Reading a METAR

Example:

EGPK 051320Z 26015G25KT 9999 -RA FEW025 BKN040 12/08 Q1013 NOSIG

Fields left-to-right

• EGPK — ICAO code
• 051320Z — issued on the 5th of the month, 1320 UTC (Zulu time)
• 26015G25KT — wind from 260°, 15 knots, gusting 25
• 9999 — visibility 10 km or more
• -RA — light rain
• FEW025 — few clouds (1–2 oktas) at 2,500 ft AGL
• BKN040 — broken clouds (5–7 oktas) at 4,000 ft AGL
• 12/08 — temperature 12°C, dewpoint 8°C (close = risk of fog/low cloud)
• Q1013 — QNH 1013 hPa
• NOSIG — no significant change expected

Why it matters for spotters

• Cloud base tells you whether pictures will be against a grey sky or blue
• Wind tells you the active runway
• Visibility tells you how far out you'll see the lights of a landing aircraft
• Temp/dew spread tells you if fog is about to kill your visibility

Try it

The live METAR is on /weather — read it, predict the runway, then check the /radar view to see if you were right.