Plain English Meaning

The sky above the station is completely covered by a layer of cloud, with the base of that layer at the height shown.

Full Definition

A sky condition reported in a METAR when 8/8 (all eight oktas) of the sky is covered by clouds at a given layer. OVC is the densest of the standard sky cover reports, sitting above FEW (1–2/8), SCT (3–4/8), and BKN (5–7/8). It is followed by a three-digit number giving the height of the cloud base in hundreds of feet above ground level (e.g., OVC050 = overcast layer at 5,000 feet AGL).

Context Anchor

Seen in METAR weather reports, especially in the sky condition part of the , such as OVC008 or OVC025.