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Decoding METARs
Weather descriptors
| BC |
Patches |
|
BL |
Blowing |
|
DR |
Low drifting |
|
FZ |
Freezing or super-cooled |
|
MI |
Shallow |
|
PR |
Partial |
|
SH |
Showers |
|
TS |
Thunderstorm |
Obstructions to visibility
| BR |
Mist |
|
DS |
Dust storm |
|
DU |
Widespread dust |
|
DZ |
Drizzle |
|
FC |
Funnel cloud |
|
+FC |
Tornado or waterspout |
|
FG |
Fog |
|
FU |
Smoke |
|
GR |
Hail |
|
GS |
Small hail or snow pellets |
|
HZ |
Haze |
|
IC |
Ice crystals |
|
PE |
Ice pellets |
|
PO |
Dust or sand devils |
|
PY |
Spray |
|
RA |
Rain |
|
SA |
Sand |
|
SG |
Snow grains |
|
SN |
Snow |
|
SQ |
Squall |
|
SS |
Sand storm |
|
UP |
Precipitation type unknown |
|
VA |
Volcanic ash |
Intensity values
| Minus sign |
Light |
|
No sign |
Moderate |
|
Plus sign |
Heavy |
Cloud types
| CB |
Cumulonimbus |
|
CIR |
Cirrus |
|
TCU |
Towering cumulus |
Cloud cover
Cloud coverage is reported in octas.
One octa is one eighth of the sky
| BKN |
Broken (5 to 7 octas) |
|
CLR |
Clear |
|
FEW |
Few (zero to 2 octas) |
|
OVC |
Overcast (more than 7 octas) |
|
SCT |
Scattered (3 to 4 octas) |
|
SKC |
Sky clear |
|
VV |
Vertical visibility (indefinite ceiling) |
Additional abbreviations
| AO1 |
Automated observation without
precipitation discriminator |
|
AO2 |
Automated observation with precipitation discriminator |
|
AMD |
Amended forecast |
|
B |
Used as suffix to indicate minute when precipitation started
Example:
RAB12 - rain began at 12 minutes past the hour |
|
BECMG |
Becoming |
|
BINOVC |
Breaks in overcast |
|
COR |
Correction to the observation |
|
E |
Used as suffix to indicate minute when precipitation ended
Example:
SNE45 - snow ended at 45 minutes past the hour |
| FLDURC |
[Flight level] during climb, as given in
a pilot report |
| FLDURD |
[Flight level] during descent, as given
in a pilot report |
|
FM |
From |
|
LDG |
Landing |
|
NO |
Used as a suffix to other codes, meaning not available.
Example: RVRNO |
| NSW |
No significant weather (means only that
previously reported
precipitation or obstruction to visibility has ended) |
| PK WND |
Peak wind |
| PROB |
Probability (followed by two-digit
percentage) |
| PRESFR |
Pressure falling rapidly |
| R |
Runway used in RVR measurement |
|
RY |
Runway |
|
RWY |
Runway |
|
RVR |
Runway visual range, in feet, as measured by
an optical transmissometer
|
|
SLP |
Sea level pressure, followed by the last three digits in millibars and
tenths
Examples: SLP041 - 1004.1 mb; SLP 986 - 998.6 mb |
| T |
Sometimes used in place of TO (see
below) |
|
TEMPO |
Temporarily, followed by two pairs of digits giving the hours between
which the forecast conditions are expected. "Temporarily" means
that the conditions may occur only during part of the period
Example:
TEMPO1315 +SHRA - temporarily, heavy rain showers between 1300 and 1500Z |
|
TKOF |
Takeoff |
|
TO |
Used in remarks to give temperature to the nearest tenth of a degree,
followed by two groups of four digits. In each group, the first digit is
either a zero (above freezing) or a 1 (below freezing), and the other three
digits give the temperature value in Celsius
Example TO00311074 -
temperature +3.1 C, dew point -7.4
C |
|
V |
Varies (used to modify wind direction or RVR)
Example: RVR 600 V 1200 -
runway visual range varies from 600 to 1200 feet |
|
VC |
Vicinity |
|
VRB |
Variable wind direction when wind speed is less than six knots |
|
WS |
Wind shear |
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