Definition
The collection of sensors and devices at an airport that measure current weather conditions — including wind speed and direction, temperature, dew point, altimeter setting, visibility, cloud height, and precipitation — and feed that data into reports such as ATIS, AWOS, or ASOS broadcasts.
Plain English
The equipment at an airport that automatically measures the weather and supplies the numbers pilots hear on the airport's recorded weather broadcast.
Context Anchor
You encounter this term when using ATIS, airport weather reports, cockpit weather displays, or airport weather observation systems.
Derivation
Instrument comes from an old Latin idea meaning a tool or piece of equipment used to do a job. Here, the job is measuring the weather rather than controlling the airplane.
Why Pilots Care
Accurate data from these instruments lets pilots assess runway conditions, plan approaches, and decide whether to continue or divert.
Intuition Check
Do not assume weather instruments means only the gauges inside the cockpit. In this context, it can also mean airport-based sensors that measure and feed weather information into reports such as ATIS.
Example Sentence 1
The ATIS reported that the ceiling weather instrument was out of service, so the crew checked the nearest reporting station for cloud height information.
Example Sentence 2
When weather instruments detect a wind shift, the controller records a new ATIS broadcast.