Decode pls

[westinghouse]

Could someone pls be kind enough to decode the rmk portion of the metar.
Thank you

RJAA 201844Z 31009KT 290V350 2000 +SHRA FEW003 BKN005 FEW020TCU 19/18 Q1004 RMK 1ST003 7ST005 2TCU020 A2966 TCU OHD MOV NE

[Tu.114]

May I suggest:
1/8 Stratus at 300ft, 7/8 Stratus at 500ft, 2/8 TCU at 2000ft; altimeter reference in inHg 29,66. Towering Cumulus overhead moving to NE. Basically just a (more precise) repeat of the first section of this METAR.

[Clandestino]

1/8 of stratus at 300, 7/8 of stratus at 700, 2/8 of towering cumulus at 2000ft. Altimeter setting 29.96 inches of mercury. Towering cumulus overhead moving northeast.

Why do they do it this way: no idea.

[westinghouse]

Thank you very much.
I agree. Why put it in the rmks when the cloud information is given earlier?

[MarkerInbound]

They're giving the types of clouds in the remarks section which might be of interest. What's odd is they report the 2000 foot layer as few above the 800 foot broken layer.

[parabellum]

In fairness to RJAA they are advising you that a weather system over the field that might preclude Cat 1 for some operators is moving so may be irrelevant by the time you arrive. From a planning point of view, if you got this TAF when you were inbound and only saw 7/8 @ 500', and you were a Cat 1 operation, you would probably start planning a possible diversion etc.

[Clandestino]

FEW020TCU is pretty significant: it's where +SHRA comes from.

[CJ Driver]

Er, wot? Perhaps I'm a cowboy, Parabellum, but if I saw 2 km visibility and BKN005, it would never even occur to me that I wouldn't get in on a Cat 1 approach.

[Kingfisher]

I used to prefer octa system of cloud cover and type of cloud. It would give me a feel of what was happening. In the name of progress I get Sc, Bk and no cloud info which tells me the square root of didley squat. Good to see some out there is still trying to give us more information not less.

[parabellum]

if I saw 2 km visibility and BKN005, it would never even occur to me that I wouldn't get in on a Cat 1 approach.

Depends what your Cat 1 DH is, doesn't it?, usually around 200' on an ILS, I agree, but often higher. Anything significant (bkn),below 500' would have me considering my options, at least.

[A-3TWENTY]

Hi ,

Asking your help to decode a message which came at the end of a METAR over Russia.

[FT USPP] 302100Z SARS34 RUMS 302100

[SA UUYY] 301700Z FTRS35 RUMS 301700

What the hell does that mean??

Thanks in advance,

A320

[FE Hoppy]

302100Z SARS34 RUMS 302100

WMO analysis header

302100 is the time group

SARS34

is a apecific data format
TTAAii

where TT is product type, such as AB for weather text summaries, or SA for surface observations (METARs);

where AA is the region of the origin of the report, such as AK for Alaska, or US for the United States;

and where ii is the report number.

So we have SA (surface observation for Aviation routine reports) RS is the region Russia(west) and 34 is the report number.


CCCC

where CCCC is the 4 letter station identifier of the source of the report; such as KDSM for Des Moines, IA or KDEN for Denver, Colorado.


RUMS is Russia Moscow.


Now that I've told you I have to kill you!!

P.S. more info can be found in WMO No. 386 Manual on the Global Telecommunication System
Part II - Operational Procedures for the GTS
or here:
http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/oi...t2_AttII05.pdf

[A-3TWENTY]

Thanks a lot , FE Hoppy

Safe Flights,

A320