On cloud layers, TAFs and METARs

Glimpse through the fog. Trail Ridge Road, RMNP, 2013

Three times in recent days I have tried to get above the clouds by going into the high country up to 12,000′, but no luck–three straight strikes. We are socked in. Images captured above the clouds, with the right light, and with the Continental Divide peaks poking up through the mist, can be spectacular.

Sometime ago I talked briefly about using aviation weather sources to get a better handle on the weather conditions, especially the cloud layers. Maybe this is a good time to review two acronyms (and information sources) pilots are very familiar with: TAFs and METARs.

To clarify, “TAF” stands for Terminal Aerodrome Forecast and is a forecast of upcoming weather conditions. “METAR” stands for Meteorological Terminal Air Report and is a summary of current conditions. You can look up both of these for aerodromes all over the world on the Aviation Weather Center website. So, here is what to do:

1) Go to the Aviation Weather Center website HERE.

2) Click on “TAF/FA” in the left column under Forecasts.

3) Follow the directions in the new window: Enter the four-letter identifier of the airport you are interested in, then check the button “Translated” (so you get plain English instead of pilot-speak), then click on “Get TAFs and METARs” (so you get both current and forecast conditions). Note that the 24-hour clock times are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)–that is, the old Greenwich Mean Time. So, you’ll have to adjust for your time zone.  (For the Denver area, subtract six hours, five hours if on Daylight Saving Time.)

4) This will get you the information you are after. You can see the cloud layers stated as well–that is, at least you’ll know where they start, not necessarily where they top out.

A few important definitions:

“Scattered” means less than half the sky is covered.

“Broken” means more than half the sky is covered.

“Overcast” means the entire sky is covered.

And…To look up the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) four-letter identifier of any airport, go try this interactive tool.

Maybe this info will help next time you are trying to get that cool sunrise shot from Trail Ridge Road of Longs Peak towering above the misty valleys below. That’s what I’m hoping for, anyway!

A postscript…

The deluge continues. It looks like we have some pretty serious flooding in the area now. I’ll see about getting some images of this in the next post. Stay dry and out of those fast-running washes and creek drainages!