Definition
In the context of automated weather observing systems, subjective elements are aspects of a weather observation that depend on human judgment or interpretation rather than direct sensor measurement, such as identifying cloud types, evaluating overall sky condition beyond the sensor's narrow field of view, or noting operationally significant remarks. ASOS and AWSS measure objective elements (temperature, dew point, wind, visibility, precipitation) directly, but cannot independently report subjective elements without human augmentation.
Plain English
Parts of a weather report that require a person to look, judge, and decide, rather than something a machine can simply measure.
Context Anchor
Seen in discussions of automated weather reports, especially when comparing a fully automated ASOS/AWSS report with one that has human observation or added remarks.
Derivation
From Latin subjectivus, meaning 'belonging to the one who perceives.' In weather reporting, it points to elements that depend on a human's perception rather than a sensor's reading.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots know these portions of the report may vary between observers and require extra caution when planning flights near marginal weather.
Intuition Check
Do not read subjective as meaning unreliable or made up. Here it means observed or judged by a person, rather than measured directly by an automatic sensor.
Example Sentence 1
Because the airport's ASOS station has no human augmentation, subjective elements like cloud type and distant weather are not included in the report.
Example Sentence 2
Before departure the pilot checked the METAR for any subjective elements added by the observer regarding cloud layers.