Aviation Meteorology: Airport Weather

Metar, the meteorological aerodrome report, is a highly ICAO-standardized aviation weather observation updated every 20 to 30 minutes for current airport conditions.

Learn how METAR reports wind velocity from true north, including direction and speed in knots, using windsock visuals and conversions to meters per second and kilometers per hour, plus gusts.

Discover how METAR reports runway visibility and distinguishes it from slant visual range and vertical visibility. Learn prevailing and lowest visibility, meter-based reporting steps, and cavok meaning ten kilometers.

Learn how METAR reports cloud coverage and ceiling above the aerodrome, using oktas and height above the surface in feet, with examples of few, scattered, broken, and overcast.

Learn cloud types and levels, from low to high, including stratus and cumulonimbus, and understand their aviation safety implications.

Explore how METAR reports air temperature and dew point, and how their spread signals humidity levels, visibility, fog, and icing risk, affecting takeoff performance and engine performance.

Learn how METAR reports present weather, including precipitation, obscuration, and visibility effects, covering drizzle, rain, snow, fog, haze, dust, squalls, and related phenomena near the aerodrome.

Master practical metars by decoding aerodrome codes, time, wind, visibility, clouds, temperature, dew point, and altimeter, plus rvr, gusts, and special metars.

Learn to read weather depiction charts by interpreting cloud coverage, wind barbs, and weather symbols on a map, and evaluate flight categories from VFR to IFR.

Explore the terminal aerodrome forecast format, including routine and amended forecasts, and how wind, visibility, and sky conditions are encoded in time groups and change indicators for aviation weather.

Explore how winter operations affect aircraft performance, ground handling, and flight dispatch in cold weather, ice, snow, and reduced visibility. Learn icing basics, de-icing, anti-icing, and holdover time with Notams.

Explore snowtam basics, global reporting format, and how runway surface conditions, notams, contaminants, and runway condition codes affect takeoff and landing performance.

Assess the snowtown structure, including the performance calculation and situational awareness sections, and learn how snowtown notams report runway condition codes, contaminants, and eight-hour validity for takeoff and landing planning.

Learn how to read the snowtam airplane performance calculation section, including aerodrome location indicators, time of assessment, runway condition codes, contaminant coverage and depth, with an example.

Learn to calculate wind components, including crosswind, headwind, and tailwind, using simple formulas, calculators, or graphs, and assess their effects on takeoff performance and runway choice.

Apply magnetic variation to wind calculations by adjusting METAR winds: add variation when west and subtract when east, ensuring accurate tailwind and crosswind assessments for runways.

Explore aerodrome weather minimums, precision and non-precision approaches, approach lighting and low visibility procedures, and how alternate aerodrome planning and the London Stansted example drive safe flight dispatch.