How to Read a METAR?(Codes & Abbreviations)

Reading skills for a METAR REPORT

🛫 What's a METAR?

 A METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is an essential weather report for pilots, air traffic controllers, and airport operators, ensuring safe flight operations. Even if it looks like a confusing mix of letters and numbers, a METAR is actually a helpful, standardized report that gives you a quick, real-time snapshot of the weather conditions at an airport. This guide will gently guide you through how to read a METAR, explaining its parts and common abbreviations step by step.

✈️ Understanding the Structure of a METAR

 A METAR report follows a specific, fixed sequence of elements. By knowing what each part represents, you can quickly interpret the weather information. Here's the general order of a METAR, using RKSI (Incheon International Airport, South Korea) as an example.

Example METAR for RKSI:

METAR RKSI 250901Z 27015G25KT 8000 +TSRA BKN050 Q1013

"This example will be used to explain each part of the report."

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📝 Decoding Each Component

1. Report Type & Airport Code

• Report Type : The report always begins with its type, such as METAR (a routine, hourly report) or SPECI (a special, non-routine report).

• Airport Code : This is the four-letter ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) code that identifies the airport. For example, RKSI is Incheon International Airport, and RKSS is Gimpo International Airport.

2. Date and Time of Issuance

• DDHHMMZ : This group indicates the day (DD), hour (HH), and minute (MM) the report was issued in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time). The "Z" stands for Zulu Time, which is another term for UTC.

• Example : 250901Z Means the report was issued on the 25th of the month at 09:01 UTC.

3. Wind Information 💨

• DDDFF(G)GGKT : This section describes wind direction and speed.

  • DDD : The direction from which the wind is blowing, in degrees from true north (000-360).

  • FF : The average wind speed in knots (KT).

  • (G)GG : If there are gusts, "G" is followed by the peak gust speed.

  • VRB : Stands for variable, used when the wind direction changes by 60 degrees or more.

  • 00000KT : Indicates calm or very light wind.

• Example : 27015G25KT Means the wind is blowing from 270 degrees at 15 knots, with gusts up to 25 knots.

4. Visibility

• VVVV : Represents the horizontal visibility in meters.

• 9999 : Indicates visibility of 10 km or more, which is considered excellent.

• CAVOK : Stands for Ceiling and Visibility Okay. This is used when visibility is 10 km or more, there are no clouds below 5,000 feet, and no significant weather phenomena are present.

• Example : 8000 Means the visibility is 8,000 meters (8 km).

5. Present Weather ☔

• Abbreviations describe current weather phenomena, such as precipitation, fog, or thunderstorms.

  • Intensity: - (light), + (heavy), or no symbol (moderate).

  • Descriptor: MI (shallow), VC (in the vicinity).

  • Precipitation: RA (rain), SN (snow), DZ (drizzle), GR (hail).

  • Other: FG (fog), FU (smoke), TS (thunderstorm), SQ (squall).

• Example: +TSRA means there is a heavy thunderstorm with rain.

6. Cloud Information ☁️

• This section reports the amount of cloud cover and the altitude of the cloud base.

  • Cloud Amount: FEW (1-2 octas), SCT (3-4 octas), BKN (5-7 octas), OVC (8 octas).

  • SKC: Sky Clear, meaning no clouds.

  • NSC: No Significant Clouds, used when there are no clouds below 5,000 feet.

  • HHH: The height of the cloud base in hundreds of feet above ground level.

• Example: BKN050 Means there is broken cloud cover at 5,000 feet.

7. Temperature and Dew Point 🌡️

• T'T'/T'dT'd: This shows the air temperature (T'T') and dew point (T'dT'd) in Celsius (°C).

• M: Indicates a negative (minus) value.

• Example: 15/10 means the temperature is 15°C and the dew point is 10°C. M02/M05 means the temperature is -2°C and the dew point is -5°C.

8. Altimeter Setting (QNH)

• QHHH: Represents the barometric pressure adjusted to sea level, in hectopascals (hPa).

• Example: Q1013 Means the sea-level pressure is 1013 hPa.

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💡 Why METARs Are Crucial for Aviation Safety

 METARs are a cornerstone of aviation safety. They provide pilots with the critical information needed for flight planning, help air traffic controllers manage aircraft flow, and allow airport operators to ensure a safe environment. While the abbreviations may seem complex at first, understanding their meaning turns a cryptic code into a powerful, real-time tool for situational awareness. Mastering the ability to decode METARs is a valuable skill that deepens one's understanding of the aviation world.

Here are some of the most common abbreviations used in aviation and weather reports, including METARs:

General

• METAR: Meteorological Aerodrome Report (Aviation weather report)

• SPECI: Special (Non-routine aviation weather report)

• ICAO: International Civil Aviation Organization (Global organization for aviation standards)

• UTC: Coordinated Universal Time (Zulu Time, Z)

Wind

• KT: Knots (A unit of speed, 1 knot = 1.852 km/h)

• VRB: Variable (Wind direction is changing)

• G: Gust (Sudden increase in wind speed)

Visibility and Clouds

• CAVOK: Ceiling and Visibility Okay (Visibility > 10 km, no clouds below 5,000 ft, and no significant weather)

• SKC: Sky Clear (No clouds)

• NSC: No Significant Clouds (No clouds below 5,000 ft)

• FEW: Few (1/8 to 2/8 cloud cover)

• SCT: Scattered (3/8 to 4/8 cloud cover)

• BKN: Broken (5/8 to 7/8 cloud cover)

• OVC: Overcast (8/8 cloud cover)

Weather Phenomena

• TS: Thunderstorm

• RA: Rain

• SN: Snow

• DZ: Drizzle

• GR: Hail

• FG: Fog

• BR: Mist

• FU: Smoke

• DU: Dust

• HZ: Haze

• SQ: Squall (Sudden, strong increase in wind speed)

• VC: Vicinity (Weather phenomenon is near the airport but not at it)

• SH: Showers

• FZ: Freezing

• MI: Shallow (e.g., shallow fog)

• DR: Low Drifting (e.g., low drifting snow)

• BL: Blowing (e.g., blowing snow)

Other

• QNH: Altimeter setting (Barometric pressure at sea level)

• RMK: Remark (Additional information)

     ✅CHECK BELOW!

• METAR, SPECI, SPECIAL