May 24, 2019 ams maintains this acronym reference list and no longer requires that authors submitting to our periodicals expand the scientific, model, institutional, and experimentprogram acronyms appearing on the list. A correct and thorough analysis of current and expected weather situations is of uttermost importance in aviation. Aviation weather center homepage provides comprehensive userfriendly aviation weather text products and graphics. North american metars deviate from the wmo who write the code on.
Aim aeronautical information manual airmet airmens. Metar and taf codes and abbreviations pprune forums. Information contained in a metar the airline pilots. Metar taf abbreviations cloud types a hail amos automatic meteorological observing abm abeam system abv above ams air mass ac altocumulus anlys analysis accas altocumulus castellanus ao1 automated observation with no accum altocumulate precip discriminator rainsnow acld above clouds ao2 automated observation with precip. Below are some useful aviation acronyms for general guidance and use in the aviation industry. Metar and taf weather report abbreviations quizlet. Each metar report contains the following sequence of elements which are explained below. Within these observations, you will find a number of abbreviations that have very specific meanings. Speci is merely the code name given to metar formatted products which are issued on a special nonroutine basis as dictated by changing meteorological conditions. The acronym roughly translates from french as aviation routine weather report. The proposed effective date is mid 1996, however the date may change.
Metar is the scheduled observation taken at the end of each hour. Key to aerodrome forecast taf and aviation routine weather. Metar is a format for reporting weather information. Find out what these mean to get familiar with the different abbreviated names for various operations, lines of business, and programs. North american metar codes north american metars deviate from the wmo who write the code on behalf of icao fm.
Metar is the international standard code format for hourly surface weather observations which is analogous to the sa coding currently used in the us. When the sky is obscured, or forecast to be obscured eg, because of fog, the cloud group. Aviation abbreviations and acronyms civil aviation safety. List of acronyms and abbreviations american meteorological. Abbreviations used in airway manual definitions aa air to air aaf army air field aaim aircraft autonomous integrity monitoring aais automated aerodrome information service aal above aerodrome level aas airport advisory service aau authorized approach unicom ab air base abm abeam abn aerodrome beacon ac air carrier aca arctic control area aca. Click on any letter to find the abbreviation you need. The following metar abbreviations are used in the united states. Kjax 020256z 02003kt 10sm tsra ovc01ocb sct100 bkn 1817 a2996 metars will always be published in the same order. Speci is an observation taken at an unscheduled time due to certain criteria that is met such as low visibility, low clouds, frozen precipitation, or thunderstorms. To the nonaviator this is just a jumble of letters and numbers, but to us, it is an invaluable tool. When radiotelephony is used, the abbreviations and terms are transmitted using the individual letters in.
Aviation weather products metarspeci bureau of meteorology. What is metarspeci and what do the acronyms stand for. The usual 3 letter identifiers we are all familiar with are now receded by a k for the contiguous united states. Each piece of data is shown in a human readable format.
Abbreviations ao1 automated observation without precipitation discriminator r ainsnow ao2 automated observation with precipitation discriminator r ainsnow amd amended forecast ta f. Aviation routine weather reports metar weather observations. North american metar codes north american metars deviate from the wmo who write the code on behalf of icao fm 15xii code. How to interpret aviation weather information aviation. Details are listed in the faas aeronautical information manual aim. Aug 29, 2018 reading a metar report and understanding weather is an important part of flying. Acronyms and abbreviations federal aviation administration. Start studying metar and taf weather report abbreviations. Im getting frustrated with my inability to remember the codes with my reintroduction to the cockpit. B began bc patches bl blowing br mist 58 dr low drifting ds dust storm du dust dz drizzle e ended. To assist a pilot in performing a correct weather risk assessment prior to hisher flight, meteorological offices around the world will produce a wide range of meteorological products. Metar kjfk 242235z 28024g36kt 7sm ra br bkn009 ovc020cb 2624 a2998 rmk ao2 slp993 t02640238 56012 kjfk station id 242235z prepared on the 24th at 2235 zulu utc 28024g36kt winds are from 280 at 24 knots gusting to 36 knots 7sm visibility 7. Notices to airmen notams federal aviation administration. I test myself on a regular basis, god knows i cant fly lately and i.
Faa home jobs acronyms and abbreviations acronyms and abbreviations. Aviation routine weather reports metar weather observations made hourly at selected airports are coded to international standards. Aircrew quick reference to the metar and taf codes skybrary. A metar weather report is predominantly used by aircraft pilots, and by meteorologists, who use aggregated metar information to assist in weather forecasting. Feb 02, 2011 will metar, or any wx code and abbreviations come back to me without a cheat sheet. Professional pilot training includes ground studies metar and taf codes and abbreviations hi, where can i find a good organized list of the. Manual or augmented comments in metar weather observations are found toward the end of the observation in the rmk section. Information contained in a metar example metar codes. As of november, 2008, 32 of the largest air carrier highimpact u. Details are listed in the faas aeronautical information manual aim, but the noncompliant elements are mostly based on the use of nonstandard units of measurement. The aircrew quick reference guide to the metar and taf codes is designed to help aircrews quickly and clearly translate metar and taf codes into plain language. A speci message is identical to a metar but is established punctually instead of regularly. Metar codes report observed weather conditions by airfield. Many of these terms and abbreviations are used by nws forecasters to communicate between each other and have been in use for many years and before many nws products were directly available to the public.
Includes north american and international abbreviations, some of which may not be used in uk or european sourced metartaf. Metar speci a metar is a routine report of meteorological conditions at an aerodrome. Taf codes report forecasted weather conditions by airfield. It is issued every few hours, and is updated if necessary sooner. Abbreviations used in aviation forecasts and warnings met.
Reading a metar report and understanding weather is an important part of flying. To help us understand a bit more about the way metars work, lets take a look at the example below. The following metartaf code formats are undergoing final changes. Metarspeci a metar is a routine report of meteorological conditions at an aerodrome. I test myself on a regular basis, god knows i cant fly lately and i regularly cant remember pieces of the metar. Welcome to fltplan, a free flight planning service for creating and filing ifr and vfr flight plans, obtaining weather briefings and navigation logs for flights in the u. Abbreviations used in aviation forecasts and warnings check the meaning of the abbreviations used in our aviation forecasts and warnings. If desired, a decoded view of the data can be selected.
Explanatory note of the list of metar abbreviations on the following pages. A list of more than 7000 aviation abbreviations and acronyms are commonly used in aviation and may be found throughout aviation legislation, operational manuals, in the aip, on associated aeronautical charts and maps, in notams, in aip supplements in meteorological messages etc. See references in attachment 1 for a listing of source documents. Alaska and hawaii will use 4 letter identifiers beginning with pa and ph respectively. Only used in metar auto and means no cloud detected ndv below 10,000 ft at nzaa, nzwn and nzch, or no cloud detected at any level for all other domestic aerodromes. National weather service glossary this glossary contains information on more than 2000 terms, phrases and abbreviations used by the nws. Metar terminal aerodrome forecast taf faq national. In the united states, the wind direction must have a 60 or greater variance for. Will metar, or any wx code and abbreviations come back to me without a cheat sheet. For example, the latest denver metar would be shown as. Us dept of commerce national oceanic and atmospheric administration national weather service national centers for environmental prediction. Ams maintains this acronym reference list and no longer requires that authors submitting to our periodicals expand the scientific, model, institutional, and experimentprogram acronyms appearing on the list. Raw metar is the most common format in the world for the transmission of observational weather data. It is a special observation message highlighting any significant change since the last metar or speci was issued.
Speci is also used to identify reports of observations recorded ten minutes following an improvement in visibility. Reports may be prepared manually or by automated equipment. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Icao document 8896an8934, manual of aeronautical meteorological practice. Department of transportation federal aviation administration notice. Key to aerodrome forecast taf and aviation routine. A speci is a special report of meteorological conditions, issued when one or more elements meet specified criteria significant to aviation. Nav canada is the private nonshare capital corporation responsible for providing civil air navigation services, including the aviation weather program. Details are listed in the faas aeronautical information manual.