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This document gives details of the Meteorological codes for use at observing stations.
WMO code 0500: Genus of cloud
/ - cloud not visible owing to darkness, fog, duststorm, sandstorm or other
analogous phenomena
0 - cirrus (CI)
1 - cirricumulus (CC)
2 - cirrostratus (CS)
3 - altocumulus (AC)
4 - altostratus (AS)
5 - nimbostratus (NS)
6 - stratocumulus (SC)
7 - stratus (ST)
8 - cumulus (CU)
9 - cumulonimbus (CB)
WMO code 0509:Clouds of genera Cirrus, Cirrocumulus and Cirrostratus.
/ - cirrus, cirrocumulus & cirrostratus invisible owing to darkness, fog, blowing
dust or sand, or other phenomena, or more often because of the presence of a
continuous layer of lower clouds
0 - no cirrus, cirrocumulus or cirrostratus clouds
1 - cirrus in the form of filaments, strands or hooks, not progressively invading
the sky.
2 - dense cirrus, in patches or entangled sheaves, which usually do not increase
& sometimes seem to be the remains of the upper part of a cumulonimbus; or
cirrus with sproutings in the form of small turrets; or cirrus having the
appearance of cumuliform tufts
3 - dense cirrus, often in the form of an anvil, being the remains of the upper
part of cumulonimbus
4 - cirrus in the form of hooks, filaments, or both, progressively invading the
sky; they generally become denser as a whole.
5 - cirrus (often in bands converging towards 1 point or 2 opposite points of
the horizon) and cirrostratus, or cirrostratus alone;in either case, they
are progressively invading the sky, and generally growing denser as a whole,
but the continuous veil does not reach 45 degrees above the horizon.
6 - cirrus (often in bands converging towards 1 point or 2 opposite points of
the horizon) and cirrostratus, or cirrostratus alone;in either case, they
are progressively invading the sky, and generally growing denser as a whole;
the continuous veil extends more than 45 degrees above the horizon, without
the sky being totally covered.
7 - veil of cirrostratus covering the celestial dome
8 - cirrostratus not progressively invading the sky and not completely covering
the celestial dome.
9 - cirrocumulus alone, or cirrocumulus accompanied by cirrus or cirrostratus, or
both, but cirrocumulus is predominant
WMO code 0513: Clouds of genera Stratocumulus, Stratus, Cumulus, etc.
/ - stratocumulus, stratus, cumulus and cumulonimbus invisible owing to darkness,
fog, blowing dust or sand, or other phenomena
0 - no stratocumulus, stratus, cumulus or cumulonimbus
1 - cumulus with little vertical extent and seemingly flattened, or ragged
cumulus, other than of bad weather, or both
2 - cumulus of moderate or strong vertical extent, generally with protuberances
in the form of domes or towers, either accompanied or not by other cumulus
or stratocumulus, all having bases at the same level
3 - cumulonimbus, the summits of which, at least partially, lack sharp outlines
but are neither clearly fibrous (cirriform) nor in the form of an anvil;
cumulus, stratocumulus or stratus may also be present
4 - stratocumulus formed by the spreading out of cumulus; cumulus may also be
present
5 - stratocumulus not resulting from the spreading out of cumulus
6 - stratus in a more or less continuous later, or in ragged shreds, or both but
no stratus fractus of bad weather
7 - stratus fractus of bad weather or cumulus fractus of bad weather, or both
(pannus), usually below altostratus or nimbostratus
8 - cumulus and stratocumulus other than that formed from the spreading out of
cumulus; the base of the cumulus is at a different level from that of the
stratocumulus
9 - cumulonimbus, the upper part of which is clearly fibrous (cirriform) often in
the form of an anvil; either accompanied or not by cumulonimbus without anvil
or fibrous upper part, by cumulus, stratocumulus, stratus or pannus
WMO code 0515: Clouds of the genera Altocumulus, Altostratus, etc.
/ - altocumulus, altostratus and nimbostratus invisible owing to darkness, fog,
blowing dust, sand, or other phenomena; or because of the presence of a
continuous layer of lower clouds
0 - no altocumulus, altostratus or nimbostratus
1 - altostratus, the greater part of which is semi-transparent; through this part
the sun or moon may be weakly visible, as through ground glass
2 - altostratus, the greater part of which is sufficiently dense to hide the sun
or moon, or nimbostratus
3 - altocumulus, the greater part of which is semi-transparent; the various
elements of the cloud change only slowly and are all at a single level
4 - patches (often in the form of almonds or fish) of altocumulus, the greater
part of which is semi-transparent; the clouds occur at one or more levels
and the elements are continually changing in appearance
5 - semi-transparent altocumulus in bands, or altocumulus, in one or more
continuous layer (semi-transparent or opaque), progressively invading the
sky; these generally thicken as a whole
6 - altocumulus resulting from the spreading out of cumulus or cumulonimbus
7 - altocumulus in two or more layers, usually opaque in places, and not
progressively invading the sky; or opaque layer of altocumulus,not
progressively invading the sky; or altocumulus together with altostratus
or nimbostratus
8 - altocumulus with sproutings in the form of small towers or battlements, or
altocumulus having the appearance of cumuliform tufts
9 - altocumulus of a chaotic sky, generally at several levels
WMO code 0901: State of ground without snow or measurable ice cover. 0 - ground dry (no cracks or appreciable amounts of dust/loose sand) 1 - ground moist 2 - ground wet (standing water in small or large pools on surface) 3 - flooded 4 - ground frozen 5 - glaze on ground 6 - loose dry dust or sand not covering ground completely 7 - thin cover of loose dry dust or sand covering ground completely 8 - mod/thick cover of loose dry dust/sand covering ground completely 9 - extremely dry with cracks WMO code 0975: State of ground with snow or measurable ice cover. 0 - ground predominantly covered by ice 1 - compact/wet snow (with or without ice) covering less than 1/2 the ground 2 - compact/wet snow (with or without ice) covering at least 1/2 the ground 3 - even layer of compact or wet snow covering ground completely 4 - uneven layer of compact or wet snow covering ground completely 5 - loose dry snow covering less than 1/2 the ground 6 - loose dry snow covering at least 1/2 the ground (not completely) 7 - even layer of loose dry snow covering ground completely 8 - uneven layer or loose dry snow covering ground completely 9 - snow covering ground completely; deep drifts
WMO code 2700: Cloud cover / amount
/ - cloud is indiscernible for reasons other than fog or other meteorological
phenomena, or observation is not made.
0 - sky clear
1 - 1 okta : 1/10 - 2/10
2 - 2 oktas : 2/10 - 3/10
3 - 3 oktas : 4/10
4 - 4 oktas : 5/10
5 - 5 oktas : 6/10
6 - 6 oktas : 7/10 - 8/10
7 - 7 oktas or more, but not 8 oktas : 9/10 or more, but not 10/10
8 - 8 oktas : 10/10
9 - sky obscured by fog or other meteorological phenomena
Past weather is defined as weather occurring in the past 6 hours
at 00, 06, 12, 18 UTC, and the past 3 hours at 03, 09, 15, 21
UTC.
WMO code 4561: Past weather
0 - cloud covering half or less of the sky throughout the period
1 - cloud covering more than half the sky during part of the period & half or
less for the rest
2 - cloud covering more than half the sky throughout the period
3 - sandstorm, duststorm or blowing snow
4 - fog or ice fog or thick haze
5 - drizzle
6 - rain1
7 - snow, or rain and snow mixed
8 - shower(s)
9 - thunderstorm(s) with or without precipitation
WMO code 4677: Present weather reported from a manned station.
00 - Cloud development not observed or not observable
01 - Cloud generally dissolving or becoming less developed
02 - State of sky on the whole unchanged
03 - Clouds generally forming or developing
04 - Visibility reduced by smoke, e.g. veldt or forest fires, industrial smoke or
volcanic ashes
05 - Haze
06 - Widespread dust in suspension in the air, not raised by wind at or near the
station at the time of observation
07 - Dust or sand raised by wind at or near the station at the time of
observation, but not well-developed dust whirl(s) or sand whirl(s),
and no duststorm or sandstorm seen; or, in the case of ships, blowing
spray at the station
08 - Well-developed dust or sand whirl(s) seen at or near the station during the
preceding hour or at the time of observation, but no dust storm or sandstorm
09 - Duststorm or sandstorm within sight at the time of observation, or at the
station during the preceding hour
10 - Mist
11 - Patches of shallow fog or ice fog at the station, whether on land or sea not
deeper than about 2 metres on land or 10 metres at sea
12 - More or less continuous shallow fog or ice fog at the station, whether on
land or sea, not deeper than about 2m/land or 10m/sea
13 - Lightning visible, or thunder heard
14 - Precipitation within sight, not reaching the ground or the surface of the
sea
15 - Precipitation within sight, reaching the ground or the surface of the sea,
but distant, i.e. > 5 km from the station
16 - Precipitation within sight, reaching the ground or the surface of the sea,
near to, but not at the station
17 - Thunderstorm, but no precipitation at the time of observation
18 - Squalls at or within sight of the station during the preceding hour or at
the time of observation
19 - Funnel clouds at or within sight of the station during the preceding hour or
at the time of observation
20 - Drizzle (not freezing) or snow grains, not falling as showers, during the
preceding hour but not at the time of observation
21 - Rain (not freezing), not falling as showers, during the preceding hour but
not at the time of observation
22 - Snow, not falling as showers, during the preceding hour but not at the
time of observation
23 - Rain and snow or ice pellets, not falling as showers; during the preceding
hour but not at the time of observation
24 - Freezing drizzle or freezing rain; during the preceding hour but not at the
time of observation
25 - Shower(s) of rain during the preceding hour but not at the time of
observation
26 - Shower(s) of snow, or of rain and snow during the preceding hour but not at
the time of observation
27 - Shower(s) of hail, or of rain and hail during the preceding hour but not at
the time of observation
28 - Fog or ice fog during the preceding hour but not at the time of observation
29 - Thunderstorm (with or without precipitation) during the preceding hour but
not at the time of observation
30 - Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm - has decreased during the
preceding hour
31 - Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm - no appreciable change during
the preceding hour
32 - Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm - has begun or has increased
during the preceding hour
33 - Severe duststorm or sandstorm - has decreased during the preceding hour
34 - Severe duststorm or sandstorm - no appreciable change during the preceding
hour
35 - Severe duststorm or sandstorm - has begun or has increased during the
preceding hour
36 - Slight/moderate drifting snow - generally low (below eye level)
37 - Heavy drifting snow - generally low (below eye level)
38 - Slight/moderate blowing snow - generally high (above eye level)
39 - Heavy blowing snow - generally high (above eye level)
40 - Fog or ice fog at a a distance at the time of observation, but not at
station during the preceding hour, the fog or ice fog extending to a
level above that of the observer
41 - Fog or ice fog in patches
42 - Fog/ice fog, sky visible, has become thinner during the preceding hour
43 - Fog/ice fog, sky invisible, has become thinner during the preceding hour
44 - Fog or ice fog, sky visible, no appreciable change during the past hour
45 - Fog or ice fog, sky invisible, no appreciable change during the preceding
hour
46 - Fog or ice fog, sky visible, has begun or has become thicker during
preceding hour
47 - Fog or ice fog, sky invisible, has begun or has become thicker during the
preceding hour
48 - Fog, depositing rime, sky visible
49 - Fog, depositing rime, sky invisible
50 - Drizzle, not freezing, intermittent, slight at time of ob.
51 - Drizzle, not freezing, continuous, slight at time of ob.
52 - Drizzle, not freezing, intermittent, moderate at time of ob.
53 - Drizzle, not freezing, continuous, moderate at time of ob.
54 - Drizzle, not freezing, intermittent, heavy at time of ob.
55 - Drizzle, not freezing, continuous, heavy at time of ob.
56 - Drizzle, freezing, slight
57 - Drizzle, freezing, moderate or heavy (dense)
58 - Rain and drizzle, slight
59 - Rain and drizzle, moderate or heavy
60 - Rain, not freezing, intermittent, slight at time of ob.
61 - Rain, not freezing, continuous, slight at time of ob.
62 - Rain, not freezing, intermittent, moderate at time of ob.
63 - Rain, not freezing, continuous, moderate at time of ob.
64 - Rain, not freezing, intermittent, heavy at time of ob.
65 - Rain, not freezing, continuous, heavy at time of ob.
66 - Rain, freezing, slight
67 - Rain, freezing, moderate or heavy
68 - Rain or drizzle and snow, slight
69 - Rain or drizzle and snow, moderate or heavy
70 - Intermittent fall of snowflakes, slight at time of ob.
71 - Continuous fall of snowflakes, slight at time of ob.
72 - Intermittent fall of snowflakes, moderate at time of ob.
73 - Continuous fall of snowflakes, moderate at time of ob.
74 - Intermittent fall of snowflakes, heavy at time of ob.
75 - Continuous fall of snowflakes, heavy at time of ob.
76 - Diamond dust (with or without fog)
77 - Snow grains (with or without fog)
78 - Isolated star-like snow crystals (with or without fog)
79 - Ice pellets
80 - Rain shower(s), slight
81 - Rain shower(s), moderate or heavy
82 - Rain shower(s), violent
83 - Shower(s) of rain and snow, slight
84 - Shower(s) of rain and snow, moderate or heavy
85 - Snow shower(s), slight
86 - Snow shower(s), moderate or heavy
87 - Shower(s) of snow pellets or small hail, with or without rain or rain and
snow mixed - slight
88 - Shower(s) of snow pellets or small hail, with or without rain or rain and
snow mixed - moderate or heavy
89 - Shower(s) of hail, with or without rain or rain and snow mixed, not
associated with thunder - slight
90 - Shower(s) of hail, with or without rain or rain and snow mixed, not
associated with thunder - moderate or heavy
91 - Slight rain at time of observation - Thunderstorm during the preceding hour
but not at time of observation
92 - Moderate or heavy rain at time of observation - Thunderstorm during the
preceding hour but not at time of observation
93 - Slight snow, or rain and snow mixed or hail at time of observation -
Thunderstorm during the preceding hour but not at time of observation
94 - Moderate or heavy snow, or rain and snow mixed or hail at time of
observation - Thunderstorm during the preceding hour but not at
time of observation
95 - Thunderstorm, slight or moderate, without hail, but with rain and/or snow at
time of observation
96 - Thunderstorm, slight or moderate, with hail at time of ob.
97 - Thunderstorm, heavy, without hail, but with rain and/or snow at time of
observation
98 - Thunderstorm combined with dust/sandstorm at time of observation
99 - Thunderstorm, heavy with hail at time of observation
WMO code 0200:Characteristic of pressure tendency.
0 - Increasing, then decreasing : atmospheric pressure the same as or higher than
3 hrs ago
1 - Increasing, then steady : atmospheric pressure now higher than 3 hrs ago
2 - Increasing (steadily or unsteadily) : atmospheric pressure now higher than
3 hrs ago
3 - Decreasing or steady, then increasing; or increasing, then increasing more
rapidly : atmospheric pressure now higher than 3 hrs ago
4 - Steady : atmospheric pressure the same as 3 hrs ago
5 - Decreasing, then increasing : atmospheric pressure the same as or lower than
3 hrs ago
6 - Decreasing, then steady; or decreasing then decreasing more slowly :
atmospheric pressure now lower than 3 hrs ago
7 - Decreasing (steadily or unsteadily) : atmospheric pressure now lower than
3 hrs ago
8 - Steady or increasing, then decreasing; or decreasing, then decreasing more
rapidly : atmospheric pressure now lower than 3 hrs ago
6000 NCM table 24 0 - no thunderstorm (0000-2400gmt) 1 - thunderstorm with or without precipitation 9 - no thunderstorm (restricted period)
6001 NCM table 23 0 - no hail,ice,etc (0000-2400gmt) 1 - diamond dust 2 - snow grains 3 - snow pellets 4 - ice pellets or small hail (less than 5mm diameter) 5 - hail ( diameter 5-9 mm) 6 - hail ( diameter 10-19 mm) 7 - hail ( diameter 20mm or more ) 9 - no hail ,ice etc restricted period
6002 NCM table 27 0 - no snow or sleet(0000-2400gmt) 1 - sleet 5 - snow 9 - no snow or sleet(restricted period)
6003 NCM table 25 0 - visibility 1000m or more at 0900 gmt(previous day) 1 - visibility less than 1000m at 0900 gmt
6004 NCM table 26
0 - no gale(0000-2400 gmt)
1 - day on which wind speed has reached 34 knots (beaufort force 8) for a
period of at least 10 minutes
9 - no gale (restricted period)
6005 NCM table 22 / - slab covered by snow or not adequately described by codes 0 to 3 0 - slab dry 1 - slab moist 2 - slab wet 3 - slab icy
6006 CDB flag 0 - no snow or less than half cover of snow lying 1 - more than half cover of snow at 0900z today
001 - 1cm 002 - 2cm ... - ... 996 - 996cm 997 - Less than 0.5cm 998 - Snow cover, not continuous 999 - Measurement impossible or inaccurate
020011 CLOUD AMOUNT 0 0 1 1 OKTA OR <1 2 2 OKTAS 3 3 OKTAS 4 4 OKTAS 5 5 OKTAS 6 6 OKTAS 7 7 OKTAS (<8) 8 8 OKTAS 9 SKY OBSCURED METEOROLOGICAL 10 SKY PARTLY OBSCURED BY FOG AND/OR OTHER METEOROLOGICAL PHENOMENA 11 SCATTERED 12 BROKEN 13 FEW 020012 CLOUD TYPE 0 CI 1 CC 2 CS 3 AC 4 AS 5 NS 6 SC 7 ST 8 CU 9 CB 10 NO CH CLOUDS 11 CI FIB (UNC) 12 CI SPI SHEAF 13 CI SPI CUGEN 14 CI UNC/FIB 15 CI VEIL <45' 16 CI VEIL >45' 17 CS WHOLE SKY 18 CS NOT COVER 19 CH MOSTLY CC 20 NO CM CLOUDS 21 AS TR 22 AS OP / NS 23 AC TR LEVEL 24 AC TR PATCHY 25 AC TR BANDS 26 AC CU(CB)GEN 27 AC TR LAYERS 28 AC CAS/FLO 29 AC CHAOTIC 30 NO CL CLOUDS 31 CU HUM/FRA 32 CU MED/CON 33 CU CAL 34 SC CUGEN 35 SC NOT CUGEN 36 SC NEB/FRA 37 ST/CU FRA 38 CU/SC LEVELS 39 CB CAP 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 CLOUD INVIS 60 CH INVISIBLE 61 CM INVISIBLE 62 CL INVISIBLE
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