Definition
METARs are routine surface weather observations issued for airports, typically once per hour, in a standardized international format. Each report describes the actual weather conditions observed at the station at the time of the report, including wind, visibility, present weather, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting. Special non-routine reports issued between hourly observations when conditions change significantly are called SPECIs, but they share the METAR format.
Plain English
METARs are short, standardized weather reports for airports, usually put out every hour, telling you what the weather is actually doing at that airport right now.
Context Anchor
Pilots see METARs during preflight weather planning, in weather briefings, and in flight planning apps when checking current airport weather.
Derivation
METAR comes from the French phrase Météorologique Aviation Régulière, meaning 'routine aviation weather.' The format is set internationally by ICAO so a pilot in any country can read a report from any other country in the same coded layout.
Why Pilots Care
METARs give pilots the actual conditions at departure, destination, and alternate airports so they can decide whether it is safe to take off, land, or divert.
Intuition Check
Do not read a METAR as a forecast. A METAR reports weather that was observed at the reporting airport at the report time.
Example Sentence 1
Before departing, the pilot pulled up METARs for the departure, destination, and alternate airports to confirm conditions were within limits.
Example Sentence 2
Updated METARs showed improving visibility, allowing the flight to depart as scheduled.