Page 11 - AFMAN 15-111, 12 MAR 2019

AFMAN15-111 12 MARCH 2019 11

3.1.3. Aviation Selected Local Weather Report (LOCAL). A LOCAL is an unscheduled
observation, reported to the nearest minute, not meeting SPECI criteria. LOCALs are only
taken when unit leadership determines there is a requirement in support of local operations.
3.1.3.1. LOCALs taken in support of aircraft operations are encoded in METAR format.
For LOCALs taken and disseminated to agencies other than ATC, the contents are
established locally and documented in base/host unit support plans, local weather support
agreements or standard operating procedures.

3.1.3.2. Altimeter setting (ALSTG) LOCALs are single element observations that contain
the time and ALSTG. When ATC does not have access to real-time ALSTGs, WFs/Dets
will disseminate an ALSTG LOCAL observation at an interval not to exceed 35 minutes
when there has been a change of 0.01 inches of mercury (iHg) (0.3 hectopascals [hPa]) or
more since the last disseminated ALSTG value. (T-1). Note: A METAR or SPECI taken
within the established time interval fulfills this requirement.
3.2. METAR/SPECI Code Format. The METAR/SPECI report has two major sections: the
Body and the Remarks. Figure 3.1 contains the METAR/SPECI code, format and contents of the
Body and Remarks sections of an observation. Together, the body and remarks make up the
complete METAR/SPECI coded report and are encoded in the order shown in Figure 3.1. The
underline character "_" indicates a required space between the groups. The actual content of the
report depends on the observation program at the individual observing organization. Note: Proper
encoding of individual elements can be found in their respective chapters.