Updated October 2026
A METAR is an airport's routine surface weather report, written in a fixed order: station, date and time, wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature and dew point, altimeter setting, then remarks. The Van Nuys station sends one at 51 minutes past every hour, plus a special report called a SPECI whenever the weather changes enough to matter. A TAF is the forecast, written in the same code.
Once the code is familiar you read either one in under a minute. Every example here is a real Van Nuys report from October 2026, including a foggy 27 October that went through all four flight categories before breakfast. A live decoder further down shows today's.
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What A METAR Is And When It Is Issued
METAR is the international name for an aviation routine weather report. In the US, airport observations come from automated systems on the field, with human observers adding to them at some larger airports. The routine METAR goes out on a fixed schedule. A SPECI goes out between them when a change crosses a threshold in the SPECI table of AIM 7-1-2. Examples: a wind shift of 45 degrees or more in under 15 minutes with 10 knots or more of wind, or a ceiling or visibility passing a set value.
On the morning of 27 October 2026 the Van Nuys station sent seven SPECIs between 4:11 and 5:16 AM as fog formed over the field and lifted again. A burst of specials is information in itself. It means the weather is moving fast.
Every time in a METAR is UTC, marked with a Z. Los Angeles is UTC minus 7 on daylight time and minus 8 on standard time, which starts on 1 November 2026. So 1451Z on 27 October was 7:51 AM local. After the clocks change, the same 1451Z report will be 6:51 AM.
A Real KVNY METAR Decoded Line By Line
Here is the report sent at 7:51 AM on Tuesday 27 October 2026, as the morning stratus was breaking up:
METAR KVNY 271451Z 33004KT 10SM SCT009 BKN014 12/09 A3001 RMK AO2 SLP158 T01220089 53008
| Group | Meaning |
|---|---|
| METAR | Routine report. A special one would start SPECI. |
| KVNY | Van Nuys Airport |
| 271451Z | 27th of the month, 14:51 UTC, which was 7:51 AM in Los Angeles |
| 33004KT | Wind from 330° true at 4 knots |
| 10SM | Visibility 10 statute miles |
| SCT009 | Scattered cloud at 900 feet above the ground |
| BKN014 | Broken cloud at 1,400 feet above the ground. This is the ceiling. |
| 12/09 | Temperature 12°C, dew point 9°C |
| A3001 | Altimeter setting 30.01 inches of mercury |
| RMK AO2 | Remarks follow. Automated station with a sensor that tells rain from snow. |
| SLP158 | Sea-level pressure 1015.8 hectopascals |
| T01220089 | Temperature 12.2°C and dew point 8.9°C, to the tenth |
| 53008 | Pressure rising over the last three hours, by 0.8 hectopascal |
In plain English: a light north-westerly, good visibility, a ragged layer at 900 feet and a broken ceiling at 1,400, cool and fairly moist. Flight category MVFR.
The live panel below shows the current Van Nuys METAR and TAF translated the same way. It refreshes itself, so whatever it says when you read this will not match the example above.
Wind, Visibility, Weather Codes, Sky Condition, Temperature, Altimeter
Wind is three digits of direction and two or three of speed in knots, and the direction in a METAR is referenced to true north. The ATIS, the tower and the automated voice broadcasts give it in magnetic degrees instead (AIM 7-1-10). With about 12° of east variation here, a METAR wind of 330° is roughly 318° magnetic, which matters when you work a crosswind for runway 34L. 00000KT is calm, VRB03KT is variable at 3 knots, 26015G25KT is gusting to 25, and a group such as 240V300 shows the direction swinging.
Visibility is in statute miles, fractions included: 3/4SM, 1 1/2SM. When it drops to a mile or less, the report adds runway visual range. R16R/1200VP6000FT means the visual range on runway 16R was varying between 1,200 feet and more than 6,000.
| Code | Meaning |
|---|---|
| - and + | Light and heavy. No sign means moderate. |
| RA, DZ, SH | Rain, drizzle, showers (-SHRA is light rain showers) |
| TS | Thunderstorm |
| BR, FG | Mist, and fog, which is reported when visibility is below 5/8 mile |
| HZ, FU | Haze, smoke. FU is the one to watch in fire season. |
| VC | In the vicinity, roughly 5 to 10 miles from the airport (VCSH, VCTS) |
| FEW, SCT | One to two eighths, three to four eighths of the sky covered |
| BKN, OVC | Five to seven eighths, all eight eighths. Either one makes a ceiling. |
| VV | Vertical visibility into an obscuration, such as fog. Also a ceiling. |
| CLR | No cloud below 12,000 feet detected by the automated sensor |
Cloud heights are in hundreds of feet above the ground, not above sea level. The ceiling is the lowest layer reported broken or overcast, or the vertical visibility into an obscuration. That is the 14 CFR 1.1 definition, and it is the number 91.155 cares about. SCT009 BKN014 has a ceiling of 1,400 feet, not 900.
Temperature and dew point are whole degrees Celsius, with an M for minus. Watch the spread. At 12/12 the air is saturated, and the 4:51 AM report on 27 October showed exactly that, three-quarters of a mile in mist under a 100-foot vertical visibility. The altimeter group is inches of mercury without the decimal point: A3001 is 30.01, A2990 is 29.90.
Remarks Section Codes (AO2, SLP, PRESFR, Peak Wind)
Everything after RMK is remarks. Most of it is housekeeping for meteorologists, but a few groups tell a pilot something useful.
| Remark | Meaning | KVNY Example |
|---|---|---|
| AO1, AO2 | Automated station without, or with, a precipitation discriminator | AO2 on every report |
| AUTO | In the body: no human augmented the report | 281251Z AUTO |
| COR | A corrected report | 281451Z COR |
| SLPppp | Sea-level pressure in hectopascals; put 10 or 9 in front | SLP158 is 1015.8 |
| T group | Temperature and dew point to a tenth; a 1 in the sign position means below zero | T01220089 |
| 1 and 2 groups | Six-hour maximum and minimum temperature, at 00, 06, 12 and 18Z | 10167 20117: 16.7°C and 11.7°C |
| 4 group | 24-hour maximum and minimum, sent around local midnight | 402440111: 24.4°C and 11.1°C |
| 5appp | Three-hour pressure tendency: a trend code, then the change in tenths | 53008 |
| PK WND | Peak wind direction, speed and the minute it happened | None in this period |
| WSHFT | Time of a wind shift, often a front passing | None in this period |
| PRESFR, PRESRR | Pressure falling, or rising, rapidly | None in this period |
The last three never appeared in the calm late-October week used for this page. When a Santa Ana blows you will see PK WND groups, and a front usually leaves a WSHFT behind it.
How To Read A TAF (Valid Period, FM, TEMPO, PROB30)
A TAF, terminal aerodrome forecast, comes from a National Weather Service forecast office. It is valid for 24 or 30 hours and amended as required (AIM 7-1-1). This real Van Nuys TAF was issued at 0129Z on 12 October 2026, 6:29 PM on the 11th in Los Angeles:
TAF KVNY 120129Z 1201/1224 18010KT P6SM SCT060 BKN120 PROB30 1201/1206 -SHRA FM120600 VRB03KT P6SM BKN050 OVC100 PROB30 1206/1212 -SHRA FM121800 19005KT P6SM BKN050 OVC100 FM122200 19009KT P6SM OVC100
| Group | Meaning | Local Time |
|---|---|---|
| 1201/1224 | Valid from 01Z on the 12th to 24Z | 6 PM on the 11th to 5 PM on the 12th |
| 18010KT P6SM SCT060 BKN120 | Wind 180° at 10 knots, more than 6 miles, scattered 6,000, broken 12,000 | From 6 PM |
| PROB30 1201/1206 -SHRA | 30 percent chance of light rain showers | 6 PM to 11 PM |
| FM120600 VRB03KT P6SM BKN050 OVC100 | From 06Z: light and variable, broken 5,000, overcast 10,000 | From 11 PM |
| PROB30 1206/1212 -SHRA | 30 percent chance of light rain showers | 11 PM to 5 AM |
| FM121800 19005KT P6SM BKN050 OVC100 | From 18Z: 190° at 5 knots, same cloud | From 11 AM |
| FM122200 19009KT P6SM OVC100 | From 22Z: 190° at 9 knots, overcast 10,000 | From 3 PM |
For a student pilot that is a flyable day after a damp night: the lowest ceiling anywhere in it is 5,000 feet. The change groups work like this. FM (from) starts a new forecast at a stated time and means a lasting change. TEMPO marks temporary swings expected to last less than an hour at a time. PROB30 and PROB40 give a 30 or 40 percent chance of something, usually showers or thunderstorms. BECMG means a gradual change across the window it names.
In a June forecast you might meet a line such as TEMPO 2913/2916 OVC008, our example rather than a quoted TAF: an 800-foot overcast coming and going between 6 and 9 AM. That one line is the difference between a 7 AM solo and a 10 AM one.
METAR Vs TAF Vs ATIS Vs AWOS
| Source | What It Is | Wind Given In | Where You Get It |
|---|---|---|---|
| METAR, SPECI | The observation at the airport, hourly plus specials | Degrees true | aviationweather.gov, Flight Service, apps |
| TAF | The airport forecast, 24 or 30 hours | Degrees true | The same places |
| ATIS | Recorded broadcast at a towered field, with the runway in use and a phonetic letter | Degrees magnetic | Its own radio frequency, before you call ground |
| AWOS, ASOS voice | The automated sensors read out by computer voice, the source of the METAR | Degrees magnetic | A radio frequency at the field, often the only source at a non-towered airport |
ATIS (AIM 4-1-13) is the one you hear before taxi at Van Nuys. It is re-recorded with each new official observation, and you tell ground control you have it by quoting its letter.
Where To Get Them: Aviation Weather Center, Flight Service And ForeFlight
The Aviation Weather Center's site, aviationweather.gov, carries every METAR and TAF in the country, raw or decoded, plus the graphical forecasts. Flight Service gives a full briefing by phone at 1-800-WX-BRIEF or online at 1800wxbrief.com (AIM 7-1-2). Call a briefer once or twice as a student, because the briefer asks the questions you forgot. ForeFlight and similar apps pull the same reports, and our ForeFlight guide for student pilots covers which screens matter.
The law sits behind all of it. 14 CFR 91.103 requires the pilot in command of any flight not in the vicinity of an airport to become familiar with weather reports and forecasts before it starts. For a quick look before a lesson, our Van Nuys weather today page reads the current report in plain English.
Go / No-Go: Turning A METAR Into A Decision As A Student Pilot
Take the 7:51 AM report again and run it the way your instructor will.
- Is it legal? A 1,400-foot ceiling and 10 miles meet 91.155(c) and (d) for the Van Nuys surface area, and 10 miles clears the student limit of 3 in 61.89.
- Can you keep the cloud distances? Not in the traffic pattern. A scattered layer at 900 feet leaves no room to stay 500 feet below cloud at a normal pattern altitude.
- Which way is it going? The specials said up: broken at 800 feet at 7:38, 1,400 at 7:51, scattered at 1,500 by 8:51, clear by 9:51.
- What does the TAF say for your return? A layer forecast to come back in the evening changes a solo plan more than a dual one.
- Does it fit your personal minimums? If your instructor wrote a 3,000-foot ceiling for solo flights in your logbook, the answer at 7:51 was no and at 9:51 it was yes.
A legal METAR is the start of the decision. Our pages on what VFR is and on weather hazards for student pilots cover the rest, and the knowledge test asks the same questions in multiple-choice form, as our private pilot written exam guide shows.
Practice: Decode These Five METARs
All five are real Van Nuys reports from late October 2026. Try each one before you look at the answers.
SPECI KVNY 271125Z 00000KT 1/4SM R16R/1200VP6000FT FG VV001 12/12 A2999 RMK AO2 T01170117METAR KVNY 271151Z 00000KT 3/4SM R16R/3000VP6000FT BR VV001 12/12 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP148 T01170117 10167 20117 56006SPECI KVNY 271438Z 35003KT 10SM BKN008 12/09 A3001 RMK AO2 T01220094METAR KVNY 262151Z VRB03G15KT 10SM CLR 27/05 A2999 RMK AO2 SLP149 T02670050METAR KVNY 280751Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 16/13 A2996 RMK AO2 SLP139 T01560133 402440111
| Report | Plain English | Category |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4:25 AM on the 27th. Calm, a quarter mile in fog, runway 16R visual range 1,200 to more than 6,000 feet, sky obscured with 100 feet vertical visibility, 12/12. | LIFR |
| 2 | 4:51 AM. Calm, three-quarters of a mile in mist, still obscured at 100 feet. Six-hour high 16.7°C, low 11.7°C. Pressure down 0.6 hectopascal in three hours. | LIFR |
| 3 | 7:38 AM. Wind 350° at 3 knots, 10 miles, ceiling broken at 800 feet. | IFR |
| 4 | 2:51 PM on the 26th. Variable at 3 knots gusting 15, 10 miles, clear, 27°C with a dew point of 5°C. | VFR |
| 5 | 12:51 AM on the 28th, automated with no observer. Calm, clear, 16/13. 24-hour high 24.4°C, low 11.1°C. | VFR |
Related Reading
- VFR, MVFR, IFR and LIFR flight categories: the four buckets used in the answers above.
- What is VFR: the weather minimums every METAR is measured against.
- Van Nuys Airport weather today: the current report, read for you.
- The private pilot written exam: where METAR and TAF questions show up.
- Aviation weather hazards for student pilots: what the codes are warning you about.
- Learn to fly in Los Angeles: the whole process, from the first flight on.
- NOTAMs and TFRs — how to read them, the Los Angeles TFRs and where to check.
METAR And TAF FAQ
What Does METAR Stand For?
It is the international code name for an aviation routine weather report, the hourly surface observation at an airport. A special report between routine ones is a SPECI.
How Often Is A METAR Issued?
Once an hour, plus a SPECI whenever conditions cross a set threshold. Van Nuys reports at 51 minutes past each hour, and on a fast-changing morning such as 27 October 2026 the station sent seven specials in about an hour.
What Is The Difference Between A METAR And A TAF?
A METAR reports what the weather is at the airport now. A TAF forecasts what it will be, normally for 24 or 30 hours, with FM, TEMPO and PROB groups marking the changes. You plan with the TAF and confirm with the METAR.
Are METAR Times Local Or UTC?
Always UTC, marked Z. Subtract 7 hours for Los Angeles during daylight time and 8 during standard time, which begins on 1 November 2026. A 1451Z report is 7:51 AM in October and 6:51 AM in December.
Is METAR Wind True Or Magnetic?
True. The ATIS, the tower and the automated voice broadcasts give wind in magnetic degrees. Around Los Angeles the difference is about 12 degrees, so a METAR wind of 330° is about 318° on the runway compass.
How Do You Find The Ceiling In A METAR?
Look for the lowest layer marked BKN or OVC, or a VV group. In SCT009 BKN014 the ceiling is 1,400 feet above the ground, because a scattered layer never counts as a ceiling.
What Does P6SM Mean In A TAF?
Visibility forecast to be more than 6 statute miles. Automated METARs such as the Van Nuys reports top out at 10SM instead, so a TAF with P6SM and a METAR with 10SM both describe good visibility.
Read The Sky From The Left Seat
Codes stick once you have seen the cloud they describe. A discovery flight is $229 for 60 minutes from Van Nuys, flown from the left seat with an instructor who will read the morning METAR with you first. To plan a full course, book a free consultation or compare the private pilot license packages from $10,400. You can also call (818) 330-1318, 9 AM to 9 PM, seven days.
Book A Discovery Flight — $229 Book A Free Consultation Call (818) 330-1318
