What Does FEW Mean in a METAR?
FEW means few clouds: 1 to 2 oktas (eighths) of sky cover.
FEW in a real report
FEW055
What it changes for you
FEW never sets a ceiling, however low it is reported.
That is worth learning, because a low FEW layer looks alarming and changes
nothing. FEW002 OVC030 has a 3,000 foot ceiling, not a 200 foot one.
What it still tells you
A low few layer is often the first sign of something forming. Scattered and
broken often follow within an hour or two as the air saturates. So a FEW layer
with a tight temperature and dew point spread is a trend to watch.
Few at the surface
FEW000 puts the layer at or below 50 feet. That is a surface-based partial
obscuration: shallow fog, blowing snow or blowing dust covering one or two
eighths of the sky.
It still sets no ceiling. What it does tell you is that something is sitting on the field, and that the same air could thicken into a proper obscuration if the temperature keeps dropping.
Related codes
Decode a report containing this code
Paste a METAR, TAF, PIREP or SIGMET into the WxDecoder decoder. Every group comes back in plain English. The raw code sits beside it, so you can check the decode rather than trust it.
Frequently asked questions
Does FEW count as a ceiling?
No. FEW is 1 to 2 eighths of sky cover, and a ceiling needs 5 eighths or more. A FEW layer at 200 feet still leaves the ceiling to be set by whatever broken or overcast layer sits above it.
What does FEW000 mean?
Few cloud at the surface, which is a surface-based partial obscuration such as shallow fog or blowing snow covering 1 to 2 eighths. The zero height means the layer is at or below 50 feet.