What Does PK WND Mean in a METAR?
PK WND means peak wind since the last METAR: direction, speed, and the time it occurred. It stands for PeaK WiND.
PK WND in a real report
PK WND 20032/25
That reads as peak wind 32 knots from 200° at :25 past the hour.
What it changes for you
The body of a METAR describes roughly the last ten minutes. PK WND describes
the whole hour, so it catches the moment the body has already forgotten.
PK WND 28045/1732 reads as 45 knots from 280 degrees, at 1732Z. Two questions
follow from it: how strong, and how long ago.
A peak fifty minutes ago with a calm current wind tells you something passed through. A peak five minutes ago tells you it is still here.
Where it matters most
Crosswind planning. A crosswind that is within limits on the current wind group can be well outside them on the peak, and the aircraft does not care which number you read.
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
What does PK WND mean in a METAR?
Peak wind. It records the highest instantaneous wind since the last routine report, as direction and speed followed by the time it happened. PK WND 28045/1732 is 45 knots from 280 degrees at 1732Z.
How is PK WND different from a gust?
A gust in the body of the METAR is part of the current wind group and describes the last ten minutes. PK WND looks back over the whole hour since the previous report, so it can be much higher than anything in the body.