Reading the METAR line by line and the coded weather observation that tells you more than you think

Every pilot checks the weather before a flight, but not every pilot can actually read what they’re looking at. A METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is the observed weather at an airport right now — not a forecast, not a prediction, but a real-time snapshot. Every element appears in the same order every time, and once you know that order, you read left to right like a sentence.

What Is a METAR and How Is It Different from a TAF?

A METAR is an actual observation — someone or something looked out the window and recorded what they saw. A TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) tells you what the airport might look like later. The METAR tells you what it looks like now. That distinction matters every time you make a go/no-go decision.

What Does the Report Type Tell You?

The first element is the report type. METAR means it’s a routine hourly observation. SPECI means a special observation was issued between hourly reports because something changed — weather deteriorated, improved dramatically, or the wind shifted hard. If you see SPECI, something just happened and you need to pay attention.

How Do You Read the Station Identifier?

The four-letter identifier matches what you’d find in the Chart Supplement or type into your GPS. A leading K indicates a station in the contiguous United States. KMDW is Chicago Midway. KORD is O’Hare. Simple and consistent.

How Do You Decode the Date and Time Group?

The date/time group reads as a six-digit number followed by Z for Zulu (Coordinated Universal Time). For example, 271553Z means the 27th day of the month at 1553 Zulu. Always Zulu — not local, not Central, not Eastern.

To convert: subtract 5 hours for CDT, 6 for CST, 4 for EDT, and so on. So 1553Z is 10:53 a.m. in Chicago during daylight saving time. Practice this conversion on the ground, not in the air.

The timestamp also tells you how old the observation is. Routine METARs are issued near the top of each hour, typically around 53 or 54 minutes past. If you’re looking at a METAR that’s two hours old, you’re looking at history, not current weather. Ask yourself why — is the equipment down, the system lagging, or did you just not refresh?

How Do You Read Wind in a METAR?

Wind is reported as direction/speed/gusts in knots. For example, 31015G25KT means wind from 310 degrees true at 15 knots, gusting to 25 knots.

That 10-knot spread between sustained wind and gusts is turbulence — it’s the bump you’ll feel on short final.

Key wind variations:

• Variable wind appears as two directions separated by V, such as 280V340. A 60-degree swing affects your runway choice and possibly your go/no-go decision.
• Calm wind reads 00000KT — five zeros. Sounds ideal, but zero headwind means a longer ground roll.

On your checkride, the examiner expects you to extract the crosswind component from the METAR wind, compare it to your runway heading, and produce a number. The Airman Certification Standards require you to compare that number to your aircraft’s demonstrated crosswind limitation. Use the clock method or a crosswind chart — just have a method.

What Does Visibility Tell You?

Visibility is reported in statute miles — not nautical miles. 10SM is ten statute miles, roughly the maximum reportable. 3SM should make you think about cloud layers and potential instrument conditions. 1/2SM or 1/4SM means you’re deep in low IFR territory.

The letter M before a number means “less than.” M1/4SM means less than one-quarter mile visibility — fog so thick you can’t see the end of the runway.

How Do You Decode Weather Phenomena?

The weather group uses shorthand that follows a consistent pattern:

Intensity qualifiers:

• Minus sign (-) = light
• No sign = moderate
• Plus sign (+) = heavy

So -RA is light rain, RA is moderate rain, and +RA is heavy rain. +TSRA is heavy thunderstorms with rain — time to wait it out.

Common codes:

• BR = mist
• FG = fog
• HZ = haze
• SN = snow
• TS = thunderstorm
• GR = hail (hail does not care what airplane you fly)

VC means “in the vicinity” — between 5 and 10 statute miles from the airport. Close enough to arrive in minutes.

How Do You Read Cloud Layers and Find the Ceiling?

Cloud layers use a three-letter code followed by the height in hundreds of feet above ground level (AGL):

A ceiling is the lowest broken or overcast layer. Not scattered, not few. If a METAR reports FEW025 SCT040 BKN065, the ceiling is 6,500 feet AGL — the broken layer.

This matters for VFR legality. In Class E airspace below 10,000 feet, VFR requires 1,000 feet above clouds, 500 feet below, 2,000 feet horizontal, and 3 statute miles visibility. If the ceiling is at 1,200 feet and your pattern altitude is 1,000 feet, you have 200 feet of clearance above — not the required 1,000. You’re not legal.

Critical math: METAR cloud heights are AGL. Your altimeter reads MSL. At a field with 500 feet elevation and a METAR showing BKN020, those clouds sit at 2,500 feet MSL. You must make that conversion every time.

What Do Temperature and Dewpoint Reveal?

Temperature and dewpoint are reported in Celsius, separated by a slash. 25/20 means 25°C temperature, 20°C dewpoint. That 5-degree spread tells you about moisture.

When the spread narrows to 2-3 degrees, moisture is condensing — fog forming, clouds lowering, visibility dropping.

Rule of thumb: Temperature drops roughly 2°C per 1,000 feet of altitude gain. A 6-degree spread on the ground suggests clouds forming around 3,000 feet AGL. Rough math, but useful math.

Below-zero temperatures are prefixed with M. M05/M08 means minus 5°C, dewpoint minus 8°C.

Why Does the Altimeter Setting Matter So Much?

The altimeter setting follows the letter A and four digits. A2992 means 29.92 inches of mercury — set this in your altimeter’s Kollsman window so your altitude reads correctly.

If you don’t set it, your altimeter lies. The rule: “High to low, look out below.” Flying from high pressure to low pressure without updating means you’re lower than indicated. On a dark night or in marginal weather, that error can be fatal.

The ACS expects you to update the altimeter setting using the destination METAR before arrival. Small habit, easy to build, and the examiner will notice if you skip it.

Why You Should Never Skip the Remarks Section

The remarks section starts with RMK and contains details most student pilots ignore. Don’t.

Key remarks to watch for:

• AO2 — automated station with a precipitation discriminator (can distinguish rain from snow). No human observer verified this report. Machines can be wrong about cloud types and precipitation.
• SLP015 — sea level pressure of 1001.5 millibars, useful for weather trend analysis.
• T followed by eight digits — temperature and dewpoint in tenths of a degree, more precise than the rounded main body values.
• PRESFR — pressure falling rapidly. Weather is deteriorating. This remark should change your decision-making.
• PRESRR — pressure rising rapidly.

Putting It All Together: A Real Decision Scenario

Consider this METAR for a Class G field 90 miles away:

METAR KXXX 271653Z 32012KT 10SM SCT030 BKN055 22/19 A2986 RMK AO2 SLP108 PRESFR

Breaking it down:

• Wind from 320° at 12 knots — manageable
• Visibility 10 statute miles — excellent
• Clouds scattered at 3,000, broken at 5,500 — ceiling is 5,500 feet AGL, VFR legal
• Temperature/dewpoint 22/19 — only a 3-degree spread, moisture is high
• Altimeter 29.86
• Remarks — automated station, and pressure falling rapidly

This METAR looks VFR right now. But the tight temp/dewpoint spread means conditions can change fast, and PRESFR confirms the weather is trending worse. By the time you arrive in 45 minutes, this airport may not be VFR anymore.

That’s the real skill — reading a METAR not just as a snapshot, but as a snapshot with clues about what comes next. Combine it with the TAF, area forecast, and radar, and you’re making a real decision instead of a guess.

How to Build METAR Fluency Fast

Read METARs out loud. Say it: “Three two zero at twelve. Ten miles. Scattered three thousand. Broken five five. Twenty-two dewpoint nineteen. Altimeter two niner eight six. Pressure falling.” When you verbalize it, you process it differently and catch things your eyes skim over.

Read one METAR per day for a week. By the end, it’ll take you ten seconds.

Most of what’s covered here comes from Advisory Circular 00-45H (Aviation Weather Services) and the Aeronautical Information Manual, Chapter 7. Both are free from the FAA and worth reading in full.

Key Takeaways

• Every METAR element appears in the same order every time — learn the sequence and you read left to right without hunting
• The ceiling is the lowest broken or overcast layer, not scattered or few — this determines your VFR legality
• Cloud heights are AGL, your altimeter reads MSL — always convert using field elevation
• A narrow temperature/dewpoint spread (2-3°C) signals deteriorating conditions — fog, low clouds, and reduced visibility are likely
• Never skip the remarks section — PRESFR (pressure falling rapidly) alone can change a go/no-go decision