Definition
A current surface weather observation for an airport presented as a coded string of letters and numbers, displayed on an MFD or EFIS as text rather than as a graphical depiction. The report includes wind, visibility, weather phenomena, sky condition, temperature, dew point, and altimeter setting in standard METAR format.
Plain English
The current weather at an airport, shown on the screen as a line of coded text instead of pictures or symbols.
Context Anchor
Seen on an MFD or other cockpit weather display when a pilot selects an airport or weather product to read the latest reported airport conditions.
Derivation
METAR comes from the French Message d'Observation Météorologique Régulière pour l'Aviation, meaning routine aviation weather observation. 'Textual' simply means the information appears as written code rather than as a graphic.
Why Pilots Care
Gives the pilot the exact coded weather details needed for preflight and enroute decisions without leaving the cockpit display.
Intuition Check
Do not assume “textual” means unofficial or less useful than a graphic display. Here it means the same reported airport weather is being shown as written information, and METAR means a current observation, not a forecast.
Example Sentence 1
On the MFD weather page, the pilot pulled up the textual METAR data for the destination and noted the wind had shifted to favor Runway 27.
Example Sentence 2
Even with graphical weather shown, the pilot reviewed the textual METAR data to confirm ceiling and temperature values.