This information is for South Africa on How to Read a TAF – it may apply to other places, but it is written with the South African Law in mind. 

First of all what is a TAF?

TAF – Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
It is a forecast at the aerodrome for a set number of hours.
It is issued at least 4 times a day, every 6 hours. They are valid for 24 or 30 hours and apply to an area of 5 sm (8km) radius from the center of the airport.

How to Read a TAF?

Lets jump in! For info on TAFs follow this link: HOW TO READ A METAR

Here we have the TAF, I will go through each thing one by one.

TAF

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

Airport Identifier

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

This is the ICAO code for the airport. In this example we are using Cape Town International Airport.

Date and Time

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

This tells you the date and time. The first 2 numbers represent the day (date) (03).
The next 4 numbers (1410) represent the time in UTC Time. The Z at the end stands for ZULU, it is just another way of saying UTC.

Validity

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

The first 2 numbers represent the day (date), the second 2 represent the time. This is the same for the next 4 numbers, the ones on the right of the /.
So for this example the validity of this TAF is from the 03rd at 1200 UTC to the 04th at 1800 UTC.

Winds

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

The first 3 numbers represent the wind direction, this is where the wind is coming from. So in this example it is coming from 170º (and blowing towards 350º).
The next 2 numbers represent the wind speed. In this example it is blowing at 26 kts. (Nautical Miles per Hour).

The G in this example stands for gusts. The 2 numbers right behind the G represent the speed of the gusts in knots. For this example it is gusting 33kts.
Then lastly the KT stands for knots (Nautical Miles per Hour).

Note:
If you don’t see a G it means there are no gusts.

Visibility

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

All 4 numbers here will represent the distance for the visibility in meters. For this example though we have 9999, this means that the visibility is better than 10km (10000m).

Clouds

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

Now we are looking at the cloud coverage and the height of the base.
The first 3 letters represent the coverage, in this example the SCT represents Scattered. Scattered is when the sky has 3/8 – 4/8 coverage.

SKC or CLR – Clear – 0/8
FEW – Few – 1/8 to 2/8
SCT – Scattered – 3/8 to 4/8
BKN – Broken – 5/8 to 7/8
OVC – Overcast – 8/8

The 3 numbers represent the level of the cloud base, the 1st number is 10000s, the 2nd is 1000s and the last is 100s. For the example above it is 035 which means 3500 ft.

We can also have multiple levels of cloud coverage, see the example below. 

FAGG 031500Z 20013KT 9999 SCT035 BKN045 17/07 Q1025

This example shows a Scattered (3/8 to 4/8) layer at 3500 ft and a Broken (5/8 to 7/8) layer at 4500 ft.

Temperature

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

This is the Max temperature during the TAF.
The TX represents Maximum. The first 2 numbers represent the temperature, 26ºC for this example. Then the next 2 numbers on the right of the / is the day (date) 04th and the last 2 numbers is the time at which the temperature was at its max. For this exampler the max temperature was on the 4th at 1200 UTC.

TAF FACT 031410Z 0312/0418 17026KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z

This is the Min temperature during the TAF.
The TN represents Minimum. The first 2 numbers represent the temperature, 14ºC for this example. Then the next 2 numbers on the right of the / is the day (date) 04th and the last 2 numbers is the time at which the temperature was at its min. For this exampler the min temperature was on the 4th at 0400 UTC.

Changes

TAF FACT 032200Z 0400/0506 17020KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z FM041100 17025KT CAVOK PROB40 TEMPO 0412/0416 17025G35KT BECMG 0421/0423 VRB03KT 

When you see FM you can expect a change in the weather. The first 2 numbers will represent the day (date) and the next 4 numbers will represent the time in UTC.
For this example there will be a change in the weather on the 04th at 1100 UTC. The wind will be changing to 170° 25 kts, and the ceiling and visibility will be greater than 5000 ft and 10km. 

TAF FACT 032200Z 0400/0506 17020KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z FM041100 17025KT CAVOK PROB40 TEMPO 0412/0416 17025G35KT BECMG 0421/0423 VRB03KT 

PROB means there is a probability of a change, the number being the percentage. In this case the number will represent a 40% chance.

TAF FACT 032200Z 0400/0506 17020KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z FM041100 17025KT CAVOK PROB40 TEMPO 0412/0416 17025G35KT BECMG 0421/0423 VRB03KT 

TEMPO means there will be a temporary change between the specified date and time. In this case the change will have a probability of 40% on the 4th between 1200 and 1600 UTC, the change will be the wind to 170° 25 kts, gusting 35 kts.

TAF FACT 032200Z 0400/0506 17020KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z FM041100 17025KT CAVOK PROB40 TEMPO 0412/0416 17025G35KT BECMG 0421/0423 VRB03KT 

BECMG stands for becoming. It also uses date and time and will change between these times. This example we will have a changing of the wind on the 04th between 2100 and 2300 UTC to a variable wind of 03 kts. VRB represents variable, meaning the wind can come from any direction.

Example

Sometimes you may think – How to Read a TAF?
There are a few apps that translate the TAF to normal English, and Windy is one of them.

I will put a link to the Windy App HERE , which I use all the time, that automatically does this for you.
*The times have been changed to Local time.

TAF FACT 032200Z 0400/0506 17020KT 9999 FEW035 TX26/0412Z TN14/0404Z FM041100 17025KT CAVOK PROB40 TEMPO 0412/0416 17025G35KT BECMG 0421/0423 VRB03KT 

Extra Info

There are many codes that can be used for explaining the weather in more detail. I am not going to go over that as there are so many possibilities and combinations for the weather that in would just take too long and make this post unreadable. However I will put a downloadable PDF below with the information on How to Read a TAF below.

TAF/METAR Short Codes
WINDY APP

For info on METARs follow the link below:

HOW TO READ A METAR

I hope you found the info on How to Read a TAF useful and easy to understand.

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