Do I Need to Know METAR for Part 107?

Short answer: yes. You should know how to read a METAR for the Part 107 test, and you should be comfortable enough with it that a weather question does not throw you off. METAR is one of the weather skills that shows up on the exam, and it matters in real drone operations because it helps you judge wind, visibility, cloud ceilings, and overall go or no-go conditions.

If you want the official references, start with the Aviation Weather Center METAR guide, the FAA Aviation Weather Handbook, and the FAA meteorology section in the AIM. But if those feel dense, good. This page should provide a good condensed reference in plain English.

How important is METAR for Part 107?

Think of it as one of the core weather topics you should know alongside things like TAFs, stability, fog, fronts, and basic weather effects on flight.

The FAA wants you to read a weather report and understand what it means operationally. A METAR question is usually asking whether you can translate the code, spot an important weather detail, and make a sound judgment.

A safe assumption is that you may see a small set of weather-interpretation questions, and METAR is common enough that you should know it well.

What is a METAR?

A METAR is a routine aviation weather report. It gives you a quick snapshot of observed weather conditions at an airport or weather station.

A typical METAR includes:

station identifier
observation time
wind
visibility
weather phenomena like fog, haze, rain, or mist
cloud layers
temperature and dew point
altimeter setting
sometimes remarks

For Part 107, you do not need to memorize every edge-case remark. You do need to be able to read the main body confidently.

A full METAR example

Take this example:

METAR KDEN 121653Z 22012G20KT 10SM FEW050 SCT120 BKN200 18/06 A3012

Here is the clean translation:

METAR = routine report
KDEN = Denver International Airport
121653Z = reported on the 12th at 16:53 UTC
22012G20KT = wind from 220° at 12 knots, gusting to 20 knots
10SM = visibility 10 statute miles
FEW050 SCT120 BKN200 = few clouds at 5,000 feet, scattered at 12,000 feet, broken at 20,000 feet
18/06 = temperature 18°C, dew point 6°C
A3012 = altimeter 30.12 inHg

Plain English: visibility is good, clouds are not a low-altitude problem, but gusty winds might matter for a drone operation.

How to read each part of a METAR

1) Station identifier

This tells you where the observation came from. In the continental U.S., the code usually starts with K. So KDEN is Denver, KLAX is Los Angeles, and KJFK is JFK.

Memory aid: for most U.S. Part 107 questions, if it starts with K, think “U.S. airport code.”

2) Date and time

121653Z means:

12 = 12th day of the month
1653 = 16:53
Z = Zulu time, which means UTC

Part 107 questions may check whether you recognize that METARs use UTC, not local time.

3) Wind

This is one of the most important parts for drone pilots.

22012G20KT breaks down like this:

220 = wind is coming from 220°
12 = sustained wind speed 12 knots
G20 = gusting to 20 knots
KT = knots

Important: The wind direction is where the wind is coming from, not where it is going.

Memory aid: read wind as “from, at, gusting.” Example: “from 220, at 12, gusting 20.”

Other wind codes you may see:

VRB03KT = variable wind at 3 knots
00000KT = calm wind
180V240 = wind direction varying from 180° to 240°

For Part 107, gusts and variable winds are worth paying attention to because they can make small drones harder to control even when the average wind speed sounds manageable.

4) Visibility

10SM means 10 statute miles visibility.

You may also see:

6SM = 6 statute miles
1 1/2SM = 1.5 statute miles
M1/4SM = less than 1/4 statute mile

Memory aid: SM = statute miles. Keep it simple.

This is often tested in plain-language form. Under Part 107, drone pilots must maintain a minimum flight visibility of 3 statute miles (SM) from the control station If visibility is low, the FAA wants you to recognize that conditions may not support a safe operation.

5) Present weather codes

This is where METAR starts to seem like cryptography. The trick is to learn the common codes first.

Common weather codes:

RA = rain
SN = snow
FG = fog
BR = mist
HZ = haze
TS = thunderstorm
DZ = drizzle

Intensity markers:

-RA = light rain
+RA = heavy rain
VCFG = fog in the vicinity

Memory aid: learn the ones you are most likely to see in questions: RA, SN, FG, BR, HZ, TS. That gets you a long way.

6) Cloud layers and ceiling

This is the part that trips up a lot of people, and it is one of the most testable sections.
Here is the part to remember for the exam: The UAS must remain at least 500 feet below clouds and 2,000 feet horizontally away from them. Broken (BKN) and overcast (OVC) are considered ceilings, and flights must stay 500 feet below the cloud ceiling.

Cloud coverage codes:

FEW = few clouds
SCT = scattered clouds
BKN = broken clouds.
OVC = overcast

The number after the code is the height in hundreds of feet AGL.

FEW050 = few clouds at 5,000 feet AGL
SCT120 = scattered clouds at 12,000 feet AGL
BKN008 = broken clouds at 800 feet AGL
OVC015 = overcast at 1,500 feet AGL

So if you see FEW020 SCT030 BKN008, the ceiling is 800 feet AGL, not 2,000 or 3,000. So the drones max AGL is reduced by100. This is because if the ceiling is 800 and you must be 500 feet below, you only have 300 feet max height to fly: 800-500 = 300 instead of the 400 foot AGL default.

So if you see FEW020 SCT030 BKN008, the ceiling is 800 feet AGL. The Part 107 requires you to stay at least 500 feet below clouds. If the ceiling is 800 feet, your practical max altitude is only 300 feet AGL: 800 – 500 = 300, instead of the usual 400-foot AGL limit.

Memory aid: BKN and OVC block the sky enough to matter as a ceiling. FEW and SCT do not.

You may also see:

CLR = clear below 12,000 feet at automated stations
SKC = sky clear
VV003 = vertical visibility 300 feet into obscuration, which acts like a ceiling

7) Temperature and dew point

18/06 means temperature 18°C and dew point 6°C.

If the number is below zero, it is marked with M for minus:

M02/M08 = temperature -2°C, dew point -8°C

The useful takeaway is that when temperature and dew point are close together, the air is close to saturation. That raises the chance of fog, mist, or low cloud formation.

Memory aid: small spread = more moisture risk.

8) Altimeter setting

A3012 means altimeter 30.12 inches of mercury.

This matters more directly to crewed aircraft than to your small drone, but it is still part of the METAR structure and fair game on the test.

Memory aid: the A stands for altimeter, and you put the decimal before the last two digits: A2992 becomes 29.92.

9) Remarks

If you see RMK, that means remarks follow. Some remarks are more detailed and are less likely to be the heart of a basic Part 107 question, but you should at least recognize that they add extra weather information.

You might also see:

AO1 or AO2 = automated station type
PK WND = peak wind
SLP = sea-level pressure

Remember for for test day

When you get a METAR question, do not try to decode everything at once. Use this order:

Read the wind
Read the visibility
Check for weather codes like fog, haze, or rain
Check the cloud layers
Ask yourself whether there is a ceiling
Translate the whole report into normal language

What Part 107 questions are usually really asking

Most METAR questions boil down to one of these:

What does this code mean in plain English?
What is the wind?
What is the visibility?
What is the ceiling?
What weather hazard is present?
Would these conditions raise concerns for a safe operation?

If you understand those six ideas, you are in good shape.

If you want to make this easier, use realistic practice questions until the format starts to click. The fastest next step is to get the study app now.