What VRB and 180V240 Mean in a METAR

Wind rarely holds perfectly still, and a METAR has two distinct ways to tell you the direction is moving around. VRB marks wind too variable to assign a single direction, while 18015KT 150V210 means the wind is varying between 150 and 210 degrees. They look similar on the page but describe opposite ends of the same problem, and reading them backwards can leave you set up for the wrong runway.

This guide covers both forms: when each is reported, what they imply for runway and crosswind decisions, and how they sit next to calm wind. It is part of the METAR field guide and builds on the standard wind group, so read that first if dddffKT is not yet automatic for you.

Two ways to say "the wind is shifting"

A normal wind group commits to one direction, like 27012KT for 270 degrees at 12 knots. When the direction will not sit still, the report has to admit it, and the rule that decides which form to use is speed:

• If the sustained speed is 6 knots or less and the direction is indeterminate, the direction field itself becomes VRB.
• If the sustained speed is above 6 knots but the direction still varied by 60 degrees or more, the main group keeps its single direction and a separate dddVddd range is appended.

So light, swirling wind gets VRB, and a stronger wind that is wandering gets a defined range. The speed threshold is the hinge between them.

VRB: direction indeterminate

VRB takes the place of the three direction digits when the observation cannot pin the wind to one heading. It is paired with the speed and unit just like a normal group:

VRB03KT          variable direction at 3 knots
VRB05KT          variable direction at 5 knots

VRB03KT is wind from no fixed direction at 3 knots. This is the classic light-and-variable morning condition: a few knots of air that drifts from one quarter, then another, with nothing steady enough to call. Because the speed is low, the operational impact is small, but it does mean you cannot assume a headwind on any particular runway.

There is one less common case worth knowing: when the wind is strong but genuinely chaotic, such as near a thunderstorm gust front, an automated station may still report VRB with a higher speed because no single direction is meaningful. Treat that as a warning sign, not a quiet wind.

dddVddd: a defined variable range

When the wind is brisk enough to keep its number but still swings widely, the METAR keeps the main group and adds the range right after it:

18015KT 150V210      wind 180 at 15, varying 150 to 210
21018KT 180V240      wind 210 at 18, varying 180 to 240

In the first line the wind is 180 degrees at 15 knots, and the 150V210 says the direction was observed varying between 150 and 210 degrees. The second line reads the same way: 21018KT 180V240 is a wind from 210 degrees at 18 knots whose direction swung between 180 and 240 degrees. In both, the main group is the average or prevailing direction and the dddVddd token gives you the two edges it swung between. This range is added only when the swing was 60 degrees or more and the speed stayed above 6 knots, so its presence tells you the shifting is significant, not just sensor noise.

Read the range as a span you could see at any moment. With 150V210 and 15 knots, the wind could be on your nose from 180 one second and well off to one side the next, and that variability is the whole point of the report.

Why the range matters for runways and crosswinds

The reason this token earns its place is runway selection and crosswind judgement. A crosswind component is computed from the angle between the wind and the runway heading, and a wide variable range means that angle is not fixed.

Take a landing on runway 18 (heading 180) with 18015KT 150V210. The average wind is straight down the runway, a clean headwind. But at the 210 edge the wind is 30 degrees off to one side, and at the 150 edge it is 30 degrees off to the other. Your crosswind is not zero; it is swinging across both sides of centerline, and it can reverse direction during the flare. Planning only for the average 180 understates what you will actually feel. The conservative read is to size your crosswind for the worst edge of the range, the same way you plan a gust around the peak rather than the sustained speed.

VRB carries the same caution in a lighter package: with the direction unknown, you cannot count on any runway giving you a headwind, so favor the longer runway and stay ready for a tailwind component.

Calm wind, for contrast

It helps to line all three up against true calm:

00000KT is genuinely calm: no measurable wind at all. VRB04KT is not calm, there is a real 4 knots, you just cannot say where from. And the third row has a firm direction with a measured spread around it. Three different situations that a quick glance can blur together, which is exactly why the format keeps them distinct.

Decode any wind, variable included

The pattern reduces to one question: did the wind keep its direction or not, and at what speed. Light and directionless reads VRB; brisk and wandering keeps its number and adds a dddVddd range; truly still reads 00000KT. When you want it spelled out, paste the raw report into wxdecoder and the variable forms are labeled alongside speed, gusts, and units. To see how that wind feeds the go/no-go picture, read the flight categories next, and revisit the main wind group guide any time the base format slips.

Last updated June 29, 2026