Reading the METAR Wind Group: Direction, Speed, and Gusts

The wind group is the first number block in a METAR, and it packs three or four facts into a single token. In 18015G25KT the wind is from 180 degrees true at 15 knots gusting 25, and wxdecoder.com splits each value into a labeled plain-English line. Once you can read the pattern, every wind group decodes the same way.

This guide covers the standard format, gusts, units, the variable-direction range, and the special cases for calm and variable wind. It is part of the METAR field guide; for the flight-category side of the picture, see VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR.

The standard format: dddffGfffKT

The wind group follows a fixed template:

dddffKT          calm-to-steady wind
dddffGfffKT      wind with a gust

• ddd is the direction the wind is blowing from, in degrees true, rounded to the nearest ten.
• ff (or fff) is the sustained speed.
• G plus ff/fff is the gust, present only when it applies.
• KT is the unit, knots.

So 09012KT is wind from 090 degrees true at 12 knots, with no gust. Direction always uses three digits and speed at least two, which is why a light wind from the east reads 09005KT, not 9 5.

Direction is degrees true, not magnetic

This is the single most common trap. METAR wind direction is referenced to true north. The control tower, ATIS, and your heading indicator work in magnetic north. The two differ by the local magnetic variation, which can be 10 to 20 degrees in much of North America and more at high latitudes.

The practical effect: a METAR that says 36010KT at a field with 10 degrees east variation is a wind that the tower would call "350 at 10." When you compute a crosswind from the METAR, use the true runway heading, or convert both to the same reference first.

Speed and the gust

The sustained speed is a two- or three-digit value in knots. Three digits appear only when the wind is 100 knots or more, which you will mostly see in tropical cyclones.

A gust is reported as G followed by the peak speed, and only when the peak exceeds the sustained speed by 10 knots or more. In 18015G25KT, the field is seeing a sustained 15 knots with peaks to 25, a 10-knot gust spread. Gust spread matters: a wide spread signals mechanical turbulence or convective activity, and it is what pushes the crosswind past your personal limit on the strongest gust rather than the average.

Units: KT, MPS, and MPH

Most of the world reports wind in knots with the KT suffix. Two other units appear:

A wind of 08006MPS is 6 meters per second, roughly 12 knots, so the unit is not a detail you can skip. When in doubt, paste the report into the decoder and it labels the unit explicitly.

The variable-direction range: dddVddd

When the wind direction swings around, a METAR adds a second token of the form dddVddd right after the main wind group:

21009G19KT 060V130

The 060V130 means the direction varied between 060 and 130 degrees. This range is reported only when the direction varied by 60 degrees or more while the sustained speed stayed above 6 knots. It tells you the wind is unsteady in direction, which is useful when you are picking a runway or judging a crosswind that could come from either edge of the range. The deeper case, when the wind is too variable to assign any single direction, is covered in what VRB and 180V240 mean.

Special cases

A few wind groups do not follow the digit pattern:

• 00000KT is calm: no measurable wind, no direction assigned.
• VRB03KT is a variable direction at 3 knots, used when the speed is 6 knots or less or the wind is genuinely directionless. See variable wind for the full rule.
• /////KT means the wind sensor data is missing.

Worked examples

27018KT Wind from 270 degrees true at 18 knots, steady, no gust.

33015G28KT Wind from 330 degrees true at 15 knots gusting 28. The 13-knot spread is worth a second look before a crosswind landing.

05008KT 020V090 Wind from 050 degrees true at 8 knots, varying in direction between 020 and 090 degrees.

00000KT Calm.

One more caveat for every example: METAR wind is measured roughly 33 feet (10 meters) above the surface, so it describes the surface wind only. It tells you nothing about the much stronger winds aloft, which you read from a forecast or a TAF.

Decode any wind group instantly

The pattern is always the same: direction in degrees true, sustained speed, an optional gust, the unit, and an optional variable range. When you want it read for you, paste the raw report into wxdecoder and every group, wind included, is translated into a labeled plain-English line. To see how the wind feeds the go/no-go picture, read the flight categories next.

Last updated June 29, 2026