How to read a METAR
A METAR is a routine aviation weather observation; a SPECI is a special observation issued when conditions change enough to matter. The groups usually appear in this order: station and time, AUTO or COR, wind, visibility and RVR, present weather, sky condition, temperature and dewpoint, altimeter, and remarks (RMK).
Wind is the direction the wind is coming from, in degrees, and the speed in knots (or metres per second / kilometres per hour). Visibility may be in statute miles (including fractions such as 1 1/2SM, and prefixes P for greater than and M for less than) or in metres (9999 means 10 km or more). CAVOK means visibility of 10 km or more, no cloud below 5,000 ft, and no significant weather.
Sky cover is few (FEW), scattered (SCT), broken (BKN), or overcast (OVC), with height in hundreds of feet (BKN015 is broken at 1,500 ft). Vertical visibility (VV) is treated as a ceiling. The ceiling is the lowest BKN, OVC, or VV layer; FEW and SCT do not count. Temperature and dewpoint use M for below-zero values (M05 is −5°C). A2992 is 29.92 inHg; Q1013 is 1013 hPa.
Flight category
The FAA categories used here follow the Aeronautical Information Manual. The more restrictive of ceiling and visibility wins — a 800 ft ceiling and 3 SM visibility is IFR, not MVFR, because the ceiling is in the IFR band.
- LIFR — ceiling below 500 ft and/or visibility below 1 SM
- IFR — ceiling 500 to 999 ft and/or visibility 1 to less than 3 SM
- MVFR — ceiling 1,000 to 3,000 ft and/or visibility 3 to 5 SM
- VFR — ceiling above 3,000 ft and visibility greater than 5 SM
Worked example
METAR KLAX 100653Z 08004KT 10SM CLR 21/17 A3005 RMK AO2 SLP171 T02110167 $ decodes as a routine observation for KLAX at 06:53 Z, wind from 080° at 4 kt, 10 SM visibility, clear below 12,000 ft (automated CLR), 21°C / 17°C, altimeter 30.05 inHg, AO2 automated station, sea-level pressure 1017.1 hPa, precise temperature 21.1 / 16.7°C. Flight category: VFR.
Paste a TAF into the companion decoder when you want the forecast instead of the observation. Wind components for a runway are in the crosswind calculator; pressure altitude from an altimeter setting is in the density altitude calculator.
How to use it
- Copy a METAR from an official source (aviationweather.gov, a flight-service briefing, or your EFB).
- Paste it into the box. The decode updates as you type or paste.
- Read the flight category, the plain-English summary, and the structured fields. Confirm anything operational against the official report.
Frequently asked questions
How do I read a METAR in plain English?
A METAR is a coded surface observation: station, time, wind, visibility, weather, sky, temperature and dewpoint, and altimeter, often followed by remarks. This decoder splits those groups and writes them as sentences, including a flight category based on ceiling and visibility.
How is flight category (VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR) decided?
The FAA Aeronautical Information Manual uses ceiling and visibility, and the more restrictive of the two wins. LIFR is a ceiling below 500 feet or visibility below 1 SM; IFR is 500–999 feet or 1 to less than 3 SM; MVFR is 1,000–3,000 feet or 3–5 SM; VFR is a ceiling above 3,000 feet and visibility greater than 5 SM. Ceiling is the lowest broken, overcast, or vertical-visibility layer. Few and scattered layers are not a ceiling.
Does this fetch live METARs for me?
No. The public Aviation Weather Center API does not allow cross-origin requests from a browser, so this page is paste-only and works offline. Copy a METAR from aviationweather.gov, your briefing, or your EFB and paste it here.
What remarks are decoded?
The decoder reads common remark groups: AO1/AO2, sea-level pressure (SLP), the precise temperature group (Txxxxxxxx), and the maintenance indicator. Other remark tokens are left in the raw remarks string. Always treat official weather as the source of truth.