Decoding Aviation Weather Report (METAR/SPECI) METAR is routine weather report issued at hourly or half-hourly intervals. It is a description of the meteorological elements observed at an airport at a specific time. SPECI is special weather report issued when there is significant deterioration or improvement in airport weather conditions, such as significant changes of surface winds, visibility, cloud base height and occurrence of severe weather. T he format of the SPECI report is similar to that of the METAR and the elements used have the same meaning. The identifier METAR or SPECI at the beginning of the weather report differentiates them. A METAR/SPECI report usually contains the following information: originating airport name, METAR/SPECI issue time, wind direction/speed/gust, wind direction variation, visibility, runway visual range, weather during time of observation, cloud, air temperature/dew-point, QNH (pressure measur...