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METAR Winds - True or Magnetic?

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Is the wind magnetic or true in the METAR/TAF reports?

METAR winds are true and ATIS winds are magnetic, except Digital ATIS.

Huh?

Digital ATIS comes directly from ASOS which reports winds in true directions. There are 57 known sites where pilots are not getting magnetic winds. As of this writing, the FAA is not able to provide a complete list of these sites. According to Danny Mortensen (a flight crew training instructor for DHL and president of Airline Ground School), the sites listed below are digital ATIS sites.

ATL, DFW, MCI, PHL, SLC, AUS, DTW, MCO, PIT, SMF, BDL, EWR, MIA, RDU, TPA, BOS, IAD, MSP, SAT, CVG, IAH, MSY, SEA, DCA, JFK, ORD, SFO, DEN, LAX, PHL, SJC

For more information on this subject, see "New Weather."

Rod Machado
Rod Machado
Rod Machado is a flight instructor, author, educator, and speaker.

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