METAR/TAF Abbreviations Flashcards
Patches
BC
Blowing
BL
Mist
BR
Drift
DR
Dust Storm
DS
Dust
DU
Drizzle
DZ
Funnel Cloud
FC
Fog
FG
Smoke
FU
Freezing
FZ
Hail
GR
Small Hail / Snow Pellets
GS
Haze
HZ
Ice Crystals
IC
Shallow
MI
Ice Pellets
PL
Dust devil / sand swirl
PO
Partial
PR
Spray
PY
Rain
RA
Sand
SA
Snow Grains
SG
Showers
SH
Snow
SN
Squalls
SQ
Sand Storm
SS
Thunderstorm
TS
Unknown Precipitation
UP
Volcanic Ash
VA
In the vicinity (5-10 miles)
VC
BC
Patches
BL
Blowing
BR
Mist
vis. ≥ 5/8SM (or ≥ 1000m)
DR
Drift
DS
Dust Storm
DU
Dust
DZ
Drizzle
FC
Funnel cloud(s)
e.g., tornado or waterspout
FG
Fog
Fog, vis. < 5/8SM (or ≥ 1000m)
FU
Smoke
FZ
Freezing
GR
Hail
diam. >/= 5mm (0.25”)
GS
Small Hail/Snow Pellets
diam. < 5mm (0.25”)
HZ
Haze
IC
Ice crystals
MI
Shallow
PL
Ice Pellets
PO
Dust devil/ sand swirl
PR
Partial
(covering part of the sky)
PY
Spray
RA
Rain
SA
Sand
SG
Snow Grains
SN
Snow
SQ
Squalls
SS
Sand storms
TS
Thunderstorm
UP
Unknown precipitation
(automated only)
VA
Volcanic ash
VC
In the Vicinity (5-10 miles)
SH
Showers
TSGR
Thunderstorms with hail
SHRA
Showers of rain
BLSA
Blowing sand
MIFG
Shallow fog
BCFG
Patches of fog
FZRA
Freezing rain
NCD
No cloud detected
-
light
+
heavy
+ can also mean a well-developed dust storm, sandstorm, whirl, dust devil, tornado, or waterspout.
BLW
Below
MOD
Moderate
WI
Within
A01
Reported by automated observation equipment that CANNOT distinguish between rain and snow.
A02
Reported by automated observation equipment that CAN distinguish between rain and snow.
A02A
A02A denotes an automated observation augmented by a human observer. Absence of these indicators denotes a manual report by a human observer.
DSNT
Distant (> 10 miles)
SKC or CLR
Sky clear
0/8 coverage
FEW
Few
Trace - 2/8 coverage
SCT
Scattered
3/8 - 4/8 coverage
BKN
Broken
5/8 - 7/8 coverage
OVC
Overcast
8/8 coverage
SLP034
SLP502
- 4
- 2
sea level pressure in millibars (or hectopascals) to the nearest tenth. To decode, place a “10” or “9” before the first digit (use a 9 if the 3-digit value is 500 or more), and place a decimal point before the last digit.
NOSIG
no significant changes in reportable weather elements are expected during the 2 hours following the reported observation.
WSHFT45
Wind SHiFT at 45 minutes past the hour
VIS N 2
VISibility in the Northern sector is 2 statute miles
VIS 2 RWY 11
VISibility is 2 statute miles at RunWaY 11
VIS 1V2
VISibility is Variable between 1 and 2 miles
ACC W
AltoCumulus Castellanus clouds West
Altocumulus Castellanus clouds are typically accompanied by moderate turbulence as well as potential icing conditions. For these reasons, flight through Altocumulus Castellanus clouds is often best avoided by aircraft.
ACSL SW-S
AltoCumulus Standing Lenticular clouds SouthWest through South
avoid flying near lenticular clouds because of the turbulence of the rotor systems that accompany them
CB W MOV E
CumulonimBus clouds
West MOVing East
CBMAM DSNT S
CumulonimBus MAMmatus clouds to the DiStaNT South
CCSL OVR MT E
CirroCumulus
Standing Lenticular clouds OVeR
MounTain(s) to the East
CONS LTGCA
CONtinuouS (more
than 6 flashes per minute)
LighTninG, Cloud to Air
FROPA
due to FROntal Passage
FRQ
FReQuent (1-6 flashes per
minute for lightning)
IR
Ice on Runway
LSR
Loose Snow on Runway
LTGCA
LighTninG, Cloud to Air
LTGCC
LighTninG, Cloud to Cloud
LTGCG
LighTninG, Cloud to Ground
LTGIC
LighTninG, In-Cloud
OCNL
OCcassioNaL (less than 1
flash per minute for lightning)
PK WND 28045/1955
PeaK WiND
280 at 45 knots occurred at 1955Z
PK WND 34050/38
PeaK WiND 340
at 50 knots occurred at 38 minutes
past the hour
PRESRR / PRESFR
PRESsure Rising Rapidly /
PRESsure Falling Rapidly
PSR
Packed Snow on Runway
RAB20SNB20E55
RAin and SNow Began at 20
minutes past the hour, Ended at 55 min past
RCR01
Runway Condition Reading – values 00
to 25; higher values better for flight ops
RCRNR
RCR-equipped, but No Report; or Base
Operations closed
RSC
Runway Surface Condition as determined
by Airfield or Operations Manager
RVRNO
RVR-equipped, but NO report
SFC VIS 2 1/2
SurFaCe VISibility is 2 ½ statute
miles; remarked when (lower) tower visibility is
reported in METAR body
SLP015
Sea Level Pressure is 1001.5 millibars
TCU OHD
Towering CUmulus clouds OverHeaD
TCU W
Towering CUmulus clouds to the West
TSB05E30
ThunderStorm Began at 05 minutes
past the hour and Ended at 30 min past
TWR VIS 1
ToWeR VISibility is 1 statute mile;
remarked when (lower) surface visibility is
reported in METAR body
VIRGA
VIRGA at the station; precipitation
observed but not reaching the ground
VIRGA DSNT NE
VIRGA to the DiStaNT
NorthEast
VIRGA SW
VIRGA to the SouthWest
VIS 1V2
VISibility is Variable between 1 and 2 miles
VIS 2 RWY 11
VISibility is 2 statute miles at
RunWaY 11
VIS N 2
VISibility in the Northern sector is 2
statute miles
WR
Wet Runway
WSHFT45
Wind SHiFT at 45 minutes past the hour
TAF
(Terminal Aerodrome Forecast)
is a weather forecast at an airport or military base for a specific period
(usually 24 hours).
AMD
(Amended Aerodrome Forecast)
is issued because the previous version is no longer representative of the current or expected weather. The amended TAF supersedes the previous TAF.Always refer to the date/time group at the end of the TAF to determine the most current forecast.
COR
(Corrected Aerodrome Forecast)
is a TAF that has been corrected. When a corrected TAF is issued, disregard previous TAFs.
Time of issuance and valid time of following TAF:
TAF
KSTL 051130Z 051212 14008KT…
Civilian forecasters encode the date/time group differently from military forecasters. In a civilian TAF, two groupings follow the ICAO identifier: the date and time the forecast was prepared, then the date and the beginning/ending hours that the forecast is valid. In the KSTL example, 05 is the day of the month and 1130Z is the UTC time of issuance. 051212 indicates that the forecast is valid from 1200Z on the 5th day of the month to 1200Z on the 6th.
TEMPO 1316 1 1/2SM BR
“Temporary condition between 1300Z and 1600Z of 1 1/2 statute mile visibility in mist.” Only the temporary changing conditions are included in TEMPO groups.
FM 1600 16010KT P6SM NSW SKC
FM means “from” and indicates a rapid weather change where all data groups in the previous line are superseded. In this example, FM 1600 reads, “From 1600Z … ”
BECMG 2224 20013G20KT 4SM SHRA OVC020
“becoming” or a “gradual change” in meteorological conditions and becomes the predominant group by the end time listed. In this example, BECMG 2224 reads “Becoming from 2200Z to 2400Z.”
PROB40 0006 2SM TSRA OVC008CB
(civilian use only) represents a 40% probability or chance of conditions occurring along with associated weather conditions (wind, visibility, sky conditions).
CAVOK
Overseas locations may use the contraction “CAVOK” (ceiling and visibility OK). CAVOK is used when there is no significant weather, the visibility is 10 km or greater, and the ceilings are greater than 5,000 ft.
KBLV 051212 14005KT 8000 BR FEW030
KSTL 051130Z 051212 14008KT 5SM BR BKN030
In the military and at overseas locations, visibility is forecasted in meters.
In the CONUS, civilian TAFS forecast visibility in statute miles up to 6 statute miles, beyond which P6SM is used to indicate forecast visibility greater than 6 statute miles.
WS010/18040KT
“forecast wind shear at 1,000 feet above the station; wind at 1,000 feet is from 180 degrees (true) at 40 knots.”
WSCONDS
there is not enough information available to reliably predict the height, direction and speed of the wind shear. WSCONDS is normally used beyond the first 6 hours of the TAF.
29008KT 3200 -RA OVC030 620304 QNH2958INS
icing designator “6” following the cloud group (620304)
The next digit gives icing type and intensity (620304)
The next three digits give the base of the icing layer in hundreds of feet (620304).
The last digit provides the icing layer depth in thousands of feet (620304), so add this value to the base height to determine the top limit of the icing conditions.
“light rime icing (in cloud) from 3,000 to 7,000 feet.”
9999 NSW SCT040 520004 QNH2952INS
turbulence designator “5” follows the cloud or icing group (520004)
The next digit will determine the intensity (520004)
The next three digits will determine the base limit of the turbulence layer in hundreds of feet AGL (520004)
The last digit will determine the turbulence layer depth in thousands of feet (520004), so add this value to the base height to determine the top limit of the turbulence conditions.
“occasional moderate turbulence in clear air from the surface to 4,000 feet.”
METAR
(Aviation Routine Weather Report) refers to a scheduled observation taken between 55-59 minutes past the hour (also referred to as a routine hourly observation).
SPECI
(Special Report) refers to an unscheduled observation that met a predefined criteria (such as a change from VFR to IFR) and may be taken at 00-54 minutes past the hour. When SPECI criteria are met during the hourly observation time window (55-59 minutes past the hour), no special indication is made. The new weather conditions are encoded in a standard METAR report.
M0600FT
Reads, “RVR is less than 600 feet.” (M = less than)
P6000FT
“RVR is greater than 6,000 feet.” (P = greater than)
R06L2000V4000FT
Reads, “RVR for 6 Left is variable between 2,000 and 4,000 feet.” “V” indicates that the RVR is variable between two thresholds.
R32L/0300
At overseas locations, visibility is reported in meters, and FT is omitted from the RVR group.
“runway visual range for 32 Left is 300 meters.”
