Type an airport code to get its latest METAR and TAF, or paste any report. Every group is decoded into plain English: wind, visibility, weather, clouds, temperature and pressure, plus the flight category, the altimeter setting to dial in and the crosswind on your runway. Works for US and international reports.
Broken 800 ft · Broken 2,200 ft · Overcast 4,500 ftCeiling 800 ft
Temperature
18 °C (64 °F)Dew point 17 °C · humidity 94%
Pressure
29.84 inHg1010 hPa
IFR Instrument flight rules: ceiling 500 to under 1,000 ft and/or visibility 1 to under 3 miles.
Set in the sim
AltimeterSet 29.84 inHg or 1010 hPa below the transition altitude (18,000 ft in the US; elsewhere it varies and is on the airport’s charts).
Runway wind
Enter a runway (27, 04L) or a heading (273).
METAR wind is from true north; runway numbers and the wind in ATIS broadcasts are magnetic. Where the difference (magnetic variation) is large, take the runway’s true heading from the airport chart.
Every group, decoded
Each group of the KJFK METAR
Code
Meaning
METAR
Report type Routine weather report (METAR)
KJFK
Airport ICAO airport code KJFK
061551Z
Observed Day 6 of the month, 15:51 UTC
11004KT
Wind From 110° (true) at 4 knots
7SM
Visibility 7 statute miles (11.3 km)
BKN008
Clouds Broken clouds (5–7 eighths) at 800 ft above the airport (ceiling)
BKN022
Clouds Broken clouds (5–7 eighths) at 2,200 ft above the airport (ceiling)
OVC045
Clouds Overcast (the whole sky) at 4,500 ft above the airport (ceiling)
18/17
Temperature Temperature 18 °C (64 °F), dew point 17 °C (63 °F)
A2984
Pressure Altimeter 29.84 inHg (1010 hPa)
RMK
Remarks Remarks follow
AO2
Remark Automated station with a precipitation discriminator (tells rain from snow)
RAB25E47
Remark Rain began at 25 minutes past the hour, ended at 47 minutes past the hour
SLP104
Remark Sea-level pressure 1010.4 hPa
P0002
Remark Precipitation in the last hour: 0.02 in
T01830172
Remark Temperature 18.3 °C, dew point 17.2 °C (to a tenth)
Forecast (TAF)
KJFK
Issued the 6th at 15:21 UTC · valid the 6th at 15:00 UTC to the 7th at 18:00 UTC
Forecast between the 6th at 15:00 UTC and the 7th at 18:00 UTC
IFR
Wind 190° at 6 ktVisibility 5 statute miles (8 km)Weather Light rain, mistClouds Broken 700 ft · Broken 3,500 ft
From the 6th at 18:00 UTC: everything changes to
IFR
Wind 180° at 5 ktVisibility 4 statute miles (6.4 km)Weather Rain, mistClouds Overcast 600 ft
Temporarily between the 6th at 18:00 UTC and the 6th at 20:00 UTC
MVFR
Wind 180° at 5 ktVisibility 4 statute miles (6.4 km)Weather Rain, mistClouds Scattered 600 ft
From the 6th at 20:00 UTC: everything changes to
MVFR
Wind 320° at 5 ktVisibility 6 statute miles (9.7 km)Weather Light rain, mistClouds Overcast 1,500 ft
From the 7th at 00:00 UTC: everything changes to
VFR
Wind 320° at 5 ktVisibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)Weather Showers in the vicinity (5–10 miles from the airport)Clouds Overcast 5,000 ft
From the 7th at 04:00 UTC: everything changes to
VFR
Wind 310° at 6 ktVisibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)Weather None reportedClouds Broken 15,000 ft
From the 7th at 13:00 UTC: everything changes to
VFR
Wind 300° at 10 ktVisibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)Weather None reportedClouds Few 3,500 ft
Temporary and probability spells show the full picture during the spell: the forecast before them with their changes on top.
Every group, decoded
Each group of the KJFK TAF
Code
Meaning
TAF
Report type Terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF)
KJFK
Airport ICAO airport code KJFK
061521Z
Issued Issued the 6th at 15:21 UTC
0615/0718
Valid Valid from the 6th at 15:00 UTC to the 7th at 18:00 UTC
19006KT
Wind From 190° (true) at 6 knots
5SM
Visibility 5 statute miles (8 km)
-RA
Weather Light rain
BR
Weather Mist
BKN007
Clouds Broken clouds (5–7 eighths) at 700 ft above the airport (ceiling)
BKN035
Clouds Broken clouds (5–7 eighths) at 3,500 ft above the airport (ceiling)
FM061800
From From the 6th at 18:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces the one before
18005KT
Wind From 180° (true) at 5 knots
4SM
Visibility 4 statute miles (6.4 km)
RA
Weather Rain
BR
Weather Mist
OVC006
Clouds Overcast (the whole sky) at 600 ft above the airport (ceiling)
TEMPO 0618/0620
Temporary Temporarily between the 6th at 18:00 UTC and the 6th at 20:00 UTC: spells of under an hour each, under half the time in total
SCT006
Clouds Scattered clouds (3–4 eighths) at 600 ft above the airport
FM062000
From From the 6th at 20:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces the one before
32005KT
Wind From 320° (true) at 5 knots
6SM
Visibility 6 statute miles (9.7 km)
-RA
Weather Light rain
BR
Weather Mist
OVC015
Clouds Overcast (the whole sky) at 1,500 ft above the airport (ceiling)
FM070000
From From the 7th at 00:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces the one before
32005KT
Wind From 320° (true) at 5 knots
P6SM
Visibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)
VCSH
Weather Showers in the vicinity (5–10 miles from the airport)
OVC050
Clouds Overcast (the whole sky) at 5,000 ft above the airport (ceiling)
FM070400
From From the 7th at 04:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces the one before
31006KT
Wind From 310° (true) at 6 knots
P6SM
Visibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)
BKN150
Clouds Broken clouds (5–7 eighths) at 15,000 ft above the airport (ceiling)
FM071300
From From the 7th at 13:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces the one before
30010KT
Wind From 300° (true) at 10 knots
P6SM
Visibility More than 6 statute miles (9.7 km)
FEW035
Clouds Few clouds (1–2 eighths of the sky) at 3,500 ft above the airport
How to use the METAR decoder
Look up an airport. Type its four-letter ICAO code (KJFK, EGLL, YSSY) and press Get latest weather. For airports in the 48 contiguous US states you can type the three-letter code (JFK); the tool adds the K.
Or paste a report. Copy a METAR or TAF from ATIS text, a flight planner or a briefing, and paste it in. Several reports at once are fine; it decodes as you type.
Read the summary first. The colored badge is the flight category. The tiles give wind, visibility, weather, clouds, temperature and pressure.
Enter your runway to see the headwind and crosswind, gusts included.
Open "Every group, decoded" to see each part of the report next to its meaning. Groups the decoder doesn't know are shown as written, never guessed.
The latest reports come from the US Aviation Weather Center, which publishes METARs and TAFs for airports worldwide. Most METARs are issued once an hour, plus special reports (SPECI) when the weather changes.
How to read a METAR
A METAR is a routine weather observation at an airport. The groups always come in the same order. Here is a real one from New York JFK:
Observed on the 6th at 15:51 UTC (Z = UTC, also called Zulu)
11004KT
Wind from 110° at 4 knots. The direction is where the wind comes from, measured from true north
7SM
Visibility 7 statute miles. Outside the US it's in meters: 9999 means 10 km or more
BKN008
Broken cloud (5–7 eighths of the sky) at 800 ft above the airport. The lowest broken or overcast layer is the ceiling
18/17
Temperature 18 °C, dew point 17 °C. An M means minus: M05 is −5 °C
A2984
Altimeter setting 29.84 inches of mercury. Outside the US: Q1013 is 1013 hectopascals
RMK …
Remarks: the station type, exact temperature, sea-level pressure, rain timings
Weather codes sit between visibility and clouds: - means light, + heavy, no sign moderate. RA is rain, SN snow, BR mist, FG fog, TS thunderstorm and SH showers, so -SHRA is light rain showers and +TSRA a thunderstorm with heavy rain. VC means in the vicinity, 5 to 10 miles from the airport.
How to read a TAF
A TAF is the airport's forecast, usually for 24 or 30 hours. It starts with the conditions expected at the beginning of the period, then lists the changes:
FM061800: from the 6th at 18:00 UTC, a new forecast replaces everything before it.
BECMG 0606/0608: becoming. A lasting change happens gradually between 06:00 and 08:00 on the 6th.
TEMPO 0618/0620: temporarily. Spells of under an hour each, adding up to less than half of that period.
PROB30 / PROB40: a 30% or 40% chance of the conditions that follow in that period. PROB30 TEMPO is a chance of temporary spells.
Times in a TAF are UTC. 0615/0718 is from 15:00 on the 6th to 18:00 on the 7th. Check the day as well as the hour: FM100100 is 01:00 on the 10th, not 10:00. The decoder lays the periods out as a timeline and colors each by flight category, so you can see when the weather is forecast to go below your limits.
VFR, MVFR, IFR and LIFR
The flight category sums up the ceiling and visibility in one word. These are the FAA's definitions, from the Aeronautical Information Manual (7-1-7):
Category
Ceiling
Visibility
VFR
above 3,000 ft
and above 5 miles
MVFR (marginal VFR)
1,000 to 3,000 ft
and/or 3 to 5 miles
IFR
500 to under 1,000 ft
and/or 1 to under 3 miles
LIFR (low IFR)
under 500 ft
and/or under 1 mile
The worse of the two sets the category: a 10-mile visibility under an 800 ft overcast is IFR. The categories are a US convention; the decoder applies them to every report so international airports read the same way, converting meters to statute miles.
Using real weather in a flight sim
Set the altimeter. Below the transition altitude, set the altimeter to the airport's reported value, in inches of mercury (A2984 = 29.84) or hectopascals (Q1013 = 1013). The decoder gives both, since your aircraft may use either. The US transition altitude is 18,000 ft; elsewhere it varies and is published on the airport's charts.
Pick the runway. Land and take off as close into the wind as you can. Enter each runway in the decoder to compare crosswinds. The METAR wind is from true north, while runway numbers and the wind in ATIS broadcasts are magnetic, so where the difference is large, use the true runway heading from the chart.
Recreate a report by hand. In a sim with a manual weather screen, such as X-Plane 12's Customize Weather window with its cloud layers, wind layers and visibility slider, enter the decoded layers one by one. METAR cloud heights are above the airport, so if the sim asks for heights above sea level, add the airport's elevation.
Live weather. Sims that download real weather refresh it on a timer (X-Plane 12 lets you choose the refresh rate), so what you see in the sim can lag the latest report. When the weather is changing fast, check the latest METAR before the approach.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a METAR?
A METAR is a routine aviation weather report from an airport, usually issued every hour. It gives the wind, visibility, weather, clouds, temperature, dew point and altimeter setting in a short code. A SPECI is a special report issued between routine ones when the weather changes.
What is the difference between a METAR and a TAF?
A METAR reports the weather observed at the airport now. A TAF forecasts it for the next 24 or 30 hours, with change groups (FM, BECMG, TEMPO, PROB) for what is expected to change and when.
What does CAVOK mean?
Ceiling and visibility OK: visibility 10 km or more, no cloud below 5,000 ft and no significant weather. It replaces the visibility, weather and cloud groups in international reports.
What does BKN mean in a METAR?
Broken: clouds cover 5 to 7 eighths of the sky. The lowest broken or overcast (OVC) layer is the ceiling. FEW is 1 to 2 eighths and SCT (scattered) is 3 to 4.
Is METAR wind direction true or magnetic?
True. The METAR wind direction is measured from true north, while ATIS broadcasts give it from magnetic north. Runway numbers are magnetic too, so the decoder's crosswind is close but not exact where magnetic variation is large.
What does A2992 or Q1013 mean?
The altimeter setting. A2992 is 29.92 inches of mercury, the US style; Q1013 is 1013 hectopascals, the style used in Europe and much of the world. They are the same setting in different units, and the decoder converts between them.
Where does the live weather come from?
From the US Aviation Weather Center (aviationweather.gov), part of the National Weather Service, which publishes current METARs and TAFs for airports worldwide. Our server fetches the latest reports for the airport you type and keeps each answer for up to five minutes.
Where to go next
FOV & screen calculator →Set a true-scale field of view for your screen before you fly the approach.
