METARs are used to report weather in aviation. There are web sites that will decode the METAR for you, for example, but it is still useful to be able to decode a METAR report, and that's what you will learn here.

METAR is the Aviation Routine Weather Report and is more or less standard around the world. The temperatures are given in Celsius degrees. The atmospheric pressure however is reported in hecto pascals everywhere, but the US where the atmospheric pressure is reported in inches of mercury. For aviation purposes the standard temperature and atmospheric pressure are 59° F (15°C) and 29.92 in. Hg (1013.2 hPa).

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METAR text:
KLAX 150150Z 26010KT 10SM FEW017 BKN200 13/11 A3007 RMK AO2 SLP181 T01280106

The decoded METAR:

Conditions at: KLAX (LOS ANGELES, CA, US) observed 0150 UTC 15 January 2006
Temperature: 12.8°C (55°F)
Dewpoint: 10.6°C (51°F) [RH = 86%]
Pressure (altimeter): 30.07 inches Hg (1018.4 mb)
[Sea-level pressure: 1018.1 mb]
Winds: from the W (260 degrees) at 12 MPH (10 knots; 5.2 m/s)
Visibility: 10 or more miles (16+ km)
Ceiling: 20000 feet AGL
Clouds: few clouds at 1700 feet AGL
broken clouds at 20000 feet AGL
Weather: no significant weather observed at this time

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TAFs and METARs have similar coding, learn how to decode.

Here's a PDF file from the FAA that describes the METAR

Here's a quick guide, in html

Here's a quick guide as an image.

Then, go to the Learning Activities link on the left side of this page

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