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METAR Information

As a method of checking the data from Kingsteignton Weather, I download the "Meteorological Services to Airmen Reports", or METARs, which are published regularly by the professionals at all airports. The nearest to Kingsteignton is Exeter International, located 23.6km to the north east, but I also download METARs from Plymouth airport, 39.7km to the west south west, and Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton, 84.1km to the east north east.
Exeter Airport, 2010.03.11 2050 UTC
Sky conditions partly cloudy_
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Weather conditions 9999 SCT035
Air pressure 30.24 in. Hg (1024 hPa)
Humidity 74%
Dew point 30 F
Temperature 3 C
Wind NNW (340 degrees) at 3 MPH (3 KT):)
Visibility greater than 7 mile(s)
Plymouth / Roborough, 2010.03.11 2050 UTC
Sky conditions mostly clear_
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Weather conditions CAVOK
Air pressure 30.24 in. Hg (1024 hPa)
Humidity 74%
Dew point 28 F
Temperature 2 CW
Wind NNE (020 degrees) at 5 MPH (4 KT):)
Visibility greater than 7 mile(s)
Yeovilton, 2010.03.11 1950 UTC
Sky conditions mostly clear_
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Weather conditions 9999NDV FEW04
Air pressure 30.24 in. Hg (1024 hPa)
Humidity 80%
Dew point 30 F
Temperature 2 C
Wind NW (310 degrees) at 2 MPH (2 KT)
Visibility 4 mile(s)

OK, the weather conditions part might be a little hard to understand, so here's an explanation:

  • The first 4 figure number is the visibility in metres. 4 zeros indicates that visibility is less than 50m, 4 nines means 10km or more. You will probably see "NDV" after this on the Yeovilton METAR. This means the observation has "No Directional Variation reporting capability" and is taken automatically rather than by eye.
  • Next there may be a weather condition description, but not always. For example, HZ means Haze, FG is Fog, RA is Rain, you get the idea.
  • Next is cloud information. FEW015 means few clouds at flight level 015, or 1500 feet. BKN250 means broken cloud at flight level 250, or 25,000 feet. There may well be more than one of these. "CAVOK" means Cloud And Visibility OK.
  • If there is anything you don't understand, this is a good link for an explanation.