Page 33 - AFMAN 15-111, 12 MAR 2019

AFMAN15-111 12 MARCH 2019 33

6.9.8. Column 5 - Weather and Obscurations to Vision. The encoded present weather and
obscurations determined to be on station or in the vicinity and effecting visibility or of enough
significance to warrant reporting.
6.9.9. Column 3 - Sky Condition. Encoded as the amount of sky that is covered due to clouds
and/or obscurations followed by a 3-digit height in hundreds of feet. Sky coverage is expressed
using sky clear (SKC), clear (CLR), few (FEW), scattered (SCT), broken (BKN), overcast
(OVC), and vertical visibility (VV) and corresponds to 0, 1-2, 3-4, 5-7, and 8 oktas of sky
coverage (e.g. FEW004, SCT085, OVC170, VV000).
6.9.10. Columns 7 and 8 - Temperature and Dew Point. Encoded as whole degrees Celsius
using 2 digits. Negative values are prefixed with “M” and missing values are omitted (e.g. 07,
11, M02).
6.9.11. Column 12 - Altimeter Setting (ALSTG). Prefixed with “A” and encoded as inches of
mercury (iHg) using 4 digits truncated to the hundredths value; the decimal place is not
encoded (e.g. A2992, A3013, etc.).
6.9.12. Column 17 - Station Pressure. Encoded as iHg using 5 digits rounded down to the
nearest five thousandths value with the decimal place included (e.g. 29.925, 28.830, 27.105).
Note: Station pressure is only recorded on 3-hourly and 6-hourly METAR observations.
6.9.13. Column 21 - Total Sky Cover. Encoded in oktas (1/8ths) of sky covered by
obscurations and clouds and corresponds to the maximum coverage type reported in Column
3. Note: Total sky cover is not recorded on SPECI observations.
6.10. Observation Remarks. The remarks section of the observation contains additive data as
well as descriptive remarks to expound on the basic weather elements in the body of the
observation. Additive data is recorded in code format at specified times and intervals. Descriptive
remarks are recorded in specified formats as well as plain language and can be time or situation
dependent.

6.11. Recording Late Observations
6.11.1. If a METAR is taken late but within 15 minutes of the standard time (i.e. up to 14
minutes past the hour) and no appreciable changes have occurred since the standard time,
record the observation as a METAR using the standard time with no additional remarks.
6.11.2. If a METAR is taken late and significant changes have occurred or the METAR is
missed (i.e. more than 15 minutes late), follow the procedures below for the JET Form 3813
and AF Form 3803.
6.11.2.1. When using the 3813, if conditions have changed appreciably or the observation
is more than 15 minutes late, record and transmit a SPECI. After transmitting the SPECI,
record a METAR observation using the standard time of the missed observation and
estimates of the conditions probable at the time of the missed observation. Enter “(FIBI)”
(Filed But Impractical to Transmit) in Column 13. Save the observation to the form only;
this observation is not transmitted.