does the ceiling-and-visibility arithmetic for you. If any group in the raw line still reads like cipher, paste it into the METAR decoder for a field-by-field translation.
Reporting stations and airports near GCLA
When La Palma Airport publishes no report or you need a regional picture, cross-check the surrounding fields — great-circle distances from the field reference point:
- GCGM La Gomera Airport — 85 km (46 NM)
- GCHI El Hierro Airport — 91 km (49 NM)
- GCTS Tenerife Sur Airport — 133 km (72 NM)
- GCXO Tenerife Norte-Ciudad de La Laguna Airport — 139 km (75 NM)
- GCLB El Berriel Aeroc Airport — 239 km (129 NM)
Beyond the METAR: completing the picture for GCLA
An observation is one input, not a briefing. Around the GCLA report you still want the TAF trend for your arrival window, NOTAMs for the field and route, winds aloft for the cruise, and any SIGMET activity along the way — none of which a surface observation carries. The airport reference side (elevation, runway dimensions, coordinates) lives on the airport information page linked above, and the surrounding stations listed above give the regional cross-check that a single report can never provide on its own.
Frequently asked questions about the GCLA METAR
How current is the METAR for GCLA?
The report on this page is fetched live from the US NWS Aviation Weather Center feed each time you open it. Most stations issue a new METAR every 30 or 60 minutes, plus SPECI reports when conditions change significantly.
How do I read the GCLA METAR?
Read it element by element: station and time in UTC, then wind (degrees true and knots), visibility, present weather, cloud layers in hundreds of feet, temperature and dew point, and QNH. This page decodes each element in plain language below the raw line, or you can paste any report into our METAR decoder.
What does the flight rules chip next to the GCLA report mean?
It condenses ceiling and visibility into one category. VFR means ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility beyond 5 statute miles; MVFR, IFR and LIFR mark progressively lower limits — below 500 ft or 1 mile the station is LIFR.
Does GCLA also publish a TAF?
Where the aerodrome issues a terminal forecast it appears below the METAR, using the same coding with BECMG and TEMPO change groups, typically covering the next 24 to 30 hours. Smaller stations report observations only.