Reading a METAR

A METAR is the routine weather report every aerodrome broadcasts — a compact line of codes covering wind, visibility, weather, clouds, temperature and pressure. It updates every 30 or 60 minutes; when weather changes fast, a SPECI (special report) is issued in between. Its sibling the TAF is the forecast for the same airport.

• Report type & station: METAR or SPECI, then the four-letter ICAO code — same code you fly to.
• Time group: two-digit day of month, then HHMM, always UTC — the "Z" stands for Zulu time.
• Wind: three-digit direction it blows FROM, then speed — KT knots, MPS metres/second, G marks gusts: 24015G28KT.
• Visibility: metres in Europe (9999 = 10 km or more, 0800 = 800 m); US reports use statute miles: 1 1/4SM. CAVOK means 10 km+, no significant weather, and no cloud below 5,000 ft (or the highest minimum sector altitude, whichever is higher) — and no CB or TCU at any height.
• Weather: intensity prefix − light, + heavy, VC nearby; then codes like RA rain, SH showers, TS thunderstorm, DZ drizzle, SN snow, BR mist, FG fog, HZ haze.
• Clouds: coverage FEW /SCT/BKN/OVC plus height in hundreds of feet above the airport — BKN016 = broken ceiling at 1,600 ft. That ceiling decides VFR vs IFR . The cloud types behind the codes are covered in Clouds, from Stratus to Cumulonimbus .
• Temperature/dew point: 22/21 — dew point close to temperature means fog is likely. M marks minus: M04/M12.
• Altimeter: Q1018 is hPa (Europe), A3018 is inHg (US) — the QNH you dial in.
• Remarks: NOSIG = nothing changing in the next two hours; RMK AO2 marks the US automated-station type.

Want to decode any live METAR instantly? e6bx.com/metar-decoder breaks real reports down token by token with explanations — perfect for practice.