What Does SKC Mean in a METAR or TAF?
SKC means sky clear (reported by a human observer). It stands for SKy Clear.
SKC in a real report
SKC
What it changes for you
SKC is a human saying the sky is clear. That is a stronger statement than the
automated equivalent, because a person can see the whole sky and a ceilometer
cannot.
The difference matters when you plan a climb. CLR means nothing was detected
below 12,000 feet, so a layer at 15,000 fits it perfectly well. SKC means a
person looked up and saw nothing.
What it does not tell you
Nothing about visibility. Sky clear with half a mile in fog is a normal pairing. The flight category comes from the worse of ceiling and visibility.
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 is the difference between SKC and CLR in a METAR?
SKC is reported by a human observer who looked at the sky and saw no cloud. CLR comes from an automated station and means no cloud detected below 12,000 feet. CLR says nothing about cloud above that height.
Does SKC mean good weather?
It means no cloud, and nothing else. Visibility is reported separately in the same METAR, so a report can carry SKC and still sit well below VFR minimums in fog, haze or smoke. Read the two together.