Drone weather · United Kingdom
Can I fly my drone in Manchester today?
The verdict below checks the forecast for Manchester against the limits of a DJI Mini or Air class drone, every 3 hours for the next two days, and names the factor that would ground you.
Right now
Good to fly: every factor is inside the limits of a Mini-class drone.
- Wind, gusts, rain, visibility, cloud base and temperature are all inside the limits.
- wind
- 14 km/h
- gusts
- 27 km/h
- rain
- 0.04 mm/h
- visibility
- 23.7 km
- cloud base
- 20000 m
- temperature
- 10 °C
- Kp
- 1.7
Forecast from the NOAA GFS run of 2026-10-16 00:00 UTC, times in UTC. Updating live…
Flyable windows, next 48 hours
Every factor green:
- Fri 09:00–12:00 UTC
- Fri 15:00–18:00 UTC
- Fri 21:00–Sun 03:00 UTC
Every field and beach around Manchester, on one map
Drone go / no-go is a LayEarth Pro layer: the whole region painted green, amber or red for each 3-hour step, and a tap on any spot gives its own verdict, reason and windows. 7-day free trial, then 9 USD a month.
The next 48 hours, every 3 hours
| Time | Verdict | Wind / gusts km/h | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 09:00 | Go | 14 / 27 | all clear |
| Fri 12:00 | Caution | 19 / 27 | rain 0.06 mm/h > 0.05 mm/h |
| Fri 15:00 | Go | 19 / 28 | all clear |
| Fri 18:00 | Caution | 12 / 31 | gusts 31 km/h > 30 km/h |
| Fri 21:00 | Go | 7 / 23 | all clear |
| Sat 00:00 | Go | 5 / 10 | all clear |
| Sat 03:00 | Go | 6 / 11 | all clear |
| Sat 06:00 | Go | 7 / 18 | all clear |
| Sat 09:00 | Go | 10 / 28 | all clear |
| Sat 12:00 | Go | 14 / 21 | all clear |
| Sat 15:00 | Go | 14 / 19 | all clear |
| Sat 18:00 | Go | 9 / 22 | all clear |
| Sat 21:00 | Go | 8 / 23 | all clear |
| Sun 00:00 | Go | 6 / 16 | all clear |
What the verdict checks
| Factor | Caution | No-go | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wind at 10 m | > 28 km/h | > 38 km/h | A Mini-class drone is rated to hold about 38 km/h (10.7 m/s). Past that it drifts, and on a low battery it may not make it back upwind. |
| Gusts | > 30 km/h | > 38 km/h | Gusts push a light airframe off position faster than the flight controller corrects, worst around buildings, trees and cliffs. |
| Rain | > 0.05 mm/h | > 0.2 mm/h | No DJI Mini, Air or Mavic is water-sealed: even drizzle on the motors and the gimbal can do damage. |
| Visibility | < 3 km | < 1 km | Most rules require visual line of sight. Fog and mist also blind the obstacle sensors. |
| Cloud base | < 150 m | < 60 m | The legal ceiling is 120 m (400 ft) in most countries; a cloud base below it means flying into cloud and losing sight of the drone. |
| Temperature | < 0 °C · > 40 °C | < −10 °C · > 45 °C | DJI rates its drones from −10 to 40 °C. Cold drops LiPo voltage, so flights end early and without much warning; heat cooks motors and battery. |
| Kp index (NOAA) | ≥ 5 | ≥ 7 | A geomagnetic storm (Kp 5 is a G1) disturbs the compass and degrades GNSS: expect a drifting hover and an unreliable return-to-home. |
| GPS interference | ≥ 10% | ≥ 50% | Share of aircraft within ~100 km broadcasting a degraded position fix, measured live. Under jamming a drone drops to attitude mode with no position hold. |
Wind limits by drone class
The verdict uses the limits of the most common consumer drone, the sub-250 g Mini class. Heavier aircraft hold more wind, but gusts and rain hit them just the same.
| Class | Examples | Rated wind | How to read the verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini (under 250 g) | DJI Mini 2, Mini 3, Mini 4 Pro | 10.7 m/s · 38 km/h · 24 mph | As it is: caution means short flights close to you, no-go means stay on the ground. |
| Air (about 700 g) | DJI Air 3, Air 3S | 12 m/s · 43 km/h · 27 mph | A caution for wind alone is usually flyable with margin; a wind no-go just above 38 km/h is at the edge of what it can hold. |
| Mavic (about 900 g) | DJI Mavic 3, Mavic 3 Pro | 12 m/s · 43 km/h · 27 mph | As the Air class for wind; the bigger battery copes better with cold. |
| FPV and cinewhoop | DJI Avata 2, 3–5" quads | 10.7 m/s or less | Read it as the Mini class: small props and short packs leave little margin. |
Wind is forecast 10 m above the ground. At 120 m it is usually 30–50% stronger, and stronger still over ridges, coasts and between tall buildings: when the forecast is close to a limit, fly lower or not at all.
Questions
- Can I fly my drone in Manchester today?
- Check the verdict at the top of this page: it compares the forecast for Manchester with the limits of a Mini or Air class drone and names any factor that is not green. Green means every factor is inside the limits, amber means fly short and close, red means do not fly. Weather is half of it: check local drone rules and airspace before take-off.
- How much wind is too much for a DJI Mini?
- DJI rates the Mini series for about 10.7 m/s of wind (38 km/h, 24 mph). This page turns amber above 28 km/h of sustained wind or 30 km/h of gusts, and red above 38 km/h, measured at 10 m: at 120 m the wind is usually stronger.
- Does the Kp index matter for drones?
- In a strong geomagnetic storm, yes. From Kp 5 the compass and GPS can read wrong, so the drone drifts in hover and return-to-home is less reliable; from Kp 7 the verdict is no-go. Kp is one number for the whole planet, forecast by the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center.
- When is the best time to fly a drone in Manchester?
- The flyable windows above list the next hours with every factor green. Wind is usually lightest just after sunrise and in the evening, before the sun stirs up the air and after it settles, and those are also the hours with the best light.
Drone weather nearby
London · Dublin · Edinburgh · Amsterdam · Brussels · Paris · Cologne · Hamburg
How this forecast is made
From the NOAA GFS model run of 2026-10-16 00:00 UTC: 10 m wind and gusts on a 0.5° grid, rain rate, visibility and cloud base on a 1° grid and 2 m temperature, every 3 hours to 48 hours ahead; the Kp forecast of NOAA SWPC; GPS interference from the position quality the aircraft overhead broadcast (ADS-B NIC). For each step the worst factor sets the verdict. A weather check, not an airspace map or a flight authorisation: no-fly zones, airports and local rules still apply. The live map shows the drone layer over Manchester and the region around it.