METAR Decoder

Paste any METAR to read it in plain English, or fetch the latest report for an airport. Includes the flight category (VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR).

How to read a METAR

A METAR is a routine aviation weather report. Its groups always come in the same order: station, date and time (UTC), wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature and dew point, then pressure.

Example

OMDB 161000Z 31008KT 6000 HZ FEW030 SCT250 36/22 Q1002: Dubai, day 16 at 10:00 UTC, wind from 310° at 8 knots, visibility 6,000 m in haze, few clouds at 3,000 ft, scattered at 25,000 ft, temperature 36 °C, dew point 22 °C, QNH 1002 hPa.

Flight categories

VFR: ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility above 5 miles. MVFR: ceiling 1,000 to 3,000 ft or visibility 3 to 5 miles. IFR: ceiling 500 to 999 ft or visibility 1 to 3 miles. LIFR: ceiling below 500 ft or visibility below 1 mile. The decoder uses the lowest broken or overcast layer as the ceiling.

FAQ

What does CAVOK mean? Visibility 10 km or more, no significant cloud and no significant weather.

What is the difference between Q and A pressure groups? Q is QNH in hectopascals. A is the altimeter setting in inches of mercury, used in the US and Canada.