Personal AccuWeather : Weather Observation FAQs

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Thousands of weather observations are performed daily across the world. Here's how to interpret the international weather data (U.S. weather observations are in plain language).

The headings of the columns are below, followed by an explanation of each.

Station_Name The name of the location where the weather observation is recorded.

Station # Synoptic Station Identification Number.

TIME Time and Date when the observation was taken, in the format Day/Time where Time is in GMT (Zulu).

T Temperature in degrees Celsius.

DP Dewpoint in degrees Celsius.

RH Percent Relative Humidity.

24H The maximum temperature during the last 24 hours, in degrees Celsius.

24L The minimum temperature during the last 24 hours, in degrees Celsius.

WIND The current wind speed, in Kilometers per Hour.

PRS Sea-Level Pressure, in millibars (mb). The leading "1" is dropped if the pressure is over 999mb.

PCPN Precipitation amounts (multiply number by 0.01) in centimeters during the past few hours -- either 6, 12, 18, or 24 hours depending on what is specified in the columns.

CLD Cloud cover in eighths of the sky; 9/8 indicates that the clouds are obscured and cannot be determined.

VIS Visibility in kilometers (km).

WX Type of weather currently occurring; see table below.

Table of Weather Phenomena:

R : Rain Z : Freezing

S : Snow H : Haze

L : Drizzle F : Fog

IP : Ice Pellets (Sleet) GF : Ground Fog

A : Hail D : Dust

T : Thunder B : Blowing

W : Shower

Weather Phenomena Intensity Indicators:

++ : Very Heavy + : Heavy

(no symbol) : Moderate - : Light

An example of a decoded observation:

weatherobs sample

The Station Paris, France (ID#07149) reported at Time 12:00 GMT on the 19th a Temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, a Dewpoint of 15 degrees Celsius, and a Relative Humidity of 50 percent. The Highest Temperature in the last 24 hours was not reported during this observation; the Lowest Temperature in the last 24 hours was 18 degrees Celsius. The Wind was from the North (360 degrees) at 11 kilometers per hour. The Sea-Level Pressure was 1009 millibars. The Precipitation in the last 6 hours was not reported but the Precipitation in the last 24 hours was 0.20 centimeters. The Sky was 7/8 filled with clouds, the visibility was 10 kilometers, and the weather condition was light drizzle.