Exams
Weather
Aircraft Information
General Knowledge
- VFR Circuit
- VFR Minima
- Airspace
- ATC Air Traffic Control
- Flight Rules
- Overhead Join
- QNH/QFE/QNE
- TA Transition Altitude TL Transition Level Semicircular Rule
ATC Services
CAA Phraseology
- Free Call Technique
- CAA AGCS VFR Circuits
- CAA AGCS Arrivals
- CAA AGCS Departures
- CAA AGCS RNP Approach
- CAA AFIS VFR Circuit
- CAA AFIS Arriving
- CAA AFIS Departure
- CAA AFIS RNP Approach
- CAA ATC VFR Circuit
- CAA ATC VFR Arrivals
- CAA ATC VFR Departure
- CAA ATC VFR Transit Class D
ICAO Phraseology
- ICAO AFIS Circuits
- ICAO AFIS Arrival
- ICAO AFIS Departure
- ICAO ATC Arrival
- ICAO ATC Departure
This lesson will explain the Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts or TAF. Larger aerodromes often produce 9, 24 or 30-hour TAFs which give a good indication as to when a particular weather will be expected. They have a very similar structure to METAR with some slight differences.
-
- Report Type
- Location
- Date/Time of origin
- Validation time
- Wind
- Prevailing Visibility or CAVOK
- Significant Weather
- Cloud
- SignificantChange
1: The report type is TAF
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
2: Location EGNM
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
3: Date and Time
07 | Date |
0948Z | Time |
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
4: Validity Time:
This is the part that can often throw people off.
07 | Day | 08 | Day |
09 | Hour | 06 | Hour |
From the 7th at 0900 until the 8th at 0600, expect the following conditions.
On the second line, we have another Validity Time
07 | Day | 09 | Day |
07 | Hour | 18 | Hour |
Can you decode this?
0709/0718
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
5: Wind
240 | Wind Direction (Coming from) |
12KT | Speed 10 Knots |
Second line we have another wind section.
250 | Wind direction (Coming from) |
15G25 | Speed 15 Knots Gusting 25 |
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
6: Prevailing visibility or CAVOK
Do you remember what 9999 represents?
0000 | Less than 50 metres | 9999 | 10 kilometres or more |
7: Significant Weather.
In this case, none is mentioned if this was not the case they use the same codes as the METAR.
– Light | No qualifier = Moderate | + Heavy | |||
BC | Patches | BL | Blowing | BR | Mist |
DS | Dust Storm | DU | Dust | DZ | Drizzle |
FC | Funnel cloud | FG | Fog | FU | Smoke |
FZ | Freezing | GR | Hail>5mm | GS | Small Hail |
HZ | Haze | IC | Ice Crystals | MI | Shallow |
PL | Ice Pellets | PO | Dust Devils | PR | Banks |
RA | Rain | SA | Sand | SH | Showers |
SG | Snow Grains | SN | Snow | SQ | Squalls |
SS | Sand Storms | TS | Thunderstorms | UP | Unidentified PrecipitationAuto Only |
VA | Volcanic Ash | VC | In vicinity |
8: Clouds
FEW045
0 | Clear | |
1-2 | FEW | Few |
3-4 | SCT | Scattered |
5-7 | BKN | Broken |
8 | OVC | Overcast |
Between a few clouds 1-2 Oktas at 4500ft.
9: Significant changes.
PROB30 | 30% probability | PROB40 | 40% probability |
BECMG | Becoming | TEMPO | Temporarily |
Groups | TSRA BKN010CB | Thunderstorm with rain, broken cumulonimbus at one thousand feet | |
FM | From | 1416 | From fourteen hundred to sixteen hundred |
At the time of writing this here is the full TAF for EGNM
TAF EGNM 070948Z 0709/0806 24012KT 9999 FEW045
PROB40 TEMPO 0709/0718 25015G25KT
TEMPO 0714/0722 6000 SHRA RA
PROB30 TEMPO 0714/0722 3000 +SHRA +RA BKN014
PROB30 TEMPO 0722/0806 5000 RADZ BKN014