FAA Commercial Pilot Airplane (CAX)WeatherEasy
A pilot receives a METAR report indicating 'OVC005'. According to the standard interpretation of sky cover, what does this report signify?
- ABroken clouds at 500 feet AGL
- BScattered clouds at 500 feet AGL
- COvercast clouds at 500 feet AGL
- DOvercast clouds at 5,000 feet AGL
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: C. Overcast clouds at 500 feet AGL
In a METAR, 'OVC' stands for Overcast, indicating that 8/8ths of the sky is covered by clouds. The '005' refers to the cloud base height in hundreds of feet AGL, so 005 means 500 feet Above Ground Level.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Broken clouds are denoted by 'BKN'.
- B. Scattered clouds are denoted by 'SCT'.
- D. 5,000 feet AGL would be coded as 'OVC050'.
METAR Sky Cover
Aviation weather reports (METARs) use specific codes to describe cloud coverage and height.
- FEW: Few (1/8 - 2/8 cloud coverage)
- SCT: Scattered (3/8 - 4/8 cloud coverage)
- BKN: Broken (5/8 - 7/8 cloud coverage)
- OVC: Overcast (8/8 cloud coverage)
- Cloud heights are in hundreds of feet AGL.
Memory trick: Few, Scatter, Broken, Overcast – each takes more sky from low to high.