Have you ever wondered how aviation weather works? Did you know that most of the surface observations come from airports across the country? The aviation field provides us a way to obtain data when a major storm rolls through or for general use. These observations are sent out hourly through the use of a METAR. A METAR is an hourly surface observation that gives us basic information such as temperature, dew point, visibility, wind speed and direction, etc. These can be a valuable resource to know what our current weather is, and what the forecast is for some time in the future.
METAR
KMIE 311853Z 33005KT 10SM CLR M05/M13 A3031 RMK AO2 SLP274 T10501128
KMIE: Muncie, Indiana Airport
311853Z: 31st of the month (31) at 1853Z (6:53 PM UTC, 1:53 PM EST) – day/time of observation
33005KT: Winds out of the NNW (330) at 5 knots (6 mph) – wind speed and direction
10SM: 10 statute mile visibility
CLR: Clear (sky conditions)
M05: Temperature is -5 C (23 F)
M13: Dew point is -13 C (9 F)
A3031: altimeter setting of 30.31 inHg (station pressure)
RMK: remark(s)
AO2: station that measures precipitation
SLP274: sea level pressure of 1027.4 mb (station pressure adjusted for sea level)
T10501128: Actual temperature is -5 C (23 F) and actual dew point is -12.8 C (9 F)
For more information on where to look at aviation weather observations, please visit the websites below.
Websites:
https://www.weather.gov/media/wrh/mesowest/metar_decode_key.pdf
