METAR/TAF Abbreviations Flashcards

Question

Snow

Answer 1

Mist vis. ≥ 5/8SM (or ≥ 1000m)

Answer 2

Dust Storm

Answer 3

Funnel cloud(s) e.g., tornado or waterspout

Answer 4

Fog Fog, vis. \< 5/8SM (or ≥ 1000m)

Answer 5

Hail diam. \>/= 5mm (0.25")

Answer 6

Small Hail/Snow Pellets diam. \< 5mm (0.25")

Answer 7

Ice crystals

Answer 8

Ice Pellets

Answer 9

Dust devil/ sand swirl

Answer 10

Partial (covering part of the sky)

Answer 11

Snow Grains

Answer 12

Sand storms

Answer 13

Thunderstorm

Answer 14

Unknown precipitation (automated only)

Answer 15

Volcanic ash

Answer 16

In the Vicinity (5-10 miles)

Answer 17

Thunderstorms with hail

Answer 18

Showers of rain

Answer 19

Blowing sand

Answer 20

Shallow fog

Answer 21

Patches of fog

Answer 22

Freezing rain

Answer 23

No cloud detected

Answer 24

heavy + can also mean a well-developed dust storm, sandstorm, whirl, dust devil, tornado, or waterspout.

Answer 25

Reported by automated observation equipment that CANNOT distinguish between rain and snow.

Answer 26

Reported by automated observation equipment that CAN distinguish between rain and snow.

Answer 27

A02A denotes an automated observation augmented by a human observer. Absence of these indicators denotes a manual report by a human observer.

Answer 28

Distant (\> 10 miles)

Answer 29

Sky clear 0/8 coverage

Answer 30

Few Trace - 2/8 coverage

Answer 31

Scattered 3/8 - 4/8 coverage

Answer 32

Broken 5/8 - 7/8 coverage

Answer 33

Overcast 8/8 coverage

Answer 34

1003. 4 950. 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.

Answer 35

no significant changes in reportable weather elements are expected during the 2 hours following the reported observation.

Answer 36

Wind SHiFT at 45 minutes past the hour

Answer 37

VISibility in the Northern sector is 2 statute miles

Answer 38

VISibility is 2 statute miles at RunWaY 11

Answer 39

VISibility is Variable between 1 and 2 miles

Answer 40

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.

Answer 41

AltoCumulus Standing Lenticular clouds SouthWest through South avoid flying near lenticular clouds because of the turbulence of the rotor systems that accompany them

Answer 42

CumulonimBus clouds West MOVing East

Answer 43

CumulonimBus MAMmatus clouds to the DiStaNT South

Answer 44

CirroCumulus Standing Lenticular clouds OVeR MounTain(s) to the East

Answer 45

CONtinuouS (more than 6 flashes per minute) LighTninG, Cloud to Air

Answer 46

due to FROntal Passage

Answer 47

FReQuent (1-6 flashes per minute for lightning)

Answer 48

Ice on Runway

Answer 49

Loose Snow on Runway

Answer 50

LighTninG, Cloud to Air

Answer 51

LighTninG, Cloud to Cloud

Answer 52

LighTninG, Cloud to Ground

Answer 53

LighTninG, In-Cloud

Answer 54

OCcassioNaL (less than 1 flash per minute for lightning)

Answer 55

PeaK WiND 280 at 45 knots occurred at 1955Z

Answer 56

PeaK WiND 340 at 50 knots occurred at 38 minutes past the hour

Answer 57

PRESsure Rising Rapidly / PRESsure Falling Rapidly

Answer 58

Packed Snow on Runway

Answer 59

RAin and SNow Began at 20 minutes past the hour, Ended at 55 min past

Answer 60

Runway Condition Reading – values 00 to 25; higher values better for flight ops

Answer 61

RCR-equipped, but No Report; or Base Operations closed

Answer 62

Runway Surface Condition as determined by Airfield or Operations Manager

Answer 63

RVR-equipped, but NO report

Answer 64

SurFaCe VISibility is 2 ½ statute miles; remarked when (lower) tower visibility is reported in METAR body

Answer 65

Sea Level Pressure is 1001.5 millibars

Answer 66

Towering CUmulus clouds OverHeaD

Answer 67

Towering CUmulus clouds to the West

Answer 68

ThunderStorm Began at 05 minutes past the hour and Ended at 30 min past

Answer 69

ToWeR VISibility is 1 statute mile; remarked when (lower) surface visibility is reported in METAR body

Answer 70

VIRGA at the station; precipitation observed but not reaching the ground

Answer 71

VIRGA to the DiStaNT NorthEast

Answer 72

VIRGA to the SouthWest

Answer 73

VISibility is Variable between 1 and 2 miles

Answer 74

VISibility is 2 statute miles at RunWaY 11

Answer 75

VISibility in the Northern sector is 2 statute miles

Answer 76

Wet Runway

Answer 77

Wind SHiFT at 45 minutes past the hour

Answer 78

(Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) is a weather forecast at an airport or military base for a specific period (usually 24 hours).

Answer 79

(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.

Answer 80

(Corrected Aerodrome Forecast) is a TAF that has been corrected. When a corrected TAF is issued, disregard previous TAFs.

Answer 81

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.

Answer 82

“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.

Answer 83

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 … ”

Answer 84

“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.”

Answer 85

(civilian use only) represents a 40% probability or chance of conditions occurring along with associated weather conditions (wind, visibility, sky conditions).

Answer 86

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.

Answer 87

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.

Answer 88

“forecast wind shear at 1,000 feet above the station; wind at 1,000 feet is from 180 degrees (true) at 40 knots.”

Answer 89

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.

Answer 90

icing designator “6” following the cloud group (**6**20304) The next digit gives icing type and intensity (6**2**0304) The next three digits give the base of the icing layer in hundreds of feet (62**030**4). The last digit provides the icing layer depth in thousands of feet (62030**4**), 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.”**

Answer 91

turbulence designator “5” follows the cloud or icing group (**5**20004) 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 (52**000**4) The last digit will determine the turbulence layer depth in thousands of feet (52000**4**), 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.”**

Answer 92

(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).

Answer 93

(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.

Answer 94

Reads, “RVR is less than 600 feet.” (M = less than)

Answer 95

“RVR is greater than 6,000 feet.” (P = greater than)

Answer 96

Reads, “RVR for 6 Left is variable between 2,000 and 4,000 feet.” “V” indicates that the RVR is variable between two thresholds.

Answer 97

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.”