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Decoding a METAR - XKCD (xkcd.com)

submitted 4 days ago* (last edited 4 days ago) by Deme to c/aviation

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Alt text for the comic embedded in the link: An XKCD comic about how to decode a METAR:

METAR - "Meter" (Usually misspelled)

KNYC - Station ID

251600Z - Time (25:16:002)

18035G45KT - Wind speed has been 18,035 knots for a good 45 minutes now.

6SM - Observer is a size 6 small.

VCFCFZVA - Sorry, the station cat walked on the keyboard.

+BLUP - Weird noise the sky made earlier.

NOSIG - The observer has no significant other :(

LTG OHD - We overheard someone saying there was lightning.

A3808 - Hey look, an Airbus A380-800!

RMK - Remarkable!

A02 - Fanfic archive equipped with a precipitation sensor.

SLP130= - Observer got sleepy around 1:30.

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[–] Deme 1 points 4 days ago

I had to do a double take when I first saw that "RASH" in the comment above. Is there a place where it's written like that instead of just SHRA or was that just a joke? Generally the pattern is always [intensity][descriptive attribute][phenomena], but the US system has so many deviations from the international standards that I can't be certain.