INSTRUCTIONS: Convert the following SA reports to METAR format. Refer to the SA-METAR training block as needed. Solutions are provided along with an explanation of the conversion. Your answer does not need to duplicate the solution exactly to be correct. The conversion of the Fahrenheit temperatures to Celsius should expect a variance of 1º.
Note: All Observations are at a manual station taken on the 23rd day of the month.
1. CNU SA 1950 CLR 15 202/87/63/0000/013
2. OKC SA 1655 M50 BKN 90 BKN 120 OVC 7 120/72/59/2915/985
3. PIT SA 2250 30 SCT E100 BKN 10 121/84/79/2410/986/ SCT V BKN RWU W-NW
(The observer has determined the rain showers are about 7 miles from the station)
4. OMA SA 2151 30 SCT 80 SCT 250 SCT 12 101/93/68/E1310/982/TCU SW-W
(TCU is associated with the lowest layer)
5. PIT SP 1935 M10 OVC 3/4TRW+ 2215G25/992/ R22LVR28 TB33 OVHD MOVG E FQT LTGICCCCG ALQDS
(The observer has determined the sea-level pressure to be 184, and the temperature and dew point to be 64/62, respectively.)
6. ABI SA 1252 3 SCT 7 -BKN M15 OVC 3R-S-F 139/34/30/2708/004/ VSBY N-E 2 SB38
(The observer has determined that snow then rain are predominate weather phenomena.)
7. LAX SA 1650 -X E250 BKN 2FH 115/76/73/2003/987/ FH5
8. ALO RS 1153 E10 OVC 2SG-F 142/34/33/0118G26/992/ SE20RE30SGB35 WND 33V07 PCPN VRY LGT
(The observer has determined that snow grains is the predominate weather phenomena.)
9. DFW SA 2050 W3 X 1/4L-F 058/42/42/0606/969/ R17LVR10- LB28
(Fog has been determined to be the predominant obstruction to vision)
10. CYS SA 1851 E7 BKN 25 OVC 1TRW-SW- 129/36/28/2908/995/ R09VR60+ TB31 W MOVG E OCNL LTGICCG
(CB associated with the overcast layer, rain is the predominate precipitation)
11. ORD SA 0452 E5 OVC 11/2T+RWA 059/72/62/0229G49/982/ T OVHD MOVG NE LTGICCG AB12 HLSTO 3/4
12. FAI RS 0854 M4V BKN 7 OVC 1/4S+F 116/2/-2/0313/987/ R30VR12 CIG3V5
1. METAR KCNU 231950Z 00000KT 15SM SKC 31/17 A3013 RMK SLP202
EXPLANATION: METAR reports begin with METAR or SPECI. The international code for location identifiers is used. The date is included with the time in METAR reports and the date/time element ends with "Z" to indicate coordinated universal time. Calm wind is encode by five zeroes ending in "KT." Visibility always ends in "SM." Clear skies are now encoded as SKC verses CLR which is reserved for automated stations. Temperature and dew point are reported in Celsius and separated by a "/," but the two are a single element separated from the other elements by a space. The altimeter setting always begins with "A" followed by the four-digit reading in inches of mercury. METAR remarks will always begin with "RMK" and will normally have at least one element, sea-level pressure (for those stations reporting sea-level pressure).
2. METAR KOKC 231655Z 29015KT 7SM BKN050 BKN090 OVC120 22/15 A2985 RMK SLP120
EXPLANATION: METAR reports begin with METAR or SPECI. The international code for location identifiers is used. The date is included with the time in METAR reports and the date/time element ends with "Z" to indicate coordinated universal time. The wind direction is reported in three digits and the element always ends in "KT." Visibility always ends in "SM." Sky coverage now precedes the cloud height. Cloud height is reported in three digits (indicating hundreds of feet) and attached to the coverage. The word "ceiling" will always be spoken before the first broken or overcast layer. The altimeter setting is encoded in four digits preceded by "A." Sea-level pressure moves out of the body of the report into remarks and is preceded by "SLP."
3. METAR KPIT 232250Z 24010KT 10SM VCSH SCT030 BKN100 29/26 A2986 RMK SCT V BKN SLP121
EXPLANATION: METAR reports begin with METAR or SPECI. The international code for location identifiers is used. The date is included with the time in METAR reports and the date/time element ends with "Z" to indicate coordinated universal time. The wind direction is reported in three digits and the element always ends in "KT". Visibility always ends in "SM." Weather not at the station (RWU W-NW) but within 10 miles is considered to be "in the vicinity" and encoded in the body instead of in remarks. When showers are reported as "in the vicinity" the type of precipitation is not included. Variable cloud layers are encoded in remarks the same in METAR as in SA.
4. METAR KOMA 232151Z 13010KT 12SM SCT030TCU SCT080 SCT250 34/20 A2982 RMK TCU SW-W SLP101
EXPLANATION: METAR reports begin with METAR or SPECI. The international code for location identifiers is used. The date is included with the time in METAR reports and the date/time element ends with "Z" to indicate coordinated universal time. The wind direction is reported in three digits and the element always ends in "KT." Visibility always ends in "SM." There is no way to indicate the wind direction or speed was estimated in METAR report. When present, towering cumulus will be reported with the layer with which it is associated. When it is also included in remarks, it indicates that the TCU is not at the station. In this case, it is within 10 statute miles of the station. The remarks for significant cloud types look the same between the SA and METAR reports just the location may vary.
5. SPECI KPIT 231935Z 22015G25KT 3/4SM R22L/2800FT +TSRA OVC010CB 18/17 A2992 RMK FRQ LTGICCCCG ALQDS TSB33 TS OHD MOV E SLP184
EXPLANATION: Special reports begin with SPECI and contain all the data that would be in an hourly observation which includes the sea-level pressure and temperature/dew point. RVR is now a part of the body following visibility. "VR" is replaced by a "/," zeroes are not dropped from the reading, and "FT" is added to the end of the element. The intensity symbol refers to the precipitation not the descriptor. Only one descriptor can be used with the precipitation element so TS and SH cannot be entered together. TS implies showery activity. FQT and OVHD are replaced by the international contractions FRQ and OHD. The beginning time, ending time, and the location and movement of the thunderstorm is entered in the Automated, Manual, and Plain Language section of remarks.
6. METAR KABI 231252Z 27008KT 3SM -SNRA BR SCT003 BKN007 OVC015 01/M01 A3004 RMK VIS N-E 2 SNB38 SLP139
EXPLANATION: When precipitation and obscurations are both present, they are encoded in order of predominance. The intensity symbol precedes the group, and is used only once, referring to the first phenomena. Since the first phenomena is reported as light, the second can be assumed light (or at least lighter). Obscuring phenomena is separated from the precipitation group by a space. METAR does not differentiate between thin and opaque layers. Therefore, the first layer reported as broken is considered the ceiling. In this case, the station is IFR under METAR (ceiling 700) where it is MVFR under SA (ceiling 1500). Temperatures below freezing on the Celsius scale are prefixed with "M" instead of "-" as in SA reports. In remarks, sector visibility is reported the same except the contraction for visibility is now VIS. The beginning and ending of precipitation is encoded the same as in the SA except the METAR contractions are used.
7. METAR KLAX 231650Z VRB03KT 2SM BR HZ SCT000 BKN250 24/23 A2987 RMK BR HZ SCT000 SLP115
EXPLANATION: When wind is 6 knots or less, the observer has the option to encode "VRB" or the average direction. If you encoded the wind as 20003, it is also correct. BR is used to encode the obstruction to vision rather than FG since visibility is 5/8 or more. When more than one obscuration is present they are encoded together with a space in between and the predominant obstruction entered first. Since predominance could not be indicated in the SA, entering either one first would be correct. Partial obscuration is indicated by a layer contraction followed by 000. The amount of obscuration is determined by the layer contraction. In this case, SCT is encoded because the SA indicated 5/10 coverage which falls into the SCT category (3/8-4/8). The obstruction to vision and the layer coverage is also entered in remarks.
8. METAR KALO 231153Z 01018G26KT 330V070 2SM -SG BR OVC010 01/01 A2992 RMK RAE30SNE20SGB35 SLP142
EXPLANATION: There is no way to indicate that an hourly observation meets special criteria. All hourly observations will begin with METAR. Variable wind direction is indicated in the body of the report instead of remarks. Since the Celsius scale is not divided in as small an increments as the Fahrenheit scale, METAR reports will not show as much temperature/dew point variance as indicated in the SA report. A one degree spread in Fahrenheit could be zero in Celsius. Due to the other factor involved in the formation of weather, this difference should not have an impact on the significance of a temperature/dew point spread of zero. Remarks such as PCPN VRY LGT will not appear in METAR reports unless the observer determines it phenomena to be significant.
9. METAR KDFW 232050Z 06006KT 1/4SM R17L/M1000FT FG -DZ VV003 06/06 A2969 RMK DZB28 SLP058
EXPLANATION: When the criteria exists, RVR is entered in the body of a METAR report instead of remarks as in the SA. When RVR is greater than or less than the specified maximum or minimum values, "P" or "M" precedes the value respectively. When precipitation and obscurations are both present, they are encoded in order of predominance. Precipitation and obscurations are separated by a space. When visibility is less than 5/8 statute mile, FG is used instead of BR. Indefinite ceilings are reported as vertical visibility (VV) in METAR reports.
10. METAR KCYS 231815Z 29008KT 1SM R09/P6000FT -TSRASN BKN007 OVC025CB 02/M02 A2995 RMK OCNL LTGICCG TSB31 TS W MOV E SLP129
EXPLANATION: When RVR is greater than or less than the specified maximum or minimum values, "P" or "M" precedes the value respectively. The intensity symbol refers to the first precipitation not the descriptor and is used only once. Since the precipitation is encoded in order of predominance, any items that follow are considered to be of less intensity then that preceding it. Since a thunderstorm is reported, CB is encoded with the layer with which it is associated.
11. METAR KORD 230452Z 02029G49KT 1 1/2SM TSRAGR OVC005CB 22/17 A2982 RMK LTGICCG GRB12 TS OHD MOV NE GR 3/4 SLP059
EXPLANATION: When the visibility element contains whole numbers and fractions, they are separated by a space. There is no way to denote a severe thunderstorm in the METAR report. However, the severity of the storm is still evident by the encoding of hail and strong surface winds. In the remarks section, the beginning of the hail and the hailstone size will always be separated by at least the sea-level pressure and thunderstorm remarks based on the order of remarks. OVHD is replaced by the international contraction OHD.
12. METAR PAFA 230854Z 03013KT 1/4SM R30/1200FT +SN FG BKN004 OVC007 M17/M19 A2987 RMK CIG 003V005 SLP116
EXPLANATION: Hourly observations that meet special criteria will be encoded as METAR. There is no METAR equivalent to RS. The Alaskan stations identifiers will always be "PA" followed by a two-letter code representing the station. Since the old three-letter code did not begin with "A," the last letter is dropped and only the first two letters (FA) are used. When precipitation and obstructions to vision are occurring at the same time, they are separated by a space. The order in which they are entered in determined by predominance. When visibility is less than 5/8 statute mile, FG is used instead of BR even if fog is not the primary cause of the restricted visibility. There is no indication of variable ceilings in the body of a METAR report, but the entry in remarks is similar to that of the SA just using three digits for each height instead of one or two as needed.
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