What do the numbers on Portland’s METAR mean?
They are all the same thing. The first three numbers “180” are the direction the winds are coming from. In this example, they are coming from the south or from “180 degrees.” If you don’t see any numbers it means the winds are calm. Portland’s current METAR says “00000KT.” The next two numbers indicate the strength of the winds.
What is METAR and SPECI?
METAR stands for aerodrome routine meteorological report and details the current observed weather at an airport. The weather may be observed by a human or by automated equipment. METARs are normally produced every hour but during significant changes in weather, a SPECI (aerodrome special meteorological report) will be published.
What does CCA and CCB mean in meteorology?
The second indicates if there is a correction. CCA would indicate the first correction, CCB the second, and so on through the alphabet. In our example, the METAR is its second correction. The two-minute average wind direction and speed at the time of observation is used.
What does VV mean on a METAR?
What does VV or VV/// mean in a METAR? VV refers to “vertical visibility” and means the sky is obscured by surface-based phenomenon (e.g. fog); the three digits that follow VV indicate the height in hundreds of feet. VV/// means the vertical visibility is of an indefinite height. What does a P mean in a METAR?
What does CB stand for in Metar?
What does CB mean in weather?
Is a CB a thunderstorm?
What does CB mean in a TAF?
Cumulonimbus clouds (CB) are the only cloud type forecast in TAFs. When the sky is obscured due to a surface-based phenomenon, vertical visibility (VV) into the obscuration is forecast.
What does CB stand for in weather?
Cumulonimbus is a heavy and dense cloud of considerable vertical extent in the form of a mountain or huge tower, often associated with heavy precipitation, lightning and thunder.
What does CCA mean in a METAR?
METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report)KMEM4-letter ICAO location indicator230853Date and Time of observation followed by Z (Zulu)AUTOIncluded if METAR is from an automatic, e.g. ASOS stationCORCorrection to observation (CCA for Canada)10 more rows
What does DZ mean in METAR?
DZ Drizzle. E - Ended. FC, +FC Funnel Cloud, Well-Developed Funnel Cloud. Tornado or Waterspout.
What does ISOL embd CB mean?
Isolated or isolated EMBD CBISOL/ISOL EMBD CB means “Isolated or isolated EMBD CB. ( / Slash means “or”.) LCA means “local” or “locally”. SCT/BKN means that within the area SCT and BKN/OVC clouds are equally distributed. SCT LCA BKN means that clouds are mostly SCT…
How do you decode a METAR?
Decoding a METARPHNL = the airfield, Honolulu's Daniel K. ... 250953Z = the date and time of the report. ... 05007G17KT = the wind conditions. ... 10SM = visibility. ... FEW024 / FEW040 = cloud cover. ... 27/19 = the temperature and dewpoint. ... A3001 = the atmospheric pressure, a.k.a. altimeter setting.More items...•
What does PK mean in a METAR?
PEAK WINDKEY TO DECODING THE U.S. METAR OBSERVATION REPORTKEY TO DECODING A METAR REPORTMETARTYPE OF REPORTTORNADO, FUNNEL CLOUD or WATERSPOUTTORNADIC ACTIVITYAO2TYPE OF AUTOMATED STATIONPK WND 20032/25PEAK WIND34 more rows
What does 9999 on a METAR mean?
visibility greater than 9000 metersThe largest reportable metric value is 9999. This value represents a visibility greater than 9000 meters (7 SM or more). To convert visibility values from meters to statute miles see Attachment 3 on page 33 or see Flight Information Handbook conversion tables. 8. METAR.
What does SLP mean in a METAR?
sea-level pressureSLP stands for sea-level pressure, with the pressure expressed in millibars. The reading is abbreviated.
What is the 5 * * * * Group on a METAR?
53018 indicates the pressure tendency (the "5 group"). The digit following the "5", which can vary from 0 to 8, describes the behavior of the pressure over the past three hours (for guidance, consult the table below). The last three digits represent the amount of pressure change in tenths of a millibar.
What does VV mean on METAR?
Sky obscured is given as VV followed by the vertical visibility in hundreds of feet.
Is vv a ceiling?
The letters "VV" (vertical visibility) are used to designate an indefinite ceiling. Copyright 2022 American Meteorological Society (AMS).
What does RMK A02 mean?
RMK simply means REMARKS and marks the end of the standard metar observation and the beginning of the remarks that are put in as necessay. A02 means that the site is automated and HAS a precipitation sensor.
What is the 5 * * * * Group on a METAR?
53018 indicates the pressure tendency (the "5 group"). The digit following the "5", which can vary from 0 to 8, describes the behavior of the pressure over the past three hours (for guidance, consult the table below). The last three digits represent the amount of pressure change in tenths of a millibar.
What is Rera in a METAR?
Recent Weather. RETS RERA. 'Recent thunderstorm / Recent rain' RE=recent, weather codes see above, max three groups. Wind Shear.
How do I read my RVR METAR?
In a METAR, RVR starts with the runway, coded with the letter "R", followed by the runway number. In this example, "R18R" means RVR is being reported for runway 18 Right. RVR visibility is coded using four digits, representing RVR distance in feet. In this example, "1600" indicates the RVR for runway 18R is 1600 feet.
What does SPECI mean in meteorology?
METAR/SPECI. Indicates whether it is a planned sighting METAR or intermediate sighting (SPECI). The SPECI is not much used anymore because most weather stations issue a new observation every half hour.
What does COR mean in a report?
COR means that this observation replaces a previously drawn up report. #N#AUTO means that the observation is done automatically. Automatic observations are more limited than manually generated observations.#N#NIL means that no data is known.
What does RA mean in weather?
-RA means that there is currently light rain This is a combination of RA (rain) and - (light intensity). The codes from the lists below can be combined with each other:
Does a metar provide wind direction?
A METAR therefore does not provide information about high winds, these are usually a lot stronger. This wind information is therefore not useful for navigation. In some cases no wind direction is indicated, but for example VRB01KT, namely if: The wind speed is 3 knots or less.
What time is a metar published?
Remember, METARs are a static picture in time. They are usually published at 55 past the hour. You need to do some advanced decision making and think about what the temperature will do from the time you get the weather to when you take off.
How long are metars good for?
The METAR only gives you a small snapshot in time. They are only good for an hour. They are usually refreshed around 55 past the hour. TAFs, on the other hand, cover a 24 to 30 hour period and they are published 6 times a day (0000, 0600, 1200, 1800). ADDS lets you print out the METARs and TAFs.
What does RA stand for in weather?
Next you will see the description of the weather. I pulled this chart from Wikipedia. You should know most of these by heart especially “RA” for rain and “BR” for Mist, “FG” for fog, and “SN” for snow.
What does the G stand for in wind?
The “G” stands for gusts . The winds are gusting up to 21 knots in this example.
How high are the winds in Foreflight?
The barbs show winds are out of the northwest which is confirmed when you look below and see the winds are 292 degrees at 21,000 feet.
Is the remarks section of the metar intended for pilots?
This is the part of the METAR that no one, including myself, pays attention to, and for good reason. Half of the remarks section was never intended for pilots.
Is the airport operating under IFR conditions?
Also, anytime this number drops below three statute miles, the airport is operating under IFR conditions. The rotating beacon will come on during the day.
What does $ mean in a METAR?
The $ indicates maintenance is required on the automated system. Sometimes the RMK (remarks) section of the METAR will contain a maintenance status indicator.
How do you decode a METAR?
Let’s take the following example of a METAR we’ve just picked up via ACARS for Chicago O’Hare International:
How long is a metar valid?
In other countries METARs are generally valid for 30 minutes and are issued twice per hour – at 20 minutes past the hour and 50 minutes past the hour. If there are significant changes since the time a METAR was released a SPECI will be issued. Related: Aviation SPECI Reports – A Pilot’s Guide.
What is the difference between a TAF and a metar?
What are the differences between METARs and TAFs? A METAR is Meteorological Terminal Air Report (or “aviation routine weather report”) is a weather report of a actual conditions at an airport at a specific time. A TAF (Terminal Area Forecast) is a weather forecast for a given area around the airport specified in the forecast.
How often are metars issued?
In the United States METARs are usually issued once per hour, at 55 minutes past the hour. In other States they are often issued twice per hour, at 20 minutes past, and 50 minutes past the hour.
Why are metars shorted?
In the U.S. METARs can be shorted to display the time of flying that is possible at an airport with respect to ceiling and visibility. The four aviation flight categories are:
What is 260/14KT wind direction?
Wind direction and speed: 260/14KT Wind direction in METARs is in degrees true (i.e. with reference to true north, as opposed to magnetic north). Wind speed is normally issued in knots, but can also be issued in “MPS” (meters per second). In this case the wind is from 260º True, at 14 knots.
What is the difference between a metar and a spectr?
METAR is the scheduled observation taken at the end of each hour. SPECI is an observation taken at an unschedul ed time due to certain criteria that is met such as low visibility, low clouds, frozen precipitation, or thunderstorms.
What does A02 mean in a metar?
A02 means that the site is automated and HAS a precipitation sensor. If it were AO1, there would be no precip sensor. This does not mean the site is un-manned. If there is an AUTO after the ID in the metar ob, then there is no observer.
What does KT mean in wind?
the KT simply means knots. It will always be at the end. For winds speeds below 7 knots, you might see VRB005KT which means the wind direction is variable. This is the idea of "light and variable" that you might see in a forecast. For winds greater than 6 knots you might see 18015KT 150V210.
What does SH mean in weather?
SH means showers and RA means rain. So the present weather is a light rain shower.
What is a metar?
on METARs explained. METAR stands for aerodrome routine meteorological report and details the current observed weather at an airport. The weather may be observed by a human or by automated equipment. METARs are normally produced every hour but during significant changes in weather, a SPECI (aerodrome special meteorological report) will be published.
What is a Metar report?
Report Type: Report type indicates the type of report, either a routine weather observation (METAR) or a special weather observation (SPECI). SPECIs are issued when the weather has changed significantly outside of the routine report. In our example, the report is a routine weather observation (METAR).
What is the qualifier for light rain?
With light rain, “-” is the qualifier (intensity), “RA” is the weather phenomena (precipitation).
What is present weather?
Present weather consists of one or more weather phenomena and associated qualifier. Each weather phenomena can be either precipitation (ie. rain, snow, hail), obscuration (ie. mist, fog, haze), or other phenomena (ie. squalls, sand storm, tornado).
Do metars have the same order?
METARs have several groups of data that follow the same order. Some groups may be omitted, but the order never changes. The order is:
What does CB stand for in Metar?
CB stands for cumulonimbus; TCU stands for towering cumulus. If surface-based clouds or other surface-based obscurations (e.g., smoke, haze) are reported (i.e., cloud base is 000), then vertical visibility, where available, is also reported in hundreds of feet, following the letters, VV.
What does CB mean in weather?
These clouds are capable of producing lightning and other dangerous severe weather, such as tornadoes and hailstones . Cumulonimbus progress from overdeveloped cumulus congestus clouds and may further develop as part of a supercell. Cumulonimbus is abbreviated Cb.
Is a CB a thunderstorm?
Cumulonimbus ( Cb ) ( Cb ) clouds, in which Thunderstorms are found, form when three conditions are met: There must be a deep layer of unstable air. The air must be warm and moist. Content control:
METAR/SPECI
Place
Day and Time
Cor/Auto/Nil
Wind
Visibility
Weather Phenomena
Clouds
Cavok
- CAVOKmeans that clouds and visibility are okay ("clouds and visibility OK"). CAVOK is a special code, it replaces visibility, clouds and weather. To be CAVOK these conditions must be met: 1. Visibility is more than 6¼ mi+ 2. There is no cloud below the 5,000 ft 3. There is no significant cloud cover (cumulonimbus or towering cumulus) 4. There is no...
Temperature