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WMO Weather Icons explained

We use WMO weather icons to display present weather information in all of our products.

This overview table contains all icons, the official code, and where available, the corresponding METAR code.

Table is provided by NOAA. See also an overview of just the symbols available in METARS.

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Use multiple AeroWeather complications on the Apple Watch

Starting with version 3.5.1 of AeroWeather (September 2022) the behaviour of adding/managing complications for the Apple Watch has changed. You can now add multiple complications for different stations to a watch face. Depending on the watch face, up to 8 complications/stations can be added!

If you currently use a complication, you need to re-set the complication, as there is no automated migration. If you get a "complication" error message, just set a new complication. (See below)

Instead of setting the station within the AeroWeather app, you now pick the complication and the station directly in the respective watch face (do a long tap on the watch face, tap “Edit”, swipe until you see the complication section, tap the complication, scroll to the desired station and select it) when setting the complication:

Every station that is in your list will be shown as an option to be added to the complication.

Please note: you cannot use the nearby stations list to set a complication. The desired station needs to be present in your station list.

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Keyword Highlighting with Regular Expressions

In recent versions of AeroWeather (both Pro and Lite) we've added the possibility to use regular expressions for highlighting keywords in raw data. (METAR, TAF, ATIS, and NOTAM)

Regular expressions (regex) are very powerful, but also quite obscure and complicated to use. To help you get started, we've collected a list of examples for various scenarios and show you how to adjust some of these regex.

Cloud Ceiling

OVC < 2000 OVC0[0-1]\d

To customise, adjust the "0-1" to your needs, e.g. "0-3" for below 4000 or "0-6" for below 7000.

OVC >= 2000 OVC(0[2-9]\d|[1-9]\d\d)

For values between 1000 and 9000, this one can easily be adjusted: in the braked "2-9", just update the first digit, e.g. 3 for greater than 3000. For 9000, remove the bracket all-together and just use "09\d".

BKN <= 2000 BKN0([0-1]\d{1}|20)

OVC < 1000 OVC00\d

Two more special cases.

Visibility in KM

Visibility < 8000 \s([0-7]\d{3})\s

To customise, adjust the second digit in the bracket accordingly, e.g. [0-5] for blow 6000.

Visibility >= 5000 \s([5-9]\d{3})\s

Again, change the first digit in the bracket, e.g. [3-9] for greater 3000.

Visibility in SM

Visibility >= 10SM 1\dSM

Special case for anything equal or greater 10SM.

Visibility >= 5SM ((0|\s)[5-9]|\d\d)(\s\d\/\d)?SM

To adjust, change the first digit in the bracket. E.g. [7-9] for greater or equal than 7 SM.

Visibility < 6SM KT\s(\d\/\d|[0-5](\s\d\/\d)?)SM

This includes all fractions of a SM, so 5 1/2 would be included. To adjust, change the second digit in the bracket, e.g. [0-3] for smaller than 4 SM.

Wind

Wind >= 20 KTS \d{3}[2-9]\d(G\d\d)?KT

Update the first digit in the bracket for other values, e.g. [4-9] for greater or equal than 40 KTS.

Gusts >= 30 KTS \d{5}G[3-9]\dKT

Update the first digit in the bracket to adjust, e.g. [2-9] for 20 KTS.

More information for the curious

Direct comparison of numbers in regex are not possible. Only single digits can be used to determine a positive match. That's why some regex are quite long and complicated, even for a trivial comparison.

Regular expressions on Wikipedia

Online regex tool for creation and testing

Please also note, that you cannot use the comma "," character in regex in AeroWeather, as we use the comma as a delimiter for simple keyword lists. Other than that, all standard regex functionality can be used.

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METAR Plot Complications for Apple Watch

Apr 5, 2020: When using METAR Plot on your Apple Watch you can also access weather data for your favourite station directly on your watch face. 

Two different complications are supported: graphic rectangular and graphic circular

The graphic rectangular complications contains the same information as the full station plot.

The graphic circular complication contains most information. Excluded are dewpoint, visibility and issue time.

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Highlighting in raw METAR/TAF

May 5, 2019:  Highlighting relevant information in raw METAR and TAF helps to faster browse through them. Any keyword can be defined to be highlighted in one of the predefined colors (in “settings > format > highlight keywords”) according to your needs.

The keyword list in case-insensitive. Separate keywords by commas (blanks will be removed automatically). 

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AeroWeather Meteograms In-Depth

February 18, 2019: For a better understanding of the new meteograms in AeroWeather, we want to give some insights on how data is collected and interpreted. This should help you get more out of this additional and valuable information!

We use data from two sources: Meteograms in the US are based on US NOAA MOS models GFS (for long forecast, updated every 6 hours) and LAMP (for 24h forecasts, updated every hour). For all other stations, we use MOSMIX data from DWD (Deutscher Wetterdienst).

Every hour, we fetch the latest MOS data, process it, and store it on our database, from where it is distributed to the apps.

Meteograms include the following data:

Temperature and dew-point

Wind direction and speed, calm if there is no wind arrow. (variable winds are not available)

Wind gusts - only available for LAMP and MOSMIX forecasts. A red x means gusts are unknown. An empty space means no gusts.

Snow or ice are depicted with a snow or icicle symbol. (See part 2 for more information on that)

Thunderstorms and lightning are depicted with a flash symbol

Obstruction to vision uses standard labels: HZ (haze, smoke, dust), BR (mist; visibility >= 5/8 mile), FG (fog; visibility < 5/8 mile), BL (blowing dust, sand, snow); or N (none). For MOSMIX forecast only FG is supported at the moment.

Cloud coverage uses standard symbols for clear, few, scattered, broken, and overcast

Visibility if below 6 SM (10 km), otherwise, an infinite symbol is displayed

Flightrule calculated from all data displayed plus the ceiling height which is not displayed in the diagram

For some stations not all forecast data types are available. If data is missing, it will be displayed directly in the meteogram as “data is not available”. If only parts of the data forecast is missing or unknown, the space is left blank. (Applicable to temperature, wind, and cloud coverage)

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Siri Shortcuts for METARs

December 9, 2018: With Siri shortcuts you can request a METAR read-out (ATIS like) thru Siri. For example you would say “Hey Siri, METAR for Boston” to ask Siri to fetch, read, and display the METAR.

For each airport you have to define the shortcut with an invocation phrase first.

AeroWeather Lite: go any station’s detail view and scroll down until you see “Add To Siri”.

AeroWeather Pro: go any station’s detail view and tap on the “Location tab. Then scroll down until you see “Add To Siri”.

Next you will see Apple’s standard view to record the invocation phrase. Tap on the red button and record what makes sense to you. e.g., “METAR for Boston”.

Tap on “Done” and the shortcut is set. Instead of “Add to Siri” you will see the invoctaion phrase. 

In order to see all your defined shortcuts, go to “Settings > Siri Shortcuts”. There you can change the phrase or delete a shortcut (that also possible in the station’s detail view).

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AeroWeather Plus Subscription for dedicated METAR/TAF access, alerts, and meteograms

October 18, 2018 (updated Mar 7, 2019): from releases 2.3 (Lite) and 2.5 (Pro) on we added a subscription model mainly for features which generate recurring operational costs for us. Each subscription starts with a trial period.

Previously purchased unlock features (e.g., Alerts) are not affected and will still work with or without subscription.

To keep it simple, there's only one subscription (called Plus Package) type which simply varies in time periods (1 month, 2 months, 12 months). The subscription is valid in both AeroWeather Lite and Pro. For example, you can also use the subscription features in the Pro version even if you purchased the subscription in the Lite version (and vice versa). Cross app subscription support is only available if iCloud (with the same Apple ID) is enabled.

In Lite and Pro the subscription will enable:

Dedicated METAR/TAF data source option (* see also note below). Due to occasional service issues with public data services (which are usually not caused by AeroWeather) we offer now access to METAR/TAF from a certified ANSP (MeteoSwiss) through dedicated and redundant servers.

Alert notification offer the possibility to define multiple alerts for each station with the following criteria: flight rule (US NOAA), wind speed, temperature, pressure, present weather, visibility, and ceiling (BKN and OVC).

Meteograms show more forecast data based on MOS (Model Output Statistics). Data shown includes temperature, dew point, wind speed and direction, clouds coverage, visibility, and flightrules. Meteograms are available for approx. 3200 stations

In Lite an active subscription additionally includes:

Removal of ad banner

Widget option which includes the today widget and possibility to display up to 12 hours of latest METARs (raw format only)

Even more details are available at our Subscription Terms of Use.

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ISA Deviation

11. January 2018

ISA temperature deviation is now shown next to the actual temperature. Flying in ISA-plus temperatures can have a negative impact on performance.

Consider the following example for Jundiai airport (SBJD). 

ISA deviation is defined as: actual temperature - ISA temperature. 

Standard sea level temperature is defined to 15°C (59°F) at MSL and decreases approx. 2°C per 1000 ft altitude. 

In the example above the ISA temperature at 2484 ft is 10°C. 

15°C - 2.484 x 2°C = 10°C; and then get the deviation: 24°C - 10°C = +14°C

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Runway Wind Components

10. November 2017

Wind components are calculated based on the latest METAR. 

Values on the left side show either speed of tailwind or headwind and the arrow indicates the direction of the wind. The color of the designators indicates whether there is headwind (green) or tailwind (red).

Values on the right side show crosswinds. The direction arrow needs to be interpretd from the respective runway. In the example below it is from left for RWY 09 and from right for RWY 27.

A windsocks indicates if there are gusts and wind components with gusts are additionally shown (after the /). 

Example: RWY 09 has a headwind component of 2.9 kts (gusts 5.0 kts) and crosswind of 7.5 kts (gusts 13.1 kts) from left side.

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Alert notifications in AeroWeather Lite & Pro

6. November 2017 (updated Mar 7, 2019)

Create/modify alerts: in AeroWeather Pro go to any station detail page and then tap on "Location" (center bottom). When scrolling down you'll see the alerts. In AeroWeather Lite go to any station detail page and scroll down.

Alert status: if an alert is enabled the server sends notifications whenever the criteria is met. If you don't want a particular alert temporarily you can just disable it and enable it again at a later point in time.

Alerts group: this group in the main list just gives you an overview of all defined alerts grouped by stations. It's not possible to create alerts there, however, alerts can be edited. A checkmark indicates that an alert is enabled. Only enabled alerts will be executed.

Internet access is required to view, create, and edit alerts. There's is currently no limitation on the number of alerts per station. Alerts are not synchronized among devices (even with cloud synchronization enabled).

Alert can be defined for flight rules NOAA, wind, visibility, ceiling, pressure, and present weather. 

Alert notifications are available as part of the Plus subscription.

Do a force-touch on the iPhone (or long touch on iPads resp. non 3D-touch iPhones) on notifications to quickly see the raw METAR.

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NOTAM Indicators

11. October 2016: with the latest release of AeroWeather Pro we have unified the NOTAM layout on AeroWeather Pro and AeroNOTAM. 

The two indicators next to the VFR/IFR symbols might not be that well known:

NOTAM Scope (yellow or blue): 

The upper indicator’s possible values are A, E, W, K.

W (always in yellow) stands for navigational warning and is usually for FIR NOTAMs. If it’s blue you’ll see E (En-Route Information), A (Aerodrome) or a combination (e.g., AW, AE).

NOTAM Purpose (gray): 

The lower indicator’s possible values are N, B, O, M, or combinations.

N = NOTAM selected for the immediate attention to aircraft operators. O = Operationally significant NOTAM. B = NOTAM selected for PIB (Pre-Flight Information Bulletin) entry. M = NOTAM contains miscellaneous information and will not appear in PIB, unless specifically requested.

The value K can appear in both indicators and referrs to a checklist NOTAM.

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AeroWeather Pro Update

27. Sep. 2016: the latest update (1.9) includes many improved features and functionality and is adapted for iOS 10. 

Improvements and bug fixes

NOTAM: we complete redesigned the NOTAM section which uses the same layout as AeroNOTAM. NOTAMs are downloaded for all airports automatically via background fetch when the NOTAM loading option (in settings) is switched on. If you don’t need NOATMs you might want to switch this off in order to reduce unnecessary data traffic. Is always possible to manually (even if loading switch is disabled) load all NOTAMs by taping the refresh button in group list view.

Layout changes: country flags are shown to improve readability when appropriate sorting option is set. We also included a TAF indicator which tells you if an airport TAF is available in the detail view.

iOS 10: Widget layout is now adopted to new color scheme and data loading thru pull down works again.

Bug fixes: on iPhones 6/7 and 6+/7+ webcam detail images at the end of the list were incorrect (overlapped) displayed. Data transfer to Apple Watch should be more reliable now. In any case, changing the order of station in the widget group does force an update to the watch. 

Watch Complication

Now we offer even more possibilities to customize complication display (depending on the complication type). There are indicators for present weather, wind, ceiling and visibility.

Use the Watch app on your iPhone to customize the thresholds for the wind, ceiling and visibility indicators. Whenever a limit is reached it’ll be displayed by a letter code:

W: wind speed greater or equal defined limit (WG: if there are gusts)

C: ceiling lower or equal defined limit

V: visibility lower or equal defined limit

There is also an option to show present weather as 2-letter METAR code or symbol (e.g., ❄️ or SN).

Download it in the App Store