METAR Remarks

[agent0]

I hate to subject you all to yet another METAR question but I couldn't find this one in the wealth of knowledge that is avcanada...

METAR CYOC 111400Z CCA 03025G34KT 4SM BLSN SKC M25/M28 A2999 RMK
CLIMAT -11.5/-25.5/TR CM/TR MWE/44080 SLP190=

What's the bold line decoded as?

[ArcticKat]

From Wiki:

CLIMAT is a code for reporting monthly climatological data assembled at land-based meteorological surface observation sites to data centres. CLIMAT-coded messages contain information on several meteorological variables that are important to monitor characteristics, changes, and variability of climate. Usually these messages are sent and exchanged via the Global Telecommunication System (GTS) of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). Modifications of the CLIMAT code are the CLIMAT SHIP and CLIMAT TEMP / CLIMAT TEMP SHIP codes which serve to report monthly climatological data assembled at ocean-based meteorological surface observation sites and at land-/ocean-based meteorological upper-air observation sites, respectively. The monthly values included usually are obtained by averaging observational values of one or several daily observations over the respective month.

I'm Guessing a bit:

Climate synopsis: (probably monthly)
High -11.5 during reporting period
Low -25.5 during reporting period
TR CM Precipitation in centimetres (Trace) since last report

44080 is likely total hours of sunlight. 440 hours equates to 80% of normal (The last two columns of the report linked below)

Here's a link to a sample of a WMO weather report for January 2001. I'm a little rusty on my German though.
http://www.dwd-shop.de/beispiele/1120b/1120b-10.pdf

This explains the headings
http://www.dwd-shop.de/beispiele/1120b/1120b-16.pdf

[Phu]

I spent some time on google with not much luck, so I emailed a friend of mine. This is what she thinks:

Climate means monthly data.
-11.5 is max temperature, -25.5 is minimum temperature, TR CM means they got trace amount of snow (likely since they left the previous night), and TR MWE a few of us decided means melted water equivalent, which is important for snow water ratios... for snowfall amount forecasting. No one knows what 44080 means.. i think it has something to do with cloud cover or something ... but i don't know.

[ArcticKat]

The TR MWE was what I was still working on. Mean Water Equivalent sounds like it might be reasonable when one considers the WMO would need to know what cm of snow would equate to in liquid form, so I'll go with that.

[hydro]

For synoptic/climatic coding I've seen the group numbers starting with 4 refer to pressure, clouds (in mountainous areas), or snow cover depending on where its coded.

Assuming its snow cover, it may mean
4 (indicates snow group)
4 (indicates state of snow on ground) - Uneven layer of compacted snow or wet snow completely covering the ground
080 (indicates snow cover) 80 centimetres

[Edo]

44080 is likely total hours of sunlight. 440 hours equates to 80% of normal (The last two columns of the report linked below)

I dont think thats it. Old crow in the winter? Maybe its its a quarterly value

[agent0]

Thanks ervrybody!

[ArcticKat]

@EDO

I agree, that is a pretty high number, even for a year to date total. I asked Environment Canada about it, hope to get a reply in my lifetime.

[avcanada]

The Federal Met U.S. Handbook section 12 is useful in decoding FAA METAR remarks
http://www.ofcm.gov/fmh-1/pdf/L-CH12.pdf

The 4 group may possibly be the amount of snow on the ground. The group is normally coded 4/ as listed in the above US publication.

[W0XOF]

For synoptic/climatic coding I've seen the group numbers starting with 4 refer to pressure, clouds (in mountainous areas), or snow cover depending on where its coded.

Assuming its snow cover, it may mean
4 (indicates snow group)
4 (indicates state of snow on ground) - Uneven layer of compacted snow or wet snow completely covering the ground
080 (indicates snow cover) 80 centimetres

Yes, that would be the 4Esss group if CYOC's first wx ob of the day was 1400z, as the state of snow on the ground group is a mandatory climate entry at 1200Z if there is snow on the ground (it doesn't have to be newly fallen snow).

[ArcticKat]

Look at that, we put our heads together and managed to come up with the correct answers. Here's my response from Environment Canada:

Thank you for sending your message to Environment Canada. The Old Crow Airport weather station is only in operation from 1400Z until 0200Z. On their first and last observation of the day (1400Z and 0200Z), they include climate information about the previous 12 hours. So, in this particular example, you have the maximum temperature (-11.5), the minimum temperature (-25.5), the snowfall amount in centimetres (Tr, meaning trace: less than 0.2 cm), MWE is the Measured Water Equivalent of the snow in mm, in this case a trace. Here's a brief explanation: the falling snow is collected in a container. The snow collected is then melted and the water equivalent of the snow is reported in millimetres. Finally, 44080, is the depth of snow on the ground: 80 cm.

Best regards,

Bernard Duguay
Meteorological Inquiry Specialist
MSC National Inquiry Response Team ISO 9001:2008
Environment Canada

[RVgrin]

As fun as it is to try to decode weather hieroglyphs, it is a colossal waste of time and holds the potential for dangerous errors. We need to move to an improved system for transmitting and reporting METARS and TAFS so we users can quickly gain the maximum benefit from the information with minimal decoding errors. "Mist" is more useful than "BR". Don't even get me started on the stuff I have seen in the comment fields.

These codes and abbreviations were, of course, born at a time when data communications were slow, expensive and bandwidth severely limited.

Not only do we now have better communications (even to the remotest parts of our planet), but we have also learned how to mix human and computer-readable formatted text (e.g. XML) so these data may be presented in different useful ways depending on the context. A French iPad user should see the weather presented differently than an English pilot using a legacy text-only display...

Can anyone point to any research, standards bodies, or lobby-groups that are moving us in this direction?

[cptn2016]

As fun as it is to try to decode weather hieroglyphs, it is a colossal waste of time and holds the potential for dangerous errors. We need to move to an improved system for transmitting and reporting METARS and TAFS so we users can quickly gain the maximum benefit from the information with minimal decoding errors. "Mist" is more useful than "BR". Don't even get me started on the stuff I have seen in the comment fields.

These codes and abbreviations were, of course, born at a time when data communications were slow, expensive and bandwidth severely limited.

Not only do we now have better communications (even to the remotest parts of our planet), but we have also learned how to mix human and computer-readable formatted text (e.g. XML) so these data may be presented in different useful ways depending on the context. A French iPad user should see the weather presented differently than an English pilot using a legacy text-only display...

Can anyone point to any research, standards bodies, or lobby-groups that are moving us in this direction?

Duing our meteorology ground school I asked why are we still using METAR's and TAF's that look like complete gibberish. I understand why the format was devised, as you said, back in a time where communication was slow and limited. But it seems to me with where we are now, technologically, we shouldn't need to be using these archaic codes anymore. I asked my instructor about this and he said the reason they still do this is because if you take the amount of pilots at any one time accessing weather information and you presented this information normally in plain english, the bandwidth required would be astronomical and sites like environment canada would suffer severe slow down or crash...

I found that hard to believe, given the amount of enormous websites on the web, many of which are MUCH more popular than EC's site...seemed like a bogus explanation to me.

Perhaps it's because pilots want to keep it this way so that it remains 'insider knowledge' of sorts?

[RVgrin]

I asked my instructor about this and he said the reason they still do this is because if you take the amount of pilots at any one time accessing weather information and you presented this information normally in plain english, the bandwidth required would be astronomical and sites like environment canada would suffer severe slow down or crash...

Your instructor is an idiot.

[ArcticKat]

Isn't the NavCanada website already offering a plain language version of the METARs? Besides, with all of the websites available to decode a METAR or to download to your computer I don't see what the big deal is.

[RVgrin]

Isn't the NavCanada website already offering a plain language version of the METARs? Besides, with all of the websites available to decode a METAR or to download to your computer I don't see what the big deal is.

Have another look at the first few posts in this thread. It took three people and a letter to environment canada to decipher "yet another METAR question".

I stand by my comments that something needs to change.

[ArcticKat]

Yes, but the specific question was regarding information that is not standard to the information included in a METAR but was rather data collected and submitted by that particular station for the use of the WMO and not relevant to aviation. The only reason it's there is because it is a convenient and reliable way to submit the data to WMO.

Edit:
Having said that, I don't disagree with you. It would be nice to have a more streamlined and convenient METAR format available that can be accessed via multiple formats, cell phone, smart phone, computer, etc.