It is 05:50 and the screen shows a line of letters that looks like a car number plate: HKJK 310600Z 09008KT 9999 FEW025 SCT080 21/14 Q1021 NOSIG. Your instructor asks, "So, what is it doing?" and you are expected to answer in one breath.
A METAR is a short code, and it is the same short code at every airport in the world that uses the international format. Learn the order of the groups once and you can read Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu or Eldoret in ten seconds. This guide takes a constructed example line by line, then shows the three mistakes students make most often.
The short answer. A METAR is an observation of the weather at one aerodrome at one time, written in a fixed order: station, day and time in UTC, wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature and dew point, pressure (QNH), and sometimes a two-hour trend. Read left to right, convert the time to East Africa Time by adding three hours, and read cloud heights as above the aerodrome.
What does each group in a METAR mean?
The example above is a teaching line we wrote for this article. It is not a real observation. The structure follows the international format described in the UK Met Office's METAR guide, which also lists the optional groups (Met Office, How to decode a METAR). Where Kenyan reports differ in a detail, the Kenya Meteorological Department and the Kenya AIP are the authority.
| Group | Reads as |
|---|---|
| HKJK | The ICAO location code for Jomo Kenyatta International |
| 310600Z | The 31st day, 06:00 UTC. In Kenya that is 09:00 East Africa Time |
| 09008KT | Wind from 090 degrees at 8 knots |
| 9999 | Visibility 10 km or more |
| FEW025 | One to two oktas of cloud at 2,500 ft above the aerodrome |
| SCT080 | Three to four oktas at 8,000 ft above the aerodrome |
| 21/14 | Temperature 21 degrees C, dew point 14 degrees C |
| Q1021 | QNH 1021 hPa: set this on the altimeter to read height above sea level |
| NOSIG | No significant change expected in the next two hours |
Group definitions: Met Office METAR guide (retrieved 30 October 2026); the 10 kt gust rule is also in ICAO Annex 3, Appendix 3, 4.1.5.2 (METAR and SPECI). Cloud amounts: FEW 1 to 2 oktas, SCT 3 to 4, BKN 5 to 7, OVC 8.
How do you read wind, weather and cloud?
Wind. Three digits for the direction the wind blows from, then two for the speed in knots, then KT. A gust group, such as 12012G24KT, appears only when the gust is at least 10 kt above the mean, according to the Met Office guide. VRB is used for light, variable winds. A range such as 090V150 is added when the direction swings and the mean speed is above 3 kt.
Weather. A prefix for intensity (minus is light, plus is heavy, nothing is moderate), then letter codes. SHRA is rain showers, TS is thunderstorm, BR is mist, FG is fog and HZ is haze. For dust and haze days, see our guide to flying when the horizon disappears.
Cloud. Amount, height in hundreds of feet, then a type if it is dangerous. BKN090CB is a broken layer of cumulonimbus at 9,000 ft. Treat any CB or TCU (towering cumulus) as a reason to stop and think. Our piece on thunderstorm avoidance without radar explains why.
CAVOK replaces visibility, weather and cloud when visibility is 10 km or more, there is no cloud below 5,000 ft (or the highest minimum sector altitude) and no significant weather. It means good, but it does not mean calm: the wind group still needs reading.
What are the three mistakes students make most?
- Reading Zulu time as local time. The Z means UTC. Kenya is three hours ahead, so 06:00Z is 09:00 on your watch. If your watch says 11:30 and the METAR is timed 0600Z, it is two and a half hours old, and METARs are normally reissued far more often than that.
- Reading cloud height as height above sea level. The three digits are hundreds of feet above the aerodrome. Jomo Kenyatta sits at about 5,330 ft above sea level (Wikipedia), so a base of 025 means about 7,800 ft above sea level, which matters when you plan to cross high ground.
- Ignoring the temperature gap. 21/14 has a spread of 7 degrees, so cloud will build slowly. A spread of one or two degrees means near-saturated air, with mist, low cloud and carburettor icing risk. See our article on carburettor icing in Kenya.
Is a METAR enough to decide whether to fly?
No. A METAR is a point observation at one aerodrome. It does not describe the Rift Valley escarpment or the Aberdares, and it cannot say what happens at 14:00. Pair it with the forecast for the same aerodrome and your own picture of the day, as set out in the pre-flight weather self-brief and weather decision-making for Kenyan cross-country flights.
Only some Kenyan aerodromes have a routine report. When we checked on 30 September 2026, about eight of the forty aerodromes in AngaBrief's database returned a METAR from aviationweather.gov. At the time of writing, AngaBrief pulls the departure aerodrome's own report when it is recent, and otherwise the nearest reporting station within 150 km, and it shows the distance and the raw text to the instructor. If you are a flying school that wants a pre-flight brief which pulls live METAR and TAF where they exist, and keeps the instructor in the loop, request a demo.
Key takeaways
- Learn the order: station, time, wind, visibility, weather, cloud, temperature, QNH, trend.
- Add three hours to convert UTC to East Africa Time.
- Cloud heights are above the aerodrome, in hundreds of feet.
- A METAR is a point observation: pair it with the forecast and your own judgement.
- Confirm local details against the Kenya AIP and Kenya Meteorological Department products.
Frequently asked questions
How do you read a METAR step by step?
Read left to right: station code, day and time in UTC, wind, visibility, present weather, cloud, temperature and dew point, QNH, then any trend. Add three hours to convert UTC to East Africa Time.
What does CAVOK mean in a METAR?
CAVOK replaces visibility, weather and cloud when visibility is 10 km or more, there is no cloud below 5,000 ft or the highest minimum sector altitude, and there is no significant weather. It says nothing about the wind.
What does Z mean in a METAR time?
Z means UTC. Kenya is three hours ahead of UTC, so 0600Z is 09:00 East Africa Time.
Are METAR cloud heights above sea level?
No. They are in hundreds of feet above the aerodrome. Add the aerodrome elevation to find height above sea level. At Jomo Kenyatta, about 5,330 ft, a base of 025 is roughly 7,800 ft above sea level.
Which Kenyan aerodromes issue a METAR?
Only some. On 30 September 2026 about eight of the 40 aerodromes in AngaBrief's database returned a METAR from aviationweather.gov. Check the Kenya AIP and the Kenya Meteorological Department for the current list.
AngaBrief is not a dispatch authority. Final go/no-go is the pilot's decision.