Metro-02
Meteorology and Flight Planning
4.
To help remember the sequence, think of 3 W's at
the beginning -- Where, When, and Wind. This
works for both METAR and TAF
a.
Where
(1) KPIT is the ICAO station identifier
(a) 3-letter identifiers are preceded by a
"K" for the contiguous United States
(b) Alaska and Hawaii use 4-letter
identifiers, beginning with "PA" and
"PH," respectively
(c) Changes are planned to incorporate
alphabetic identifiers for those weather
reporting stations where numbers and
letters are now used (e.g., W10 to
KHEF)
b.
When
(1) 201955Z is the 20th day of the month
(2) 201955Z at 1955Z time
c.
Wind
(1) 22015G25KT -- reported as the 3-digit true
direction to the nearest 10 degrees
NOTE: ATC towers, ATIS and airport
advisory service report wind as magnetic.
(2) 22015G25KT -- the 2- or 3-digit speed
(3) 22015G25KT -- if the wind is gusting
(4) 22015G25KT -- 2- or 3-digit maximum
speed and units
NOTE: 00000KT -- calm winds.
(7-97) Original
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