Runway Visual Range: Decoding R06/2000FT

When visibility drops, the METAR stops relying on the human eye alone and adds a machine reading taken right at the runway. R06/2000FT reports a runway visual range of 2,000 feet for runway 06, a value that drives takeoff and approach legality in low visibility. Unlike the prevailing visibility group, which describes the field as a whole, RVR is measured by transmissometers or forward-scatter sensors set alongside a specific runway, so it tells you what a pilot at the touchdown zone can actually see down that strip of pavement.

This guide covers the R<runway>/<value> format, the US feet and ICAO meter conventions, the P and M sensor-limit prefixes, the U/D/N trend, the variable form, and parallel-runway letters. It is part of the METAR field guide; for the prevailing-visibility side of the picture, read METAR visibility.

The format: R, runway, slash, value

Every RVR token follows one template:

R06/2000FT       runway 06, RVR 2,000 feet
R24/0800FT       runway 24, RVR 800 feet

• R is the literal flag that opens the group.
• 06 is the runway identifier, the same two digits painted on the runway and rounded from its magnetic heading.
• / separates the runway from the reading.
• 2000 is the visual range itself.
• FT is the unit, feet, in US reports.

So R06/2000FT decodes as: along runway 06, the sensor reports a visual range of 2,000 feet. The value is the distance a pilot can see runway markings or the centerline lights, not the slant range to anything in the air. Paste any report into wxdecoder and it labels the runway and the range on separate plain-English lines.

Feet in the US, meters under ICAO

The unit depends on who runs the station. US reports append FT and give the range in feet, as in R06/2000FT. ICAO stations elsewhere report RVR in meters with no unit suffix, so R06/0600 is a 600-meter visual range, not 600 feet. The presence or absence of FT is the tell. This mirrors the broader split in the visibility group, where the US uses statute miles and the rest of the world uses meters.

The magnitudes are very different, so the unit is never a detail to skip. A 2,000-foot RVR is roughly 600 meters; a bare R06/0600 and a R06/2000FT describe nearly the same conditions in two unit systems.

The P and M prefixes: beyond the sensor

An RVR sensor has a measurement floor and ceiling. When the real range falls outside that band, the METAR flags it rather than reporting a false precise number:

• P means more than the value shown, the sensor's maximum. R06/P6000FT means the range is greater than 6,000 feet, which is as far as that sensor reads.
• M means less than the value shown, the sensor's minimum. R06/M0600FT means the range is below 600 feet, the lowest the sensor can resolve.

These are the same P (plus, more than) and M (minus, less than) conventions you see elsewhere in a METAR, such as P6SM for prevailing visibility. Read them as inequalities: P is an upper-bounded "at least this good," M is a "worse than this" warning.

The trend suffix: U, D, and N

US RVR tokens can carry a one-letter trend after the value, describing how the range has moved over the past few minutes:

• U = upward, the range is improving.
• D = downward, the range is deteriorating.
• N = no change.

So R06/2000FT/D is 2,000 feet and falling, which is a different operational picture from R06/2000FT/U at the same instant even though the number is identical. A downward trend in already-low RVR is the case that tightens fastest. Not every report includes a trend letter; when conditions are steady or the equipment does not compute one, it is simply absent.

The variable form: a low and a high

When the visual range fluctuates significantly during the observation, the METAR reports a range instead of a single value, joining the extremes with V:

R06/0600V1200FT      runway 06, RVR varying 600 to 1,200 feet

R06/0600V1200 (meters) or R06/0600V1200FT (feet) means the range swung between a 600 low and a 1,200 high. The same V separator marks the variable-wind range elsewhere in the report. A wide variable RVR signals patchy fog or blowing snow moving across the sensor, so the lower number is the one to plan against.

Parallel runways: L, C, and R

At fields with parallel runways that share the same number, a letter distinguishes them, exactly as it appears in the runway designation itself: L for left, C for center, R for right. The letter rides with the runway identifier inside the RVR token:

R06L/1800FT          runway 06 left, RVR 1,800 feet
R06R/2400FT          runway 06 right, RVR 2,400 feet

A single METAR can list RVR for several runways at once, each with its own value, because fog is rarely uniform across a large airport. A field like Dallas/Fort Worth with multiple parallels may report a different RVR for each one.

Worked examples

Read each one as runway first, then range, then any prefix or suffix that bounds or qualifies the number.

Why RVR matters operationally

RVR exists because prevailing visibility, measured for the whole field, does not describe what a pilot sees from the cockpit at the start of the takeoff roll or on short final. A sensor at the touchdown zone captures fog, snow, or haze sitting right on the runway. That is why RVR appears only in low visibility, roughly one statute mile or 2,000 meters or less, and is omitted when there is nothing to constrain operations.

The reason it carries weight is that takeoff and approach procedures in low visibility are gated on the reported visual range for the runway in use. The exact figures are published per procedure and per operation, and they are not something to read off this page, but the principle is direct: a falling or below-minimum RVR can be the single value that determines whether an approach continues or a takeoff begins. That makes the trend letter and the M prefix worth as much attention as the number. wxdecoder is a situational-awareness tool, not an official briefing source, so confirm the operative values from your charts and the current weather.

To see how the touchdown-zone reading fits against the prevailing visibility and the flight-category thresholds, read those next.

Decode any RVR group instantly

The pattern holds every time: R, the runway (with an L, C, or R if parallel), a slash, the visual range, the unit if US, and any P/M bound, V range, or U/D/N trend. When you want it read for you, paste the raw report into wxdecoder and the runway visual range is split out runway by runway in labeled, plain-English lines.

Last updated June 29, 2026