Local Airport

9 & 18 hour Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF)

Please note 9h TAFS have stopped being reported by NOAA as of 4th Nov 2008. Its unclear why

Glasgow and Edinburgh currently available. Other airports will be added on request.
If you know the station code go to the NOAA web site 9 hour or 18 hour
Read the decode at the bottom of this page or to understand fully download the
FEDERAL METEOROLOGICAL HANDBOOK No. 1 - Surface Weather Observations and Reports

Glasgow

Weather Forecast Glasgow

Decode the following text to get an accurate 18 hour weather prediction in the Glasgow Area.

2009/11/11 10:54
TAF EGPF 111054Z 1112/1212 VRB05KT 7000 FEW040 
      TEMPO 1112/1121 4000 BR 
      BECMG 1112/1115 9999 
      BECMG 1115/1118 14012KT 
      TEMPO 1201/1206 7000 RADZ BKN014

Decode the following text to get an accurate 9 hour weather prediction in the Glasgow Area. Please note 9h TAFS have stopped being reported by NOAA as of 4th Nov 2008. Its unclear why

2008/11/04 22:40
TAF 
      AMD EGPF 042240Z 042207 CNL= TAF 
      AMD EGPH 042240Z 042207 CNL

Current weather at Glasgow Airport

Glasgow Airport, United Kingdom (EGPF) 55-52N 004-26W 0M
Nov 11, 2009 - 09:20 AM EST / 2009.11.11 1420 UTC
Wind: from the ENE (060 degrees) at 9 MPH (8 KT):0
Visibility: greater than 7 mile(s):0
Sky conditions: mostly cloudy
Temperature: 46 F (8 C)
Dew Point: 42 F (6 C)
Relative Humidity: 87%
Pressure (altimeter): 29.65 in. Hg (1004 hPa)
ob: EGPF 111420Z 06008KT 9999 FEW015 SCT020 BKN035 08/06 Q1004
cycle: 14

Edinburgh

Weather Forecast Edinburgh

Decode the following text to get an accurate 18 hour weather prediction in the Edinburh Area.

2009/11/11 10:54
TAF EGPH 111054Z 1112/1212 VRB05KT 6000 FEW010 
      TEMPO 1112/1121 4000 BR 
      BECMG 1121/1124 12012KT 9999 
      TEMPO 1203/1208 5000 RADZ BKN012

Decode the following text to get an accurate 9 hour weather prediction in the Edinburh Area. Please note 9h TAFS have stopped being reported by NOAA as of 4th Nov 2008. Its unclear why

2008/11/04 22:40
TAF 
      AMD EGPH 042240Z 042207 CNL

Current weather at Edinburgh Airport

Edinburgh Airport, United Kingdom (EGPH) 55-57N 003-21W 0M
Nov 11, 2009 - 09:20 AM EST / 2009.11.11 1420 UTC
Wind: from the E (080 degrees) at 8 MPH (7 KT):0
Visibility: greater than 7 mile(s):0
Sky conditions: partly cloudy
Temperature: 46 F (8 C)
Dew Point: 42 F (6 C)
Relative Humidity: 87%
Pressure (altimeter): 29.68 in. Hg (1005 hPa)
ob: EGPH 111420Z 08007KT 9999 FEW007 SCT041 08/06 Q1005
cycle: 14

Aerodrome forecast - TAF decode Guide

The following table was originally sourced from the Met office website

CODE ELEMENT	EXAMPLE	DECODE	NOTES
1 Report type
	TAF	'TAF'	Name for an aerodrome forecast
2 Location
	EGSS	'London Stansted'	Station four-letter ICAO indicator
3 Date/Time of origin
	130500Z	'For the 13th at oh, five, hundred, Zulu'	Usually omitted
4 Validity time
	130716	'Valid from oh, seven, hundred, to, sixteen, hundred, on the 13th'	UTC (Greenwich Mean Time)
5 Wind
	31015G25KT	'Three one zero degrees fifteen, max twenty five knots'	VRB = Variable; 00000KT = calm
6 Min visibility or CAVOK*
	8000	'Eight kilometres'	9999 = 10 km or more; 0000 = less than 50 metres
7 Significant weather
	-SHRA	'Light rain showers'	See present weather table on METAR page for details; NSW = No significant weather
8 Cloud
	FEW005 SCT010 SCTO18CB BKN025	'Few at 500 feet, scattered at one thousand feet, scattered cumulonimbus at one thousand eight hundred feet. Broken at two thousand five hundred feet'	SKC = sky clear; FEW = 1-2 oktas; SCT = 3-4 oktas; BKN = 5-7 oktas; OVC = 8 oktas; '///' = state of sky obscured (figures after '///' will give forecast vertical visibility in hundred of feet) NSC = no significant cloud (none below 5,000 feet and no CB) CB will be the only cloud type specified
9 Significant changes
Probability	PROB30	'30% probability'	Normally only 30% or 40% probability will be used.
Time	1416	'from fourteen hundred to sixteen hundred,' or	Indicates beginning and end time of forecast period in Universal Time Co-ordinated (UTC) or Zulu time (Z)
Change indicator	BECMG 1416 FM 1400	'becoming from fourteen hundred to sixteen hundred' or 'from fourteen hundred' followed by	Also TEMPO = temporarily may be used
Met. groups	TSRA BKN010CB	'Thunderstorm with rain, broken cumulonimbus at one thousand feet'	Met. group follows indicating a change in some or all of the elements forecast in the first part of the TAF

*Indicates a mandatory code element, CAVOK will replace visibility and cloud groups

Example
18-hr TAF
FTUK31 EGGY 102200
EGLL 110624 13010KT 9000 BKN010 BECMG 0608 SCT015 BKN020
PROB30 TEMPO 0816 17025G40KT 4000 TSRA SCT010 BKN015CB BECMG 1821
3000 BR SKC=

Decode
Eighteen-hour TAF issued at 2200 Zulu on the 10th. London Heathrow valid from oh six hundred to midnight the next day. Wind one three zero degrees ten knots. Nine kilometres visibility. Broken at one thousand feet. Becoming from oh six hundred to oh eight hundred, scattered at one thousand five hundred feet, broken at two thousand feet. Prob thirty, temporarily oh eight hundred to sixteen hundred, wind one seven zero degrees twenty five knots, gusting to forty knots. Four thousand metres visibility. Thundertorm with rain. Scattered at one thousand feet. Broken cumulonimbus at one thousand five hundred feet. Becoming from eighteen hundred to twenty one hundred, three thousand metres visibility, mist, sky clear.

Example
9-hour TAF
FCUK33 EGGY 300900
EGGW 301019 23010KT 9999 SCT010 BKN018 BECMG 1114 6000 -RA BKN012
TEMPO 1418 2000 DZ OVC004 FM1800 30020G30KT 9999 -SHRA BKN015CB=

Decode
Nine-hour TAF issued at 0900 Zulu on the 30th. Luton valid from ten hundred to nineteen hundred Zulu on the 30th. Wind two three zero degrees ten knots. Ten kilometres or more visibility. Scattered at one thousand feet. Broken at one thousand eight hundred feet. Becoming from eleven hundred to fourteen hundred, six kilometres, light rain. Broken at one thousand two hundred feet. Temporarily fourteen hundred to eighteen hundred. Two thousand metres visibility. Moderate drizzle. Overcast four hundred feet. From eighteen hundred, three zero zero degrees twenty knots gusting to thirty knots. Ten kilometres or more visibility. Light rain showers. Broken CB one thousand five hundred feet.

Aerodrome actual weather - METAR and SPECI decode

CODE ELEMENT

EXAMPLE

DECODE

NOTES

1 Identification*

METAR or SPECI

METAR

METAR — aviation routine report, SPECI — selected special (not from UK civil aerodromes)

Location indicator

EGLL

London Heathrow

Station four-letter indicator

Date/Time

291020Z

'ten twenty Zulu on the 29th'

Usually omitted when METARS are presented in bulletin.

2 Wind

Wind direction/speed

31015G27KT

'three one zero degrees, fifteen knots, max twenty seven knots'

Max only given if >= 10KT greater than the mean. VRB = variable. 00000KT = calm.

Extreme direction variance

280V350

'varying between two eight zero and three five zero degrees'

Variation given in clockwise direction, but only when mean speed is greater than 3 KT.

3 Visibility

Minimum visibility

1400SW

'one thousand four hundred metres to south-west'

0000 = 'less than 50 metres' 9999 = 'ten kilometres or more'. Direction (given by eight-point compass) is appended to the minimum visibility when minimum visibility is <= 5000m and maximum is at least 50% greater than this. .

Maximum visibility

6000N

'six thousand metres to the north'

Given where minimum visibility < 1500 m and maximum > 5000 m.

4 RVR

R27R/1100

'RVR, runway two seven right, one thousand one hunded metres'

RVR tendency (U = increasing; D = decreasing; N = no change; not reported in UK at present) may be added after figure e.g. R27R/1100D P1500 = more than 1500 m; M0050 = less than 50 m. Significant variations — example : R24/0950V1100, i.e. varying between two values.

5 Present weather

+SHRA

'heavy rain showers'

+ = Heavy (well developed in the case of +FC and +PO); - = Light; no qualifier = Moderate.

BC=Patches	BL=Blowing	BR=Mist	DR=Drifting
DS=Duststorm	DU=Dust	DZ=Drizzle	FC=Funnel cloud
FG=Fog	FU=Smoke	FZ=Freezing	GR=Hail (>5mm)
GS=Small hail or snow pellets	HZ=Haze	IC=Ice crystals	MI=Shallow
PL=Ice pellets	PO=Dust devils	PR=Banks	RA=Rain
SA=Sand	SH=Showers	SG=Snow grains	SN=Snow
SQ=Squalls	SS=Sandstorm	TS=Thunderstorm	VA=Volcanic ash
VC=In vicinity
Up to three groups may be present, constructed by selecting and combining from the above. Group omitted if no weather to report.

6 Cloud

FEW005 BKN025 SCT010CB

'few at five hundred feet, scattered cumulonimbus at one thousand feet, broken at two thousand five hundred feet'

SKC=Sky clear (0 oktas), FEW='few' (1-2 oktas), SCT='Scattered' (3-4 oktas), BKN='Broken' (5-7 oktas), OVC='Overcast'. There are only two cloud types reported; TCU=towering cumulus and CB=cumulonimbus. W///='state of sky obscured' (cloud base not discernable): Figures in lieu of '///' give vertical visibility in hundreds of feet. Up to three, but occasionally more, cloud groups may be reported.

7 CAVOK#

CAVOK

'cav-oh-kay'

Visibility greater or equal to 10 km, no cumulonimbus, no cloud below 5000 ft or highest MSA (greater) and no weather significant to aviation.

8 Temp and dew point

10/03

'temperature ten degrees Celsius, dew point three degrees Celsius'

If dew point is missing, example would be reported as 10///.

9 QNH*

Q0995

'nine nine five'

Q indicates millibars. If the letter A is used QNH is in inches and hundredths.

10 Recent weather

RETS

'recent thunderstorm'

RE = Recent, weather codes given above. Up to three groups may be present.

11 Wind shear

WS RWY24

'wind shear runway two four'

Will not be reported at present for UK aerodromes.

12 Trend

BECMG FM1100 23035G50KT TEMPO FM0630 TL 0830 3000 SHRA

'becoming from 1100, 230 degrees 35 KT , max 50 KT, temporarily from 0630 until 0830, 3000 metres, Moderate rain shower's

BECMG=Becoming	TEMPO=Temporarily	NOSIG=No sig change
NSW=No sig weather	AT=At	FM=From
TL=Until	NSC=No sig cloud
Any of the wind forecast, visibility, weather or cloud groups may be used, and CAVOK. Multiple groups may be present.

*Indicates a mandatory code element #CAVOK will replace visibility and cloud groups

Example
SAUK02 EGGY 301220 METAR
EGLY 24015KT 200V280 8000 —RA FEW010 BKN025 OVC080 18/15
Q0983 TEMPO 3000 RA BKN008 OVC020=

An example of the above METAR for 1220 UTC on the 30th of the month, in plain language:
EGLY: Surface wind: mean 240 deg true, 15 kn; varying between 200 and 280 deg; minimum vis 8 km; light rain; cloud; 1-2 oktas base 1000 ft , 5-7 oktas 2500 ft, 8 oktas 8000 ft; temperature +18 °C, dew point +15°C; QNH 983 mb; Trend: temporarily 3000 m in moderate rain with 5-7 oktas 800 ft, 8 oktas 2000 ft.

Example
SAUK02 EGGY 301220 METAR
EGPZ 30025G37KT 270V360 1200NE 6000S +SHSN SCT005 BKN010CB
03/M01 Q0999 RETS BECMG AT1300 NSW SCT015 BKN100=

An example of the above METAR for 1220 UTC on the 30th of the month, in plain language:
EGPZ: Surface wind: mean 300 deg true, 25 kn; maximum 37 kn, varying between 270 and 360 deg; minimum vis 1200 m (to north-east), maximum vis 6 km (to south); heavy shower of snow, Cloud; 3-4 oktas base 500 ft , 5-7 oktas CB base 1000 ft, temperature +3°C, dew point -1°C; QNH 999 mb; Thunderstorm since the previous report; Trend: improving at 1300 Zulu to 10 km or more, nil weather, 3-4 oktas 1500 ft, 5-7 oktas 10,000 ft.

Please email me at weather.guru@hotmail.co.uk with any suggestions for inclusion.