What Does SCT Mean in a METAR?
SCT means scattered clouds: 3 to 4 oktas of sky cover. It stands for SCaTtered.
SCT in a real report
SCT055
What it changes for you
SCT is the last coverage that is not a ceiling, which makes it the boundary
worth knowing exactly.
Three to four eighths is scattered. Five eighths is broken, and broken is a ceiling. One okta of difference moves a report across the line that decides the flight category.
The perspective trap
From the ground, or on approach, a scattered layer at a shallow angle can look like a solid deck. The observer judges coverage overhead across the whole sky. So the report and your eyes can honestly disagree.
Remember it on approach, when a layer that looked solid from ten miles out opens up as you close in.
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 SCT count as a ceiling?
No. SCT is 3 to 4 eighths of sky cover, and a ceiling requires 5 eighths or more. Scattered cloud at any height leaves more than half the sky open, so it never sets the flight category on its own.
Why does SCT not count as a ceiling when it looks solid?
The observer judges coverage over the whole sky, not the part ahead of you. At a shallow angle a scattered layer can look continuous from underneath while still covering under half the sky overhead.