In the Handbook's words: a routine METAR for the 16th day of the month at 1753Z from an automated source; winds 140 at 21 knots gusting to 26; visibility three-quarters of a statute mile; thunderstorms with heavy rain and mist; ceiling broken at 800 feet, overcast at 1,200 feet with cumulonimbus clouds; temperature 18 °C and dew point 17 °C; barometric pressure 29.70 inches of mercury and falling rapidly.
Read it left to right
The groups always come in the same order. Missing ones are simply left out.
Type of report.METAR is the routine report, usually every hour; SPECI is a special report issued in between when conditions change significantly.
Station.KGGG is a four-letter ICAO identifier. In the 48 contiguous states it is K plus the three-letter airport code; Alaska identifiers start with PA and Hawaii's with PH.
Day and time.161753Z is the 16th day of the month at 17:53 UTC. The Z means Zulu time; the Zulu time converter turns it into local time.
Modifier.AUTO marks an automated report with no human intervention; COR a corrected report replacing an earlier one with an error.
Wind.14021G26KT is from 140° true at 21 knots, gusting to 26. VRB04KT is variable at 4 knots, 00000KT calm. When the direction varies by 60° or more at more than 6 knots, a group like 280V350 follows.
Visibility.3/4SM is three-quarters of a statute mile. Runway visual range may follow: R17L/1400FT is 1,400 feet on runway 17 left.
Weather.+TSRA BR is a thunderstorm with heavy rain, and mist, built from the codes below: intensity, then descriptor, then the phenomenon.
Sky condition.BKN008 OVC012CB is broken clouds at 800 feet and overcast at 1,200 feet with cumulonimbus. Heights are in hundreds of feet above ground level.
Temperature and dew point.18/17 is 18 °C with a dew point of 17 °C; an M means minus, as in M02.
Altimeter setting.A2970 is 29.70 inches of mercury. Outside the US, Q1013 is 1013 hectopascals.
Remarks. Everything after RMK. Here PRESFR means the pressure is falling rapidly.
Weather abbreviations
A weather group is built from left to right: an intensity or proximity, a descriptor, then one or more phenomena. +SHRA is heavy rain showers.
Intensity or proximity
Meaning
-
Light
no sign
Moderate
+
Heavy
VC
In the vicinity: 5 to 10 statute miles from the point of observation
Descriptor
Meaning
MI
Shallow
PR
Partial
BC
Patches
DR
Low drifting
BL
Blowing
SH
Showers
TS
Thunderstorm
FZ
Freezing
Precipitation
Meaning
DZ
Drizzle
RA
Rain
SN
Snow
SG
Snow grains
IC
Ice crystals (diamond dust)
PL
Ice pellets
GR
Hail, 1/4 inch or larger
GS
Small hail or snow pellets
UP
Unknown precipitation (automated stations only)
Obscuration
Meaning
BR
Mist: visibility 5/8 to 6 statute miles
FG
Fog: visibility less than 5/8 statute mile
FU
Smoke
VA
Volcanic ash
DU
Widespread dust
SA
Sand
HZ
Haze
PY
Spray
Other
Meaning
PO
Well-developed dust or sand whirls
SQ
Squall
FC
Funnel cloud
+FC
Tornado or waterspout
SS
Sandstorm
DS
Duststorm
Some combinations from the FAA's examples: -RA FG light rain and fog; FZDZ freezing drizzle; VCSH a rain shower in the vicinity; +SHRASNPL heavy rain showers with snow and ice pellets, where the plus applies to the rain.
Sky cover and the ceiling
Code
Sky cover
SKC
Clear, reported by a human observer
CLR
No clouds below 12,000 feet, at an automated station
FEW
More than 0 to 2/8 of the sky
SCT
Scattered: 3/8 to 4/8
BKN
Broken: 5/8 to 7/8
OVC
Overcast: 8/8
VV
Vertical visibility into an indefinite ceiling: the sky is totally obscured
CB (cumulonimbus) or TCU (towering cumulus) follows the height of a layer's base, as in OVC012CB. METARs don't label the ceiling: for aviation it is the lowest broken or overcast layer, or the vertical visibility. In the example, the ceiling is 800 feet. Automated stations can't report clouds above 12,000 feet.
Common remarks
Remark
Meaning
AO1, AO2
Automated station without, or with, a precipitation discriminator
SLP045
Sea-level pressure 1004.5 hectopascals
T01820159
Temperature 18.2 °C and dew point 15.9 °C, to the tenth
PK WND 28045/1955
Peak wind from 280° at 45 knots, at 19:55
WSHFT 30 FROPA
Wind shift at 30 minutes past the hour, from a frontal passage
PRESRR, PRESFR
Pressure rising rapidly, falling rapidly
VIS 1V2
Visibility varying between 1 and 2 miles
CIG 005V010
Ceiling varying between 500 and 1,000 feet
LTG DSNT W
Lightning more than 10 miles away, to the west
Codes ending in NO, such as PWINO, FZRANO, TSNO, RVRNO, PNO and VISNO, report that a sensor's information is not available. The METAR decoder expands these and many more remarks.
Pittsburgh, the 9th at 19:55 UTC, a corrected report. Wind from 220° at 15 knots gusting to 25; visibility three-quarters of a mile, with a runway visual range of 2,600 feet on runway 28 left; a thunderstorm with moderate rain; overcast at 1,000 feet with cumulonimbus, which is the ceiling; temperature 18 °C, dew point 16 °C; altimeter 29.92. The remarks give the sea-level pressure, 1004.5 hectopascals, and the temperature and dew point to the tenth, 18.2 °C and 15.9 °C.
Then test yourself: METAR practice gives you real reports from US airports to read and checks each value you write down.
Sources
FAA, Aeronautical Information Manual, 7-1-28 (Key to Aerodrome Forecast and Aviation Routine Weather Report) and 7-1-29 (ICAO weather formats), read October 1, 2026.
FAA, Pilot's Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge (FAA-H-8083-25C), pages 13-6 to 13-8 and Figures 13-5 and 13-6.
Questions pilots ask
How do you read a METAR?
Left to right, in a fixed order: report type, station, day and time in UTC, an AUTO or COR modifier, wind, visibility and runway visual range, weather, sky condition, temperature and dew point, altimeter setting, then remarks after RMK.
What do + and − mean in a METAR?
Intensity: a minus sign is light, no sign is moderate and a plus sign is heavy, as in +TSRA, a thunderstorm with heavy rain. The intensity applies to the precipitation, not to TS or SH in front of it. VC instead means the weather is in the vicinity, 5 to 10 statute miles away.
What is the difference between BR and FG?
Visibility. Fog (FG) is reported only when visibility is less than five-eighths of a statute mile; with visibility from five-eighths of a mile to six miles it is mist (BR).
What does AUTO mean in a METAR?
The report came from an automated station with no human intervention. Its remarks then say AO1, a station without a precipitation discriminator, or AO2, one that can tell liquid from frozen or freezing precipitation.
What does VV mean?
Vertical visibility into an indefinite ceiling: the sky is totally obscured, as in fog, and VV006 means you can see 600 feet up. It counts as the ceiling.
What is a SPECI?
A special report issued between the routine METARs when the weather changes significantly, or after an aircraft mishap or other critical event. It reads exactly like a METAR.