What is a METAR?
Acronym for METeorological Aerodrome Report. METAR is the international standard code format for hourly surface weather observations which is analogous to the surface aviation observation (SA) coding currently used in the US. The acronym roughly translates from French as Aviation Routine Weather Report. It is the primary observation code used in the United States to satisfy requirements for reporting surface meteorological data. Minimum reporting requirements includes wind, visibility, runway visual range, present weather, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting.