What Does TS Mean in a METAR?
TS means thunderstorm. It stands for ThunderStorm.
TS in a real report
TSRA
That reads as thunderstorm with rain.
What it changes for you
TS is the one descriptor that changes a flight rather than adjusting it.
A thunderstorm brings severe or greater turbulence, severe icing, hail, wind shear and downdrafts, all at once and all inside a small area. None of those are listed separately, because the code assumes you know they travel together.
What to read beside it
CBin the cloud groups tells you the storm cloud is there and identifiedVCTSmeans a thunderstorm in the vicinity, roughly 5 to 10 miles outPK WNDoften records the gust front that arrived with it- A
TSBorTSEremark gives the time it began or ended
A report with VCTS and no TS says the station is next to a storm, not in it.
That distinction matters for whether you can depart between cells.
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 TS mean in a METAR?
Thunderstorm. It is a descriptor, so it usually appears attached to precipitation, as in TSRA for a thunderstorm with rain. On its own it means thunder was heard or lightning seen with no precipitation reaching the station.
Does TS always come with rain?
No. TS alone means thunder or lightning without measurable precipitation at the station. TSRA, TSSN and TSGR add rain, snow and hail. The station reports what reaches it, not what is happening a few miles away.