Decoding TAF reports
Reading TAF reports isn't very difficult. It takes some time to get used to understanding these abbreviations but this will happen very quickly. Below we have a table with examples of TAF reports.
Decoding table for Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts - TAFs
Get a current TAF report nearby and compare it with our decoding table presented here:
| Code Element | Example | Decode | Notes |
| Report type | TAF | 'TAF' | Name for this aerodrome forecast |
| Location | EHRD | 'Rotterdam Zestienhoven' | Station four letter ICAO indicator |
| Date/Time of report | 130500Z | '13th at 05:00 Z' | Day of the month and Z time |
| Validity time | 130716 | 'Valid at 13th from 07Z to 16Z' | All in UTC |
| Wind | 23017G22KT | 'Wind from 230 at 17Kts gusts 22Kts' | VRB = variable, 00000KT = calm |
| Visibility or 'CAVOK' | 5000 | '5 Km' | 9999 = 10Km or more, 0000 less than 50m |
| Significant WX | -TSSHRA | 'Thunderstorm with light rain showers' | See weather table |
| Clouds | FEW005 SCT010 SCT018CB BKN030 |
'Few at 500', Scattered at 1000' ' 'Scattered Cumulonimbus at 1800' ' 'Broken at 3000' ' |
SKC= sky clear, FEW=1-2 octas, SCT=3-4 octas, BKN=5-7 octas OVC=8 octas VV= state of sky obscured (numbers after VV give vertical visibility), NSC=no significant cloud (none below 5000' and no CB) |
| Significant changes | |||
| Probability | PROB40 | '40% probability' | Usually 30% or 40% is used |
| Time | 1700 | 'from 1700Z to 0000Z' | Indicates the beginning and the end time of the forecast period in UTC or Z time |
| Change Indicator | BECMG 1420 FM 1700 |
'becoming from 1400Z to 2000Z' 'from 1700Z to 0000Z' |
TEMPO is also used to indicate temporarily change |
| MET groups | +TSRA BKN015CB |
'Thunderstorm with heavy rain' 'Broken Cumulonimbus clouds at 1500' ' |
MET groups give the weather indicated for the Change indicator |
To complete this we have included an actual TAF from Amsterdam/Schiphol airport:
A long TAF example
2006/12/22 10:45
TAF EHAM 221045Z 221818 VRB02KT 9999 BKN025
BECMG 1921 6000 BR
BECMG 2123 4000 MIFG
TEMPO 0010 1200 BCFG SCT002 PROB30 0009 0400 FG VV002
BECMG 0911 2000 BKN003
BECMG 1215 5000 BKN007
Decoded
Long TAF issued at 2006/12/22 10:45Z
Amsterdam Schiphol valid from 1800Z to 1800Z next day, variable wind at 2Kts, visibility more than 10Km, broken clouds at 2500'
- becoming between 1900Z and 2100Z 6Km visibility with brume
- becoming between 2100Z and 2300Z 4Km visibility with shallow fog
- temporary change between 0000Z and 1000Z 1200m visibility and fog patches, scattered clouds at 200'
- 30% probability between 0000Z and 0900 visibility 400m with fog, vertical visibility 200m
- becoming between 0900Z and 1100Z 2Km visibility, broken clouds at 300'
- becoming between 1200Z and 1500Z 5Km visibility, broken clouds at 700'
To me the 23rd would look like a day with no VFR flying in the morning (vis just below 1mi limit and clouds too low) and maybe some local traffic pattern flights in the afternoon...
For a more detailed explanation of TAFs see this pdf file.