Overview
A METAR is an official observation of current surface weather reported in a standard format. METARs are issued just prior to the top of the hour unless significant weather changes have occured. A Special METAR (SPECI) can be issued at any time between scheduled METARs. An extensive description of all possible METAR codes can be found in AC 00-45H.
Examples
Listed below are two real-time examples of METARs provided through CheckWX.com. To search for the METAR at your local airport, visit the Aviation Weather Center and enter the desired ICAO airport code.