Reference sheet

The METAR Cheat Sheet

A METAR always reports its groups in the same order. Once that order is fixed in memory, decoding stops being a puzzle and becomes reading left to right.

The report skeleton

Every routine METAR follows this group order:

1Station: ICAO location indicator (EHAM)
2Time: Day and time of observation in UTC (161025Z)
3Wind: Direction, speed, gusts, variability (24015G25KT 210V270)
4Visibility: Prevailing visibility, plus RVR when reported (4000)
5Present weather: Intensity, descriptor, phenomenon (-RA)
6Cloud: Amount, height, type, or vertical visibility (BKN012 OVC020)
7Temperature/dew point: Both in whole degrees Celsius (12/10)
8Pressure: QNH in hectopascals or altimeter setting in inches (Q1008)
9Trend: NOSIG, BECMG, or TEMPO for the next two hours (TEMPO 2000 SHRA)

Real example

EHAM 161025Z 24015G25KT 210V270 4000 -RA BKN012 OVC020 12/10 Q1008 TEMPO 2000 SHRA

EHAM is Amsterdam Schiphol, and 161025Z means the observation was made on the 16th of the month at 1025 UTC. The rest of the groups (wind through trend) decode the same way every time; the full line-by-line decode is below.

Wind

Format: ddffGffKT, optionally followed by a variability group.

24015KT	Wind from 240 degrees true at 15 knots.
24015G25KT	Same wind, gusting to 25 knots. A gust is reported when the peak speed exceeds the mean by 10 knots or more.
VRB03KT	Direction genuinely variable (light and shifting wind, typically under 3 knots), speed 3 knots.
210V270	Direction varying between 210 and 270 degrees around the mean of 240. Reported when the total variation is 60 degrees or more but less than 180 degrees, and the mean speed exceeds 3 knots; a variation of 180 degrees or more is reported as VRB instead.
00000KT	Calm: no wind.

Visibility

Prevailing visibility in metres, plus runway visual range (RVR) when it applies.

4000	Prevailing visibility of 4000 metres, the visibility reached or exceeded in at least half the horizon.
9999	Visibility 10 kilometres or more, the ICAO ceiling value for reportable visibility.
CAVOK	Ceiling and visibility OK: visibility 10 km or more, no cloud below 5000 ft (or below the highest minimum sector altitude, whichever is greater), no cumulonimbus or towering cumulus, and no significant weather.
R24/P1500	Runway visual range for runway 24, greater than 1500 metres. RVR is reported instead of, or alongside, prevailing visibility when either is below 1500 m (or per state threshold).
R06/0600	Runway visual range for runway 06 is exactly 600 metres.

Present weather

Built from an optional intensity, an optional descriptor, and a phenomenon, concatenated with no spaces.

+ / (none) / -	Intensity: + heavy, no sign moderate, - light. Applies to precipitation, not to descriptors like TS or FG.
VC	In the vicinity: the phenomenon is within roughly 8-16 km of the aerodrome, not overhead.
TS	Thunderstorm (descriptor). TSRA: thunderstorm with rain.
SH	Showers (descriptor): precipitation from convective cloud, can start and stop abruptly.
FZ	Freezing (descriptor): supercooled liquid, e.g. FZRA (freezing rain), FZFG (freezing fog).
BR	Mist: visibility 1000 to 4999 m with the air visibly damp.
FG	Fog: visibility below 1000 m.
HZ	Haze: dry obscuration (dust, smoke, or pollutants), not moisture-based like BR or FG.
RA / SN / GR / DZ	Precipitation types: rain, snow, hail (GR = grains larger than drizzle; GS = small hail/snow pellets), drizzle.
-RA	Light rain: continuous, steady precipitation, not showery.
SHRA	Showers of rain: no intensity sign shown here means moderate showers of rain.
TSRA	Thunderstorm with rain: the descriptor TS always implies a thunderstorm is occurring at or near the station.

Cloud groups

Amount, then height in hundreds of feet AAL, up to three layers, lowest first.

FEW	Few: 1 to 2 oktas of sky cover.
SCT	Scattered: 3 to 4 oktas.
BKN	Broken: 5 to 7 oktas.
OVC	Overcast: 8 oktas, sky fully covered.
BKN012	Broken cloud, base at 1200 ft above aerodrome level (cloud heights are always AAL, not AMSL, in METARs).
CB / TCU	Cumulonimbus or towering cumulus, appended to a cloud group, e.g. BKN012CB. Flagged because of the convective hazard, not just the amount.
NSC	No significant cloud: no cloud below 5000 ft (or the highest MSA), no CB/TCU, used when CAVOK does not apply because visibility or weather does not qualify.
NCD	No cloud detected: an automated-station report meaning the sensor saw no cloud, distinct from a human observer's NSC.
VV///	Vertical visibility, sky obscured (commonly fog or heavy precipitation) and no cloud base can be seen; the digits after VV give the vertical visibility in hundreds of feet, /// means the sensor could not measure it.

Temperature and dew point

12/10	Temperature 12 degrees Celsius, dew point 10 degrees Celsius. Always whole degrees, always Celsius.
M02/M04	The M prefix means minus: temperature -2 degrees Celsius, dew point -4 degrees Celsius.
Spread	Temperature minus dew point. A narrow spread (as in 12/10, a 2-degree spread) signals the air is close to saturation, which is why this METAR also shows rain, broken and overcast cloud, and reduced visibility.

Pressure

Q1008	QNH 1008 hectopascals: the setting that makes the altimeter read airfield elevation on the ground. Used by EASA/ICAO states outside North America.
A2992	Altimeter setting 29.92 inches of mercury, the format used in North American METARs (A prefix, two decimal places implied).

Trend groups

Forecast the next two hours, appended to the end of the report.

NOSIG	No significant change expected in the next two hours.
BECMG	Becoming: a permanent change expected, developing at a regular or irregular rate within a stated period.
TEMPO	Temporary: a temporary fluctuation expected, each occurrence lasting less than an hour in total and covering less than half the period.

The full worked decode

EHAM 161025Z 24015G25KT 210V270 4000 -RA BKN012 OVC020 12/10 Q1008 TEMPO 2000 SHRA

EHAMAmsterdam Schiphol, the ICAO location indicator.

161025ZObservation made on the 16th of the month at 1025 UTC.

24015G25KTWind from 240 degrees true at 15 knots, gusting to 25 knots.

210V270Direction varying between 210 and 270 degrees either side of the 240-degree mean.

4000Prevailing visibility 4000 metres.

-RALight rain, continuous rather than showery.

BKN012Broken cloud, base 1200 ft AAL: enough cover to matter for a visual approach.

OVC020Overcast layer above it at 2000 ft AAL.

12/10Temperature 12°C, dew point 10°C: a 2-degree spread, close to saturation, consistent with the rain and cloud already reported.

Q1008QNH 1008 hPa, a fairly typical mid-latitude low-pressure-influenced setting.

TEMPO 2000 SHRAIn the next two hours, expect temporary spells (each under an hour) of visibility down to 2000 m in showers of rain.

Practise on live reports

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