TAF Decoder
Paste a raw TAF or type an airport code. Every change group decoded as you type.
Accepts a civil or military TAF, an ICAO code like KDFW, or an airport name.
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The WxDecoder app gives you live weather, maps, route weather, saved examples, and quizzes that make aviation weather stick.
What this TAF decoder gives you
A timeline rather than a wall of text. Each change group becomes its own period, with the conditions for that period and the flight category worked out for it.
The change groups are the hard part of a TAF, so they are labelled explicitly. FM replaces everything before it. BECMG slides from one state to another across a window. TEMPO interrupts without replacing. PROB30 and PROB40 put odds on it.
Because a TEMPO overlays the period underneath it rather than replacing it, the worst category for each block is shown as well as the prevailing one. That is the number your alternate has to clear.
Military TAFs decode too
A military TAF reads as an ordinary TAF until the trailer at the end, and the trailer is where most decoders give up. This one reads it.
The turbulence 5-group and the icing 6-group are decoded from the AFMAN 15-124 tables, so 520005 comes back as occasional moderate turbulence in clear air from the surface to 5000 feet. The QNH2992INS altimeter group is read as 29.92 inches.
Service remarks are decoded rather than dropped, including AMD NOT SKED, which means amendments are not scheduled at that field. The full tables are on the military TAF codes page.
What a TAF covers, and what it does not
A TAF forecasts conditions within about five statute miles of the airport, usually for 24 or 30 hours, issued four times a day. It is an aerodrome forecast, not an area forecast.
Weather along your route is somebody else\u2019s product. AIRMETs, SIGMETs and the significant weather charts cover that, and a TAF has nothing to say about air twenty miles out.
A civil TAF also carries no remarks section, no altimeter setting, and no icing or turbulence groups. Those reach civil pilots through the area products instead, and the full aviation weather decoder reads those too.
Reading the result
Find your arrival time first, then read the block that covers it. That block is the prevailing forecast for your time.
Then look for any TEMPO, BECMG or PROB group whose window overlaps that time, because those modify the answer without replacing it. The common error is taking the last line on the page as current when its window has nothing to do with your hour.
For the codes themselves, the TAF abbreviations list covers the forecast-only vocabulary, and the change group comparison works through each one with examples. Australian forecasts have their own page: the BoM TAF decoder.
Frequently asked questions
Does this TAF decoder handle military TAFs?
Yes. The turbulence 5-group, the icing 6-group and the QNH altimeter group are decoded from the AFMAN 15-124 tables, and the service remarks such as AMD NOT SKED are read rather than dropped.
What does TEMPO mean in the decoded output?
Brief fluctuations inside that window, each expected to last under an hour and to cover less than half the period. It overlays the prevailing forecast rather than replacing it, so both are shown.
How do I find the forecast for my arrival time?
Read the timeline down to the block covering your hour, which is the prevailing forecast for that time, then check for any TEMPO, BECMG or PROB group whose window overlaps it.
Why is a TAF only valid near the airport?
A TAF forecasts conditions within roughly five statute miles of the aerodrome. Route weather is covered by AIRMETs, SIGMETs and the significant weather charts instead.
What happens when a TAF is amended?
The amended forecast replaces the previous one completely for the rest of the valid period. You never merge the two, and the valid period shortens rather than restarting from the amendment time.