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How to Read a METAR and TAF for the Part 107 Test

Last updated October 5, 2026

A METAR is a coded report of the weather observed at an airport, and a TAF is a coded forecast for the area within 5 statute miles of the center of an airport’s runway complex. Read either one a group at a time, left to right: station, time in UTC, (in a TAF) valid period, wind, visibility, weather, clouds, then (in a METAR) temperature, dewpoint, altimeter and remarks (Aviation Weather Handbook, FAA-H-8083-28B, sections 24.4 and 27.4). Weather is a small part of the Part 107 test, so learn the codes below well and then move on.

Everything here is as of October 2026. The Aviation Weather Handbook (AWH) was signed on April 2, 2026 (preface, p. iii) and is the source for every decoding rule below. Page numbers are its printed pages.

METAR and TAF at a glance

METAR TAF
What it is A surface weather observation A forecast of conditions significant to aviation
Area The reporting station Within 5 SM of the center of the runway complex
When Near the top of each hour; a SPECI is an unscheduled report in between Scheduled at 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800Z
Time span The moment of observation Usually 24 hours; 30 hours at some major airports
Temperature Yes Not in National Weather Service TAFs

Sources: AWH pp. 24-5 and 24-6 (METAR, SPECI); pp. 27-6 and 27-8 (TAF). TAFs use the same weather codes as METARs (AWH p. 27-6), so learning one gets you most of the other.

How much of the test is weather?

Weather (ACS area UA.III) is 5% of the items on the 60-question test, about 3 questions (PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin, effective September 29, 2025, p. 4). Older material quotes 11 to 16% from the ACS appendix (Remote Pilot ACS, FAA-S-ACS-10B, p. A-1), but the PSI bulletin is the current split. Our Part 107 test format guide covers all five areas.

Those few questions can come from anywhere in the weather area. Task A, Sources of Weather, lists internet weather briefings, METARs (UA.III.A.K2), TAFs (UA.III.A.K3), weather charts, and ASOS/AWOS. Task B covers how weather affects performance, from density altitude to lightning. Both tasks are knowledge only; their skills sections read “Not Applicable” (ACS, pp. 11-12).

The testing supplement, FAA-CT-8080-2H, has a page of coded METARs (Figure 12) and one of coded TAFs (Figure 15). The FAA says candidates keep access to their supplement until supplements are removed from test centers, and that date has not been set (Airman Testing Community Advisory, September 2026 Special Edition, p. 5). Many weather services also show a decoded version, but the AWH says you should still be able to decode a report in case your source does not (p. 24-5).

Reading a METAR, group by group

  1. Type and station. METAR (routine) or SPECI (special) comes first. In the contiguous US the identifier is K plus a three-letter code (AWH p. 24-8).
  2. Date and time. Day of the month, hour and minutes, then Z for UTC (p. 24-9).
  3. Modifier. AUTO is a fully automated report with no human intervention; COR is a corrected report (p. 24-9).
  4. Wind. Three digits for the direction the wind is coming from, relative to true north, then the speed in knots and KT. G plus a number is the gust. VRB is a variable direction at 6 knots or less. Two directions joined by V mean the direction varied by 60 degrees or more at more than 6 knots. 00000KT is calm (p. 24-10).
  5. Visibility. Surface visibility in statute miles, ending in SM, with a space before a fraction (1 1/2SM). At automated stations, a leading M means “less than” (p. 24-11).
  6. Present weather. “-” is light, no sign is moderate, “+” is heavy. VC means 5 to 10 SM from the station. Common codes: RA rain, SN snow, SH showers, TS thunderstorm, BR mist, FG fog, HZ haze (pp. 24-12 and 24-13).
  7. Sky condition. FEW, SCT (scattered), BKN (broken) or OVC (overcast), then the base height in hundreds of feet above ground level (AGL). VV is vertical visibility into an obscured sky. CLR means an automated station detected no clouds at or below 12,000 feet; SKC means an observer saw none (pp. 24-15 and 24-16).
  8. Ceiling. The lowest layer reported as broken or overcast, or the vertical visibility if the sky is totally obscured (p. 24-16).
  9. Temperature and dewpoint. Whole degrees Celsius; M means below zero, so M05/M09 is -5°C with a dewpoint of -9°C (p. 24-18).
  10. Altimeter. A plus four digits in inches of mercury, no decimal point: A2992 is 29.92 (p. 24-18).
  11. Remarks. Everything after RMK. AO2 marks an automated station with a precipitation discriminator (AO1 has none). SLP is sea level pressure in millibars with the hundreds and thousands digits left off (pp. 24-18, 24-20 and 24-24).

Worked example 1: an original METAR

The station KQQQ and every value here are invented for illustration.

METAR KQQQ 141756Z AUTO 31012G22KT 270V340 4SM -RA BR BKN008 OVC015 08/06 A2988 RMK AO2 SLP121

Group Meaning AWH page
141756Z 14th day of the month, 1756 UTC 24-9
AUTO Fully automated report 24-9
31012G22KT 270V340 Wind from 310° true at 12 knots gusting to 22, direction varying between 270° and 340° 24-10
4SM Visibility 4 statute miles 24-11
-RA BR Light rain, mist 24-12, 24-14
BKN008 Broken layer at 800 feet AGL: the ceiling 24-16, 24-17
OVC015 Overcast layer at 1,500 feet AGL 24-16
08/06 Temperature 8°C, dewpoint 6°C 24-18
A2988 Altimeter 29.88 inches of mercury 24-18
RMK AO2 Remarks: automated station with a precipitation discriminator 24-20
SLP121 Sea level pressure 1012.1 millibars 24-24

What it means for a drone flight. Part 107 requires at least 3 statute miles of flight visibility, observed from your control station, and at least 500 feet below and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds (14 CFR 107.51(c) and (d)). The METAR gives surface visibility at the station (AWH p. 24-11), not your flight visibility, so you still judge it where you stand. With a broken layer at 800 feet AGL, staying 500 feet below it means flying no higher than 300 feet AGL, if the base over your site matches the report. Local weather is part of your required preflight assessment (14 CFR 107.49(a)(1)). The rules cheat sheet lists the other limits.

Reading a TAF, group by group

  1. Type. TAF (routine), TAF AMD (amended) or TAF COR (corrected). An amended TAF replaces the previous one as soon as it is issued (AWH pp. 27-7 and 27-8).
  2. Station and issue time. Day and time in UTC with a Z (p. 27-8).
  3. Valid period. Start day and hour, a slash, end day and hour: 0912/1012 runs from the 9th at 1200 UTC to the 10th at 1200 UTC. A midnight UTC end time is written as 24 (p. 27-8).
  4. Wind and visibility. Wind as in a METAR, from true north (p. 27-9). P6SM means more than 6 SM (p. 27-10).
  5. Weather and clouds. Same codes as the METAR. Heights are hundreds of feet AGL, and the ceiling is the lowest level where cover adds up to 5/8 or more (BKN, OVC or VV). CB is the only cloud type a TAF includes, and CLR is not used (pp. 27-13 and 27-14).

Change groups. National Weather Service TAFs use three (AWH pp. 27-15 to 27-17):

  • FM (from) plus day, hour and minutes: conditions change significantly within less than an hour, and the FM group replaces everything before it with a complete new forecast.
  • TEMPO: temporary fluctuations with a greater than 50 percent chance, lasting one hour or less each time and covering less than half of the period in total. Only elements that change are listed; anything left out stays as forecast.
  • PROB30: a 30 percent chance of a thunderstorm or precipitation event in the stated hours. It is the only PROB group in NWS TAFs.

You may see BECMG. The AWH shows it only in examples from some joint civil and military airports, whose TAF format differs from the NWS format, and does not decode it (pp. 27-17 and 27-18). The testing supplement’s TAF page (Figure 15) does use BECMG and PROB40 groups, and the AWH says U.S. military and international TAFs may use PROB40 (p. 27-17). For NWS TAFs, focus on FM, TEMPO and PROB30.

Worked example 2: an original TAF

Again, KQQQ and all values are invented.

TAF KQQQ 141720Z 1418/1518 22008KT P6SM SCT035
     TEMPO 1420/1423 4SM -SHRA BKN025
     FM150200 30015G25KT 3SM BR OVC009
     FM151000 32010KT P6SM BKN030 PROB30 1512/1516 2SM TSRA OVC015CB
Group Meaning AWH page
141720Z Issued on the 14th at 1720 UTC 27-8
1418/1518 Valid from the 14th at 1800 UTC to the 15th at 1800 UTC 27-8
22008KT P6SM SCT035 Wind from 220° true at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 SM, scattered clouds at 3,500 feet AGL (no ceiling) 27-9, 27-10, 27-14
TEMPO 1420/1423 4SM -SHRA BKN025 Between 2000 and 2300 UTC on the 14th, temporarily 4 SM in light rain showers with a 2,500-foot broken ceiling; no wind is listed, so it stays 220° at 8 knots 27-16
FM150200 30015G25KT 3SM BR OVC009 From the 15th at 0200 UTC: wind 300° at 15 gusting to 25, 3 SM in mist, ceiling 900 feet overcast 27-9, 27-12, 27-15
FM151000 32010KT P6SM BKN030 From the 15th at 1000 UTC: wind 320° at 10, more than 6 SM, ceiling 3,000 feet broken 27-15
PROB30 1512/1516 2SM TSRA OVC015CB 30 percent chance, 1200 to 1600 UTC on the 15th, of 2 SM in a thunderstorm with rain, ceiling 1,500 feet overcast with cumulonimbus 27-12, 27-17

Two details: in a TAF, fog that cuts visibility to between 5/8 and 6 SM is coded BR (mist), and below 5/8 SM it is FG. And whenever thunderstorms are forecast, the cloud group carries CB (AWH p. 27-12).

Try it: two original practice questions

1. An automated METAR contains 3/4SM BR OVC004 M01/M02. Which is correct?

  • A. Temperature -1°C; ceiling 400 feet AGL
  • B. Temperature 1°C; ceiling 4,000 feet AGL
  • C. Temperature -1°C; ceiling 4,000 feet MSL

Answer: A. M means minus (AWH p. 24-18). Heights are hundreds of feet AGL, so OVC004 is 400 feet, and an overcast layer is a ceiling (p. 24-16).

2. In worked example 2, what wind is forecast for 2100 UTC on the 14th?

  • A. From 220° at 8 knots
  • B. Not forecast
  • C. Calm

Answer: A. 2100 UTC is inside TEMPO 1420/1423, which lists no wind. A TEMPO group includes only the elements that change, so the earlier wind still applies (AWH p. 27-16).

A short study plan

At about 3 of 60 questions, weather deserves one or two short sessions on reports. Regulations (48%) and Operations (25%) deserve far more of your time (PSI bulletin, p. 4).

  1. Read AWH section 24.4 (from p. 24-5) and section 27.4 (pp. 27-6 to 27-21), skimming the remarks tables.
  2. Decode the two worked examples above without the tables, then check yourself.
  3. Decode a few real reports for a nearby airport from aviationweather.gov (the AWH preface points to it) before reading the plain-language version.
  4. The Remote Pilot Study Guide, FAA-G-8082-22 is dated August 2016. Its METAR and TAF pages (chapter 3a, pp. 15-19) are short, and its sample TAF on p. 19 leaves out the opening wind, visibility and cloud groups that its own explanation decodes. Use the AWH for detail.
  5. Finish with questions on the Weather topic page.

Common mistakes

  • Reading cloud heights as MSL or full numbers. BKN008 is 800 feet above the ground (AWH pp. 24-16 and 27-14).
  • Calling a scattered layer a ceiling. Only broken, overcast or vertical visibility counts (pp. 24-16 and 27-14).
  • Using local time. Report times end in Z for UTC (pp. 24-9 and 27-8).
  • Treating TEMPO like FM. FM replaces the whole forecast; TEMPO changes only what it lists (pp. 27-15 and 27-16).
  • Mixing up the two Ms. Before a temperature it means minus; before a visibility it means “less than” (pp. 24-11 and 24-18).

Common questions

Is the wind in a METAR true or magnetic?

True. Both METARs and TAFs give the direction the wind is coming from relative to true north (AWH pp. 24-10 and 27-9).

What is the ceiling in a METAR?

The lowest broken (BKN) or overcast (OVC) layer, or the vertical visibility (VV) if the sky is totally obscured (AWH p. 24-16).

How many weather questions are on the Part 107 test?

About 3 of the 60 scored questions: weather is 5% of the items as of October 2026 (PSI UAG Applicant Information Bulletin, effective September 29, 2025, p. 4).

How far from the airport does a TAF apply?

Within 5 statute miles of the center of the airport’s runway complex (AWH p. 27-6).

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