As a VFR rated pilot the one thing I am constantly looking to understand and master is the weather. That and the price of oil are the two things that govern the amount of flying I can do in a given period of time (When oil is up aviation gasoline is expensive and I don't fly as much)
So is there a simple way to learn and understand the weather? Yes there is - get a book and learn it. There is no substitute for understanding why weather does what it does and how clouds are formed etc. etc.
In the short term though as a pilot you will want to be able to decrypt a TAF or a METAR.
So let's have a look at these. First things first
A TAF is a weather forecast. It's easy to remember this because it has an 'f' in it like forecast. A METAR is a current state.
TAF's and METAR's are usually written in shorthand with a HUGE number of abbreviations, but they all, generall,y follow a very similar format. Learn the format and you are well on the way to understanding what is what.
Here's a typical METAR: EGLF 031420Z 06004KT CAVOK 02/M05 Q1028
When translated that becomes :
It's not difficult really.. You start with the location of the METAR (EGLF - Farnbourough) and the date and time (all times are in zulu - UTC or Greenwich Mean Time as it used to be called) 031420Z This is the third of the month at 14:20 zulu.
Following that is the wind information 06004KT (from 060 degress at 04 knots)
Then the cloud conditions: CAVOK (Ceiling and visibility OK)
Then the temperature:02m05 (2degrees temperature and minus 5 degress dew point)
Finally there is the atmospheric pressure Q1028 which is 1028 millibars (this is a UK setting in the US this would be something like 29.92inches of mercury)
A TAF is very similar to a Metar except that it identifies a time period for which it is valid and adds information about expected weather conditions:
EGLF 080729Z 0807/0815 25004KT 2000 BR SCT005 BKN035 TEMPO 0807/0811 BKN005 BECMG 0811/0814 6000 NSW
This can be translated as
So basically you can split this into three sections - a 'main' section indicating the general forecast:
EGLF 080729Z 0807/0815 25004KT 2000 BR SCT005 BKN035
A 'temporary section' indicating differences for a subset of the time
TEMPO 0807/0811 BKN005
and an expected transition after that temporary time
BECMG 0811/0814 6000 NSW
Once again we have location (EGLF - Farnbourough) followed by a time of forecast (080729Z - 7.29Zulu on the 8th of the month) with validity time following that (0807/0815 - from 7.00hours until 15:00 hours on the 8th)
After the timings and validity we arrive at the wind information : 25004kt (Wind from the WSW at 4 knots)
Then comes the visibilty information : 2000 (2000 metres = 2 Km)
Then the predominant weather information BR = mist
Then the cloud coverage scattered clouds at 500 feet AGL and broken clouds at 3500 feet AGL
Temporary sections indicate conditions between certain hours in this case 07: 00 and 11:00 on the 08th where the cloud will be broken at 500 feet.
For a complete list of what the different weather abbreviations mean, visit this page. I know it looks like there are a lot to remember, but if you think about it there aren't actually too many. For example if you do most of your flying in the South of England the chances of you having to remember 'VA- Volcanic Ash' and 'PO' for 'Dust/sand whirls - Dust devils' are unlikely. Typically there will be the following
BR - Mist
SH - Showers
SN - Snow
RA - Rain
DZ - Drizzle
HZ - Haze
FZ - Freezing
OVC - Overcast
FG - Fog
GR - hail
PY - Spray
If you live in Southern California, or near Mount St Helens, Washington, there are probably different ones you need to be wtaching out for....
So is there a simple way to learn and understand the weather? Yes there is - get a book and learn it. There is no substitute for understanding why weather does what it does and how clouds are formed etc. etc.
In the short term though as a pilot you will want to be able to decrypt a TAF or a METAR.
So let's have a look at these. First things first
A TAF is a weather forecast. It's easy to remember this because it has an 'f' in it like forecast. A METAR is a current state.
TAF's and METAR's are usually written in shorthand with a HUGE number of abbreviations, but they all, generall,y follow a very similar format. Learn the format and you are well on the way to understanding what is what.
Here's a typical METAR: EGLF 031420Z 06004KT CAVOK 02/M05 Q1028
When translated that becomes :
Conditions at: | EGLF (FARNBOROUGH, GB) observed 1420 UTC 03 January 2009 |
Temperature: | 2.0°C (36°F) |
Dewpoint: | -5.0°C (23°F) [RH = 60%] |
Pressure (altimeter): | 30.35 inches Hg (1028.0 mb) |
Winds: | from the ENE (60 degrees) at 5 MPH (4 knots; 2.1 m/s) |
Visibility: | 6 or more miles (10+ km) |
Ceiling: | ceiling and visibility are OK |
Clouds: | unknown |
Weather: | no significant weather observed at this time |
It's not difficult really.. You start with the location of the METAR (EGLF - Farnbourough) and the date and time (all times are in zulu - UTC or Greenwich Mean Time as it used to be called) 031420Z This is the third of the month at 14:20 zulu.
Following that is the wind information 06004KT (from 060 degress at 04 knots)
Then the cloud conditions: CAVOK (Ceiling and visibility OK)
Then the temperature:02m05 (2degrees temperature and minus 5 degress dew point)
Finally there is the atmospheric pressure Q1028 which is 1028 millibars (this is a UK setting in the US this would be something like 29.92inches of mercury)
A TAF is very similar to a Metar except that it identifies a time period for which it is valid and adds information about expected weather conditions:
EGLF 080729Z 0807/0815 25004KT 2000 BR SCT005 BKN035 TEMPO 0807/0811 BKN005 BECMG 0811/0814 6000 NSW
This can be translated as
| Forecast for: | EGLF (FARNBOROUGH, GB) |
| Text: | EGLF 080729Z 0807/0815 25004KT 2000 BR SCT005 BKN035 |
| Forecast period: | 0700 to 1100 UTC 08 January 2009 |
| Forecast type: | FROM: standard forecast or significant change |
| Winds: | from the WSW (250 degrees) at 5 MPH (4 knots; 2.1 m/s) |
| Visibility: | 1.24 miles (2.00 km) |
| Ceiling: | 3500 feet AGL |
| Clouds: | scattered clouds at 500 feet AGL broken clouds at 3500 feet AGL |
| Weather: | BR (mist) |
| Text: | TEMPO 0807/0811 BKN005 |
| Forecast period: | 0700 to 1100 UTC 08 January 2009 |
| Forecast type: | TEMPORARY: The following changes expected for less than half the time period |
| Ceiling: | 500 feet AGL |
| Clouds: | broken clouds at 500 feet AGL |
| Weather: | no significant weather forecast for this period |
| Text: | BECMG 0811/0814 6000 NSW |
| Forecast period: | 1100 to 1500 UTC 08 January 2009 |
| Forecast type: | BECOMING: Conditions expected to become as follows by 1400 UTC 08 January 2009 |
| Winds: | from the WSW (250 degrees) at 5 MPH (4 knots; 2.1 m/s) |
| Visibility: | 4 miles (6 km) |
| Ceiling: | 3500 feet AGL |
| Clouds: | scattered clouds at 500 feet AGL broken clouds at 3500 feet AGL |
| Weather: | NSW (no significant weather) |
So basically you can split this into three sections - a 'main' section indicating the general forecast:
EGLF 080729Z 0807/0815 25004KT 2000 BR SCT005 BKN035
A 'temporary section' indicating differences for a subset of the time
TEMPO 0807/0811 BKN005
and an expected transition after that temporary time
BECMG 0811/0814 6000 NSW
Once again we have location (EGLF - Farnbourough) followed by a time of forecast (080729Z - 7.29Zulu on the 8th of the month) with validity time following that (0807/0815 - from 7.00hours until 15:00 hours on the 8th)
After the timings and validity we arrive at the wind information : 25004kt (Wind from the WSW at 4 knots)
Then comes the visibilty information : 2000 (2000 metres = 2 Km)
Then the predominant weather information BR = mist
Then the cloud coverage scattered clouds at 500 feet AGL and broken clouds at 3500 feet AGL
Temporary sections indicate conditions between certain hours in this case 07: 00 and 11:00 on the 08th where the cloud will be broken at 500 feet.
For a complete list of what the different weather abbreviations mean, visit this page. I know it looks like there are a lot to remember, but if you think about it there aren't actually too many. For example if you do most of your flying in the South of England the chances of you having to remember 'VA- Volcanic Ash' and 'PO' for 'Dust/sand whirls - Dust devils' are unlikely. Typically there will be the following
BR - Mist
SH - Showers
SN - Snow
RA - Rain
DZ - Drizzle
HZ - Haze
FZ - Freezing
OVC - Overcast
FG - Fog
GR - hail
PY - Spray
If you live in Southern California, or near Mount St Helens, Washington, there are probably different ones you need to be wtaching out for....
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