Guided path
Decode the weather
Start with the raw reports and forecasts a pilot reads before a flight and learn to decode them in order, from the routine observation to the warnings that change a plan. Work through each one and the codes stop getting in the way.
9 guides in order
- Weather
How to read a METAR
A plain-language guide to decoding a METAR field by field, with a worked example and the EASA/UK and FAA differences that trip pilots up.
5 min read Read - Weather
How to read a TAF
Decode a Terminal Aerodrome Forecast: the FM, BECMG, TEMPO and PROB change groups, the validity period, and how a forecast differs from a METAR.
5 min read Read - Weather
How to read an ATIS
What the ATIS broadcast contains, how the information letter and runway-in-use work, how it differs from a METAR, and the EASA/UK and FAA conventions.
7 min read Read - Weather
How to read a SIGMET and an AIRMET
What SIGMETs and AIRMETs warn of, the phenomena codes, how long each stays valid, and a worked SIGMET decoded field by field, with the US differences.
6 min read Read - Briefing
How to read a PIREP
Decode a pilot weather report field by field, the UA and UUA types and the slash-coded elements, and see how a PIREP fills the gaps between stations.
6 min read Read - Weather
TAF change groups: TEMPO, BECMG, PROB and FM
A deeper look at the change groups that make a TAF a forecast: the meaning of FM, BECMG, TEMPO and PROB, with a worked example that decodes them in order.
5 min read Read - Weather
Turbulence reporting and intensity scales
What light, moderate, severe and extreme turbulence mean, why intensity is judged by the aircraft's reaction rather than a guess, and how pilots report it.
3 min read Read - Weather
Volcanic ash and the SIGMET
Why volcanic ash is so dangerous to aircraft, how Volcanic Ash Advisory Centres and SIGMETs warn you, and why an ash SIGMET runs longer and starts earlier.
4 min read Read - Weather
Runway visual range (RVR)
What RVR is, how a transmissometer or forward-scatter meter measures it, why it differs from reported visibility, and how to decode the RVR group.
7 min read Read