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Aviation vocabulary · Aviation Weather

METAR

Meaning in aviation, with examples

abbreviationCommon term

In aviation, METAR means: A routine weather report for an airport, issued every 30 or 60 minutes in a short code: wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature and pressure.

In Turkish: METAR, meydan hava raporu

How it is used

Pilots and dispatchers read the METARs for the departure, destination and alternate airports. A TAF is a forecast written in a similar code, and a special report issued between routine ones is a SPECI.

Example sentences

  1. The latest METAR shows fog with visibility 300 metres.

  2. Can you read me the METAR for Antalya before we start?

Common collocations

  • latest METAR
  • read the METAR
  • METAR and TAF
  • decode a METAR
  • visibilityThe greatest distance at which objects can be clearly seen and identified, reported in metres or kilometres in most countries and in statute miles in the US.
  • ceilingThe height above the ground of the lowest layer of cloud that covers more than half of the sky. A low ceiling can make an approach impossible.
  • cumulonimbusA very tall, dense thunderstorm cloud that can bring lightning, hail, heavy rain, severe turbulence, icing and wind shear. Pilots avoid flying into it.
  • QNHThe pressure setting that makes an altimeter show altitude above mean sea level. With QNH set, an altimeter on the ground shows the airport's elevation.

More terms: Aviation Weather

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