AVIATION WEATHER
Read the weather.
Understand every report.
METAR observations, TAF forecasts, and plain-language decoding.
Select any report code to see its meaning. Expand the decode table for a full breakdown.
Decode a pasted METAR or TAF
Decode locally, including reports from airports without a current live feed. No report text is uploaded.
Reports encode the day, not the month/year. Dates for pasted reports are inferred from this date context.
Coverage, flight categories and calculation notes
Supports common US and international METAR/TAF groups, weather combinations, RVR, wind shear, forecast changes and many remarks. Unknown groups remain visible as “Not decoded”; regional and free-text remarks may require manual interpretation.
Categories use the lower of ceiling and visibility: LIFR below 500 ft or 1 SM; IFR below 1,000 ft or 3 SM; MVFR at or below 3,000 ft or 5 SM; otherwise VFR. Ceiling uses the lowest BKN, OVC or vertical visibility. Missing/ambiguous data is labeled Unknown.
Wind directions in METAR/TAF are true. Enter a charted true runway heading for wind components; do not substitute a magnetic runway number. Components use the reported mean direction; gust values are shown separately. Variable or incomplete winds cannot provide an exact component.
Pressure altitude and density altitude are planning approximations from station elevation, altimeter and temperature. The density-altitude rule of thumb ignores humidity. A TAF describes forecast periods, not current observations; temporary/probability groups are conditional changes, not replacements for prevailing weather.