How to read a METAR

A line by line walk through of the airport weather report, with a real example decoded into plain language.

The short answer

A METAR is a routine weather observation for one airport, usually issued every 30 or 60 minutes. It always follows the same order: station, time, wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature and dew point, pressure, then any trend.

A decoded example

EDDM 241350Z 26012G22KT 9999 FEW035 SCT080 18/09 Q1016 NOSIG

• EDDM: Munich airport, the ICAO code
• 241350Z: the 24th of the month, 13:50 UTC
• 26012G22KT: wind from 260 degrees at 12 knots, gusting 22
• 9999: visibility 10 km or more
• FEW035 SCT080: a few clouds at 3,500 ft, scattered at 8,000 ft above the aerodrome
• 18/09: temperature 18 °C, dew point 9 °C
• Q1016: QNH 1016 hPa
• NOSIG: no significant change expected in the next two hours

Cloud amounts

Cloud cover is given in eighths of the sky, called oktas.

• FEW: 1 to 2 oktas
• SCT (scattered): 3 to 4 oktas
• BKN (broken): 5 to 7 oktas
• OVC (overcast): 8 oktas
• A ceiling is the lowest BKN or OVC layer

CAVOK and other shortcuts

CAVOK replaces visibility, weather and cloud when visibility is 10 km or more, there is no cloud below 5,000 ft or the highest minimum sector altitude, no cumulonimbus or towering cumulus, and no significant weather. A small gap between temperature and dew point warns of mist or fog.