A METAR is the coded hourly weather observation for an airport. Here is the order of the groups and how each one is written.
Part 107, explained › Weather · Last reviewed October 25, 2026 against the eCFR and faa.gov. UAV Campus is not affiliated with the FAA.
How do you read a METAR?
Read a METAR group by group, in the order of the FAA example: airport identifier, observation time, wind, visibility, present weather, sky condition, temperature and dewpoint, altimeter, then remarks. Wind is in knots (22015G25KT), visibility in statute miles (3/4SM), and sky condition gives cover plus base height in hundreds of feet AGL.
Wind: the first three digits are the direction the wind is coming from, in tens of degrees relative to true north, and the next digits are the speed in knots, always followed by KT. A G adds the gust, so 27020G35KT is a wind out of the west at 20 knots gusting to 35. Visibility is in statute miles (1 1/2SM), and an M at an automated station means less than (M1/4SM).
Sky condition: FEW, SCT, BKN or OVC, followed by the layer height in hundreds of feet above the ground, so OVC007 is an overcast layer at 700 feet. CLR or SKC means no layers. The ceiling is the lowest layer reported as broken or overcast. Temperature and dewpoint come next in whole degrees Celsius (18/16), with an M for sub-zero values, then the altimeter setting (A2992 is 29.92 inHg).
Remarks (RMK) are added at the end. METARs are routine hourly reports, and a SPECI is an unscheduled report issued when conditions change by set criteria. The 3 statute mile visibility and cloud clearance a Part 107 pilot must keep is explained on our Part 107 visibility and cloud clearance page, not in the METAR.
A METAR includes the airport identifier, time of observation, wind, visibility, Runway Visual Range (RVR), present weather phenomena, sky conditions, temperature, dewpoint, and altimeter setting.
FAA-H-8083-28B, p. 294
Wind gusts are coded in two or three digits immediately following the wind speed. Wind gusts are coded in whole knots using the units, tens, and, when appropriate, the hundreds digit. For example, a wind out of the west at 20 kt with gusts to 35 kt would be coded 27020G35KT.
FAA-H-8083-28B, p. 300
The ceiling is the lowest layer aloft reported as broken or overcast. If the sky is totally obscured with ground-based clouds, the vertical visibility is the ceiling.
The remarks section for KMDW has RAB35 listed. This entry means
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A rain began at 1835Z.
B blowing mist has reduced the visibility to 1-1/SM.
C the barometer has risen .35″ Hg.
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Answer: A. rain began at 1835Z.
RAB stands for “Rain Began,” and 35 indicates 35 minutes past the hour it was recorded. In this case, the report was recorded at 1856Z, so the rain began at 1835Z.
G marks a gust. Gusts are rapid fluctuations in wind speed with a variation of 10 knots or more between peaks and lulls, and the number after G is the maximum instantaneous wind speed.
METARs are routinely produced near the top of the hour, so they are sometimes called hourly reports. A SPECI is an unscheduled report taken when criteria such as a wind shift or a ceiling change are met between hourly reports.
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