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Decode any METAR into plain English

Paste a raw report from any airport on the planet, or pull the latest live observation by ICAO code. Every wind, cloud, and pressure code explained instantly.

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Built for student pilots

Stop staring at a wall of code

A METAR packs a full weather picture into a few cryptic lines. This decoder breaks every group apart and tells you what it actually means for your flight.

Any airport, worldwide

From KJFK to OMDB to YSSY. Paste any raw report or pull the live observation straight from the official aviation weather source.

Every element explained

Wind, gusts, visibility, weather phenomena, cloud layers, temperature, dewpoint, altimeter, and remarks. Nothing left in code.

Instant flight category

We calculate VFR, MVFR, IFR or LIFR from the ceiling and visibility so you instantly know whether the weather works for your flight.

Quick answer

A METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is a standardized, coded observation of current weather at an airport, issued roughly every hour and used by pilots worldwide. It contains the airport identifier, observation time in UTC, wind, visibility, weather phenomena, cloud layers, temperature and dewpoint, altimeter setting, and remarks. This free decoder translates any METAR into plain English for any airport on earth.

Reference

The anatomy of a METAR

Every METAR follows the same order. Once you know the sequence, the code stops looking like noise.

StationKJFK

The ICAO airport identifier. Four letters that pinpoint the reporting station, e.g. KJFK for New York JFK, EGLL for London Heathrow, OMDB for Dubai, RJTT for Tokyo Haneda.

Date / Time261951Z

Day of month and time the observation was taken, always in Zulu (UTC). 261951Z means the 26th at 19:51 UTC.

Wind18015G25KT

Direction in degrees true, speed, and gusts. 180° at 15 knots gusting 25. VRB means variable direction; 00000KT means calm. Units: KT (knots), MPS (metres per second), KMH (kilometres per hour).

Visibility10SM

Prevailing visibility. 10 statute miles in the US (FAA); a 4-digit number like 9999 is metres elsewhere (ICAO). CAVOK means visibility 10 km or more with no significant cloud or weather.

Weather+TSRA

Present weather phenomena with intensity. Heavy thunderstorm with rain. A minus is light, no sign is moderate, plus is heavy, VC means in the vicinity.

CloudsBKN040

Cloud cover and base height in hundreds of feet AGL. Broken layer at 4,000 ft. FEW, SCT, BKN, OVC describe how much sky is covered. BKN and OVC count as a ceiling.

Temp / Dew28/19

Temperature and dewpoint in Celsius. 28°C, dewpoint 19°C. An M prefix means minus, e.g. M05 is -5°C. A small spread (temp minus dewpoint) means air close to saturation: watch for fog or low cloud.

PressureA2992

Altimeter setting. A2992 = 29.92 inches of mercury (US/FAA). Q1013 = 1013 hectopascals (ICAO QNH). Both are the local sea-level pressure used to read true altitude.

RemarksRMK ...

Extra detail after RMK: sea-level pressure (SLP), precise temperatures (T-group), peak winds (PK WND), automated station type (AO1 / AO2), recent weather, and hourly precipitation.

Flight categories at a glance

VFR

Ceiling > 3,000 ft and visibility > 5 SM. Good visual conditions.

MVFR

Ceiling 1,000 to 3,000 ft or visibility 3 to 5 SM. Marginal.

IFR

Ceiling 500 to 999 ft or visibility 1 to under 3 SM. Instrument conditions.

LIFR

Ceiling < 500 ft or visibility < 1 SM. Low instrument conditions.

These four categories follow the widely used US and ICAO-aligned convention. The exact VFR minima you must fly to vary by country, airspace, and licence, so always check the rules where you fly.

Step by step

How to read a METAR in 7 steps

Once you know the structure, every METAR in the world becomes readable. Here is the exact order the codes appear in, and what each one tells you.

1. Find the airport (ICAO station code)

Every METAR starts with a four-letter ICAO airport identifier. The first letter (or two) tells you the region: K for the continental United States, C for Canada, E for northern Europe, L for southern Europe, O for the Middle East, Y for Australia, R for east Asia, Z for China, SA for Argentina, and so on. KJFK is New York Kennedy, EGLL is London Heathrow, OMDB is Dubai, RJTT is Tokyo Haneda.

2. Read the date and time (always UTC)

The next group is six digits and a Z, like 261951Z. The first two digits are the day of the month, the next four are the time in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time, sometimes called Zulu). 261951Z means the 26th of the month at 19:51 UTC. Routine METARs are usually issued once an hour; a SPECI is an unscheduled special report issued when conditions change quickly.

3. Decode the wind

The wind group follows the format DDDFFGFFKT. The first three digits are the direction the wind is blowing from, in degrees true. The next two (or three) are the speed. G introduces a gust. The suffix is the unit: KT for knots, MPS for metres per second, KMH for kilometres per hour. So 18015G25KT is 180° at 15 knots, gusting to 25. VRB02KT means variable direction at 2 knots. 00000KT means calm. A group like 180V240 after the wind shows the wind is varying between 180° and 240°.

4. Read the visibility

This is where the US and ICAO formats diverge. In the US/FAA format, visibility is in statute miles with an SM suffix: 10SM, 4SM, 1 1/2SM, or M1/4SM (less than a quarter mile). In the rest of the world, visibility is a four-digit number in metres: 9999 means 10 km or more, 3000 means 3,000 m, 0800 means 800 m. CAVOK is a special shorthand for "ceiling and visibility OK": at least 10 km visibility, no cloud below 5,000 ft or the highest minimum sector altitude, no cumulonimbus or towering cumulus, and no significant weather.

5. Decode present weather and cloud layers

Weather phenomena are short two-letter codes optionally prefixed by intensity. +TSRA means heavy thunderstorm with rain. -SN means light snow. VCFG means fog in the vicinity. The full list of codes is in the table below.

Cloud groups combine an amount (FEW, SCT, BKN, OVC) with a three-digit height in hundreds of feet above the airport. BKN040 is a broken layer at 4,000 ft; OVC008 is overcast at 800 ft. Suffixes CB (cumulonimbus) and TCU (towering cumulus) flag storm clouds. The lowest BKN or OVC layer is the ceiling, which drives the flight category.

6. Read temperature, dewpoint and altimeter

Temperature and dewpoint appear as two numbers separated by a slash, both in degrees Celsius. 28/19 is 28°C with a 19°C dewpoint. An M prefix means minus: M03/M05 is -3°C with a -5°C dewpoint. A small spread between temperature and dewpoint means air close to saturation, which often produces fog or low cloud.

The altimeter setting comes next. A2992 (US/FAA) means 29.92 inches of mercury. Q1013 (ICAO) means 1013 hectopascals (millibars). Both are the local sea-level pressure you set on your altimeter to read true altitude.

7. Decode the remarks

After RMK you get extra information. AO2 is an automated station with a precipitation sensor; AO1 means no precipitation sensor. SLP132 gives the exact sea-level pressure to a tenth of a hPa: 1013.2 hPa. T02780189 is the precise temperature and dewpoint to a tenth of a degree: 27.8°C / 18.9°C. PK WND 26032/1925 is a peak wind of 32 knots from 260° at 19:25. North American METARs use these heavily; ICAO-format METARs outside the US use the remarks section less.

Complete reference

Every METAR code, in one place

All the cloud amounts, weather phenomena, descriptors, intensity modifiers and special codes you will see on any METAR worldwide.

Cloud cover codes (oktas — eighths of the sky)

Code	Name	Coverage	Counts as a ceiling?
`SKC`	Sky clear	0 oktas (manual report)	No
`CLR`	Clear below 12,000 ft	0 oktas (automated report)	No
`NCD`	No cloud detected	0 oktas (automated)	No
`NSC`	No significant cloud	None below 5,000 ft / MSA	No
`FEW`	Few	1 to 2 oktas	No
`SCT`	Scattered	3 to 4 oktas	No
`BKN`	Broken	5 to 7 oktas	Yes
`OVC`	Overcast	8 oktas	Yes
`VV`	Vertical visibility	Sky obscured	Yes

Intensity and proximity modifiers

Code	Meaning	Example
`-`	Light intensity	`-RA` light rain
(none)	Moderate intensity	`RA` moderate rain
`+`	Heavy intensity	`+SN` heavy snow
`VC`	In the vicinity (within 5 SM / 8 km but not at the station)	`VCTS` thunderstorm in the vicinity

Weather descriptors

Code	Meaning
`MI`	Shallow (often shallow fog: `MIFG`)
`PR`	Partial (covering part of the aerodrome)
`BC`	Patches (e.g. `BCFG` patches of fog)
`DR`	Low drifting (below eye level)
`BL`	Blowing (raised above eye level by wind)
`SH`	Showers (e.g. `SHRA` rain showers)
`TS`	Thunderstorm (e.g. `TSRA` thunderstorm with rain)
`FZ`	Freezing (e.g. `FZRA` freezing rain, `FZFG` freezing fog)

Precipitation codes

Code	Meaning
`DZ`	Drizzle
`RA`	Rain
`SN`	Snow
`SG`	Snow grains
`IC`	Ice crystals (diamond dust)
`PL`	Ice pellets (sleet)
`GR`	Hail (5 mm or larger)
`GS`	Small hail or snow pellets
`UP`	Unknown precipitation (automated stations)

Obscurations and other phenomena

Code	Meaning
`BR`	Mist (visibility 1,000 to 5,000 m / 5/8 to under 7 SM)
`FG`	Fog (visibility less than 1,000 m / 5/8 SM)
`FU`	Smoke
`VA`	Volcanic ash
`DU`	Widespread dust
`SA`	Sand
`HZ`	Haze
`PY`	Spray
`PO`	Dust or sand whirls
`SQ`	Squalls
`FC`	Funnel cloud / tornado / waterspout
`SS`	Sandstorm
`DS`	Duststorm
`NSW`	No significant weather (used in trend forecasts)

Cloud-type suffixes

Code	Meaning	What it means for flight
`CB`	Cumulonimbus	Thunderstorm cloud. Avoid by at least 20 nm.
`TCU`	Towering cumulus	Building convection. Possible thunderstorm developing.

Common remarks (RMK) codes

Code	Meaning
`AO1`	Automated station without a precipitation sensor
`AO2`	Automated station with a precipitation sensor
`SLPxxx`	Sea-level pressure to 0.1 hPa (e.g. SLP132 = 1013.2 hPa)
`Txxxxxxxx`	Precise temperature and dewpoint to 0.1°C
`Pxxxx`	Hourly precipitation in hundredths of an inch
`6xxxx` / `7xxxx`	3 / 6 hour precipitation, 24-hour precipitation
`PK WND`	Peak wind since last report
`WSHFT`	Wind shift, time of shift follows
`NOSIG`	No significant change expected in the next 2 hours

Worked examples

Real METARs, fully decoded

Four real-world reports from around the world, broken down field by field, so you can see exactly how the code maps to the weather.

1. A clear summer day in New York (US/FAA format)

METAR KJFK 261951Z 18015G25KT 10SM FEW050 SCT250 28/19 A2992 RMK AO2 SLP132 T02780189

KJFK = New York JFK · 261951Z = 26th at 19:51 UTC · 18015G25KT = wind 180° at 15 kt gusting 25 · 10SM = 10 statute miles visibility · FEW050 = a few clouds at 5,000 ft · SCT250 = scattered at 25,000 ft · 28/19 = 28°C / dewpoint 19°C · A2992 = altimeter 29.92 inHg · remarks: automated station with precip sensor, sea-level pressure 1013.2 hPa, precise temp 27.8°C / 18.9°C. Flight category: VFR.

2. A storm at London Heathrow (ICAO format)

METAR EGLL 261950Z 24018G30KT 3000 +RA BKN006 OVC012 11/10 Q0998 NOSIG

EGLL = London Heathrow · 24018G30KT = wind 240° at 18 kt gusting 30 · 3000 = 3,000 m visibility · +RA = heavy rain · BKN006 = broken at 600 ft (this is the ceiling) · OVC012 = overcast at 1,200 ft · 11/10 = 11°C / dewpoint 10°C (1°C spread, near saturation) · Q0998 = QNH 998 hPa · NOSIG = no significant change forecast. Flight category: IFR.

3. Heavy snow in Toronto (Canada, mixed conventions)

METAR CYYZ 261900Z 36015KT 1/2SM SN VV004 M03/M05 A2978 RMK SN4

CYYZ = Toronto Pearson · 36015KT = wind 360° (north) at 15 kt · 1/2SM = half-mile visibility · SN = moderate snow · VV004 = vertical visibility 400 ft (sky obscured; this is the ceiling) · M03/M05 = -3°C / dewpoint -5°C · A2978 = altimeter 29.78 inHg · RMK SN4 = snow intensity 4 (snow density indicator). Flight category: LIFR.

4. CAVOK at Dubai (perfect conditions, ICAO format)

METAR OMDB 261900Z 32012KT CAVOK 39/14 Q1006 NOSIG

OMDB = Dubai International · 32012KT = wind 320° at 12 kt · CAVOK = visibility 10 km or more, no significant cloud or weather · 39/14 = 39°C / dewpoint 14°C (very large spread, very dry air) · Q1006 = QNH 1006 hPa · NOSIG = no significant change. Flight category: VFR.

Compare

METAR vs TAF vs SPECI

All three appear in a typical pre-flight weather briefing. Here is how they differ.

A pilot briefing usually combines current observations and a forecast. METARs and SPECIs tell you what the weather is doing now; the TAF tells you what it is expected to do for the next several hours. Knowing which is which is one of the first skills a student pilot picks up.

METAR

Observation of current weather
Issued every hour (typical)
Covers the airport itself
Format: hourly, deterministic
Tells you what the weather is

TAF

Forecast, not an observation
Issued 4 times a day, valid 24 to 30 hours
Covers the airport's vicinity (5 SM / 8 km)
Uses time groups: FM, BECMG, TEMPO, PROB
Tells you what the weather will be

SPECI

Unscheduled METAR
Issued when conditions change significantly
Same format as a METAR
Triggers: storm onset, wind shift, vis drop, ceiling change
Tells you something important just changed

Also worth knowing

ATIS: spoken broadcast of the current METAR plus runway info
SIGMET: warning of significant weather (turbulence, ice)
AIRMET: lower-threshold area weather advisory
PIREP: pilot report of what they actually encountered

Worldwide

Why the same METAR looks different in different countries

METAR is an ICAO standard, but the United States uses several different conventions. This decoder handles both.

If you have flown only in the United States, your first ICAO-format METAR will look slightly off. The structure is the same, but the units and a few conventions differ. Here is what changes:

Element	US / FAA	ICAO (rest of the world)
Visibility	Statute miles, e.g. `10SM`	Metres, 4 digits, e.g. `9999` (10 km +)
Altimeter	`A2992` = 29.92 inHg	`Q1013` = 1013 hPa (QNH)
Wind units	`KT` (knots)	`KT`, `MPS` or `KMH`
Temperature	Celsius (always)	Celsius (always)
Special shorthand	Rarely uses CAVOK	CAVOK common when conditions are clear
Remarks usage	Heavy (SLP, T-group, automated codes)	Lighter, more terse
RVR (runway visual range)	In feet, e.g. `R28L/2400FT`	In metres, e.g. `R09/1200`

Russia, China and a few other states use additional local conventions, but the core ICAO format is the same. Pasting any of them into this decoder will produce a readable, plain-English breakdown.

For student pilots

Common METAR mistakes (and how to avoid them)

The errors that cost student pilots marks on the written exam, and pilots flying in the real world.

Reading the time as local instead of UTC. Every METAR time is in Zulu (UTC). If your briefing is at 8 PM in New York and the METAR ends in 0000Z, that is right now, not midnight tonight.
Forgetting that wind direction is the direction the wind is blowing from. A 360° wind is from the north. Use this for runway selection.
Confusing FEW/SCT with a ceiling. A ceiling is only formed by BKN, OVC or VV. FEW and SCT do not create a ceiling — even at 100 ft.
Reading 9999 as a code, not a visibility. In ICAO METARs, 9999 simply means visibility is 10 km or greater.
Missing the M for sub-zero. M03/M05 is -3°C / -5°C, not "M dash 3". A small spread plus sub-zero often means freezing fog or icing risk.
Ignoring the temperature/dewpoint spread. A spread under 3°C is a strong fog indicator. A negative spread is physically impossible — if you decode that, something is wrong.
Skipping the remarks. SLP, peak winds and precise temperatures live there. So do recent weather codes like RAB35 (rain began at :35).
Trusting one METAR for a long trip. METARs are point observations at a moment in time. For a cross-country flight, you also need the TAF, en-route winds aloft, SIGMETs and AIRMETs.

Glossary

Aviation weather glossary

Every term you need to read a METAR, defined in one line.

METAR — Meteorological Aerodrome Report. Standardized observation of current weather at an airport.
SPECI — Special METAR issued when conditions change significantly between hourly reports.
TAF — Terminal Aerodrome Forecast. Forecast of expected weather at an airport.
ATIS — Automatic Terminal Information Service. Broadcast version of the METAR plus active runway and remarks.
SIGMET — Significant Meteorological Information. Warning of severe weather affecting flight.
AIRMET — Airmen's Meteorological Information. Lower-threshold area weather advisory.
PIREP — Pilot Report. Weather actually encountered, reported by pilots in flight.
ICAO — International Civil Aviation Organization. Sets the worldwide METAR standard.
FAA — Federal Aviation Administration. US aviation regulator; uses a slightly different METAR format.
UTC / Zulu — Coordinated Universal Time. The single timezone used in all aviation weather.
Ceiling — Height above the airport of the lowest broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC) cloud layer, or vertical visibility.
Visibility — Prevailing horizontal visibility, in statute miles (US) or metres (ICAO).
QNH — Altimeter setting referenced to mean sea level (in hPa).
QFE — Altimeter setting referenced to the airport elevation. Not used in METARs but worth knowing.
CAVOK — Ceiling And Visibility OK. Excellent weather shorthand.
NOSIG — No significant change expected in the next 2 hours.
RVR — Runway Visual Range. Visibility down the runway, measured by transmissometers.
VFR / MVFR / IFR / LIFR — Flight categories derived from ceiling and visibility.
Dewpoint — Temperature at which air becomes saturated. A small temp/dewpoint spread predicts fog or cloud.
Spread — Temperature minus dewpoint. Under 3°C is a fog warning.
Hectopascal (hPa) — Unit of pressure used worldwide. 1 hPa = 1 millibar.
Inches of mercury (inHg) — Pressure unit used in the US. 29.92 inHg is the standard atmosphere at sea level.
Knot (kt) — One nautical mile per hour. Universal aviation speed unit.

SkyPrep Aviation Academy

Reviewed by SkyPrep ground-school faculty · Last updated 31 May 2026

SkyPrep runs a full online pilot ground school covering aviation weather, navigation, regulations and aircraft systems. This free METAR decoder is built and maintained by the SkyPrep team for student pilots worldwide. For real-world flight planning, always combine this with an authorised weather briefing.

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Questions

METAR decoder FAQ

The questions pilots, students and aviation enthusiasts ask most about reading a METAR.

A METAR (Meteorological Aerodrome Report) is a standardized, coded observation of current weather conditions at an airport. METARs are issued roughly every hour, follow an ICAO format, and are used by pilots, dispatchers and air traffic control worldwide to plan and brief flights.

Read a METAR left to right: station code, date and time in UTC, wind, visibility, present weather, cloud layers, temperature and dewpoint, altimeter setting, and remarks after RMK. Each group follows a strict format. Pasting it into a METAR decoder is the fastest way to see every field in plain English.

CAVOK stands for Ceiling And Visibility OK. It means visibility is 10 km or more, there is 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. In short: excellent flying conditions.

A METAR is an observation of weather that is happening right now at an airport, issued roughly hourly. A TAF (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) is a forecast of expected conditions for that airport, typically covering the next 24 to 30 hours. METARs and TAFs use a similar code but TAFs include time groups like FM, BECMG and TEMPO.

A SPECI is a Special Report, an unscheduled METAR issued when conditions change significantly between the regular hourly reports, for example a sudden drop in visibility, wind shift, thunderstorm onset, or change in ceiling.

The Z stands for Zulu time, which is Coordinated Universal Time (UTC). All METAR times are reported in UTC so that pilots and controllers anywhere in the world read the same time, regardless of local timezone.

+TSRA means heavy thunderstorm with rain. The plus sign is the intensity (heavy), TS is the descriptor (thunderstorm) and RA is the precipitation (rain). A minus sign would mean light, and no sign means moderate.

These are cloud cover codes in oktas (eighths of the sky). FEW means 1 to 2 eighths covered; SCT (scattered) is 3 to 4 eighths; BKN (broken) is 5 to 7 eighths; OVC (overcast) is 8 eighths, a fully covered sky. BKN and OVC layers count as a ceiling.

The ceiling is the height above the airport of the lowest broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC) cloud layer, or the vertical visibility (VV) if the sky is obscured. This decoder identifies the ceiling automatically and uses it to compute the flight category.

These four flight categories are computed from ceiling and visibility. VFR: ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility above 5 SM (good visual conditions). MVFR: ceiling 1,000 to 3,000 ft or visibility 3 to 5 SM (marginal). IFR: ceiling 500 to 999 ft or visibility 1 to under 3 SM. LIFR: ceiling below 500 ft or visibility below 1 SM. Exact VFR minima you must fly to vary by country, airspace and licence.

Both are altimeter settings, the local sea-level pressure used to read true altitude. A2992 is 29.92 inches of mercury, the US/FAA format. Q1013 is 1013 hectopascals (hPa), the ICAO format used in most of the world. The two are different units for the same thing.

AO1 means an automated weather station without a precipitation sensor. AO2 means an automated station with a precipitation sensor. Both appear in the remarks section to tell you how the report was generated.

SLP132 is the sea-level pressure to 0.1 hPa precision. SLP132 means 1013.2 hPa. If the encoded digits are 500 or higher, prepend 9 (so SLP965 is 996.5 hPa); if lower, prepend 10 (so SLP132 is 1013.2 hPa).

VV stands for Vertical Visibility and only appears when the sky is obscured (typically by fog or heavy precipitation). VV004 means vertical visibility upward is 400 ft. This figure acts as the ceiling for flight category purposes.

Yes. The SkyPrep METAR decoder is completely free, requires no signup, works on any device, decodes METARs from any airport in the world, and stores no personal data.

Live reports come from the Aviation Weather Center global METAR feed, which carries observations from airports worldwide. It is the same kind of official data used in professional pre-flight briefings. Always use an authorised source for real flight planning.

This decoder is an educational and study tool. For actual flight planning, always get an official weather briefing from your national aviation authority or an approved provider.

Routine METARs are issued every hour, typically at the same minutes past the hour for each station (often :50 or :55). When conditions change significantly between hourly observations, a SPECI (special report) is issued in addition.

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