How to Read METAR Reports: A Pilot's Guide

Updated: 2026-09-08 · First published: 2026-04-03

A METAR looks like a burst of noise — LTBS 081350Z 24012G22KT 200V270 9999 FEW030 SCT100 28/17 Q1012 NOSIG — but it is a fixed sequence of groups, always in the same order. Once you know the order, you can read any airport in the world in a few seconds. This guide walks through the format group by group, decodes a real report, and lists the traps that catch pilots on checkrides.

What a METAR is

METAR stands for Meteorological Aerodrome Report. It is the routine observation of the actual weather at an aerodrome, standardised by ICAO Annex 3 and the WMO so that a report from Dalaman reads the same as one from Denver. Reports are issued every hour (half-hourly at many larger airports), always in UTC, and describe conditions at the moment of observation — not a forecast. A forecast is a TAF; the two are read together, and both are shown side by side on every airport page of METAR & TAF 3D.

When the weather changes significantly between routine observations — a wind shift, a visibility drop, a ceiling change, a thunderstorm starting — the station issues a SPECI, a special report in exactly the same format.

The order of groups

Every METAR follows this sequence. Groups that do not apply are simply left out, which is why reports differ in length but never in order:

1. Report type and station: METAR LTBS
2. Date and time: 081350Z
3. Wind: 24012G22KT 200V270
4. Visibility (and runway visual range): 9999
5. Present weather: -RA, TSRA, FG…
6. Cloud: FEW030 SCT100
7. Temperature and dew point: 28/17
8. Pressure: Q1012 (hPa) or A2988 (inHg)
9. Trend and remarks: NOSIG, BECMG, TEMPO, RMK

Worked example, line by line

Take the Dalaman report above. Here is what each group says:

Plain-language summary: a warm, dry afternoon with a gusty south-westerly, high scattered cloud and unrestricted visibility — VFR by any definition. You can see this report decoded live, with runway crosswind components already computed, on the LTBS Dalaman page.

Wind

Format: direction (3 digits, true) + speed (2–3 digits) + unit. KT is knots; some countries (Russia, China and others) use MPS, metres per second — multiply by roughly 2 for knots. G introduces the gust. VRB03KT is a variable direction at 3 kt or less; 00000KT is calm. A direction spread such as 200V270 follows the main group.

Visibility and RVR

Outside the United States visibility is metres: 0800, 4000, 9999. The US reports statute miles: 3SM, 1/2SM, 10SM. When visibility differs strongly by direction you may see a minimum with a direction, e.g. 2000 1200NE. Runway visual range appears as R24/P1500: runway 24, RVR more than 1,500 m (P = more than, M = less than; a trailing U, D or N shows the trend).

CAVOK replaces the visibility, weather and cloud groups altogether: visibility 10 km+, no significant cloud below 5,000 ft (or the MSA), no CB or TCU, and no significant weather.

Present weather

Weather groups are built from up to three parts: an intensity (- light, nothing for moderate, + heavy, VC in the vicinity), a descriptor (TS thunderstorm, SH showers, FZ freezing, BL blowing, DR drifting, MI shallow, BC patches, PR partial) and a phenomenon (RA rain, SN snow, DZ drizzle, GR hail, GS small hail, FG fog, BR mist, HZ haze, FU smoke, DU dust, SA sand, SQ squall, FC funnel cloud). So -SHRA is light rain showers, +TSRA heavy thunderstorm with rain, FZFG freezing fog, VCTS thunderstorm within about 8 km but not at the aerodrome.

A trap worth remembering: BR (mist) means visibility 1,000 m to 5,000 m; FG (fog) means less than 1,000 m. The word is chosen by the visibility, not by how thick it looks.

Cloud

Each cloud group is an amount plus a height in hundreds of feet above aerodrome level: FEW 1–2 oktas, SCT 3–4, BKN 5–7, OVC 8. BKN008 is broken at 800 ft. A cloud type is appended only for convective cloud: SCT025CB or BKN030TCU. VV003 is vertical visibility 300 ft — the sky is obscured, typically by fog or heavy snow — and counts as a ceiling. NSC means no significant cloud, NCD no cloud detected (automatic station), SKC or CLR clear sky.

The ceiling is the lowest BKN or OVC layer, or the vertical visibility. It is the number that decides the flight category — see VFR vs IFR flight categories explained.

Temperature, dew point and pressure

28/17 is temperature over dew point in whole degrees Celsius; M marks negative values, so M02/M05 is −2 °C and −5 °C. A small spread — 2° or less — with a falling temperature is the classic fog set-up. Pressure is QNH: Q1012 in hectopascals almost everywhere, A2988 in inches of mercury (29.88) in the United States and a few other countries. Note that Q is the sea-level setting; if you want QFE you compute it from the field elevation.

Trend and remarks

ICAO stations add a two-hour trend: NOSIG (no significant change), BECMG (a change becoming established) or TEMPO (temporary fluctuations), each followed by the changed elements, e.g. TEMPO 3000 SHRA BKN012. US reports use a RMK section instead, with sea-level pressure (SLP132), precise temperatures (T02780167) and automated-station notes. AUTO flags a fully automatic observation with nobody to verify it; COR marks a corrected report.

METAR versus TAF

A METAR is what is happening; a TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) is what is expected, typically for 24 or 30 hours, issued four times a day. TAF groups use the same codes for wind, visibility, weather and cloud, but add time windows: FM (from), BECMG, TEMPO and PROB30/PROB40. Reading both together is the whole point: the METAR tells you whether the TAF is coming true.

Common mistakes

• Treating wind direction as magnetic. The report is true; ATIS and tower winds are magnetic.
• Reading 9999 as exactly 9,999 m. It means 10 km or more.
• Calling SCT a ceiling. Only BKN, OVC and VV are ceilings.
• Confusing the time group with a date: 081350Z is day 08, 13:50 UTC — there is no month or year in a METAR.
• Forgetting that cloud heights are above the aerodrome, not sea level. A 1,000 ft ceiling at a 5,000 ft field is a 6,000 ft cloud base on the altimeter.

Practise on live reports

The fastest way to become fluent is to decode a handful of airports every day and check yourself. Every station page on this site shows the raw METAR with each code clickable, the decoded version, the flight category and the runway crosswind: LTFM Istanbul · LTAI Antalya · LTBS Dalaman · EGLL London Heathrow · EDDF Frankfurt · LFPG Paris CDG · EHAM Amsterdam · KJFK New York JFK · OMDB Dubai · LEMD Madrid. Browse the full list in the airport directory, or open the live map and click any station.

Frequently asked questions

How often is a METAR issued?

Routine METARs are issued every hour (every 30 minutes at many larger airports). When conditions change significantly between routine reports — wind shift, visibility drop, ceiling change, thunderstorm — a SPECI is issued in the same format.

What does 9999 mean in a METAR?

Visibility of 10 kilometres or more. Outside the United States visibility is reported in metres; 9999 is the ceiling of the scale, not exactly 9,999 m. US stations report statute miles instead, e.g. 10SM.

What is the difference between BKN and OVC?

Both count as a ceiling. BKN (broken) means 5 to 7 oktas — eighths — of the sky covered; OVC (overcast) means all 8. FEW (1–2) and SCT (3–4) are not ceilings.

What does CAVOK mean?

Ceiling And Visibility OK: visibility 10 km or more, no cloud below 5,000 ft or below the highest minimum sector altitude (whichever is greater), no cumulonimbus or towering cumulus, and no significant weather. It replaces the visibility, weather and cloud groups.

Are METAR times local time?

No. Every METAR time is UTC (Zulu), shown as day-hour-minute followed by Z: 081350Z is the 8th of the month at 13:50 UTC.

Read next

• VFR vs IFR Flight Categories Explained
• Airports by country — live METAR and TAF for every reporting station
• World weather rankings from the observation archive