Station info
Station XSTF reports on side projects in real aviation weather format. Every coded line on the site is valid, and every one can be read.
Station details
- Station
- XSTF
- Name
- Stormy Fans
- Operator
- Stormy, resident pfauguin
- Elevation
- Variable
- Established
- 25.09.2026
- Systems tracked
- 11
- Observations logged
- 13
- Clock
- Central European Time, with coded lines in UTC
- Schedule
- Rebuilt with every update and once a night
How to read a METAR
A METAR is the routine weather report every airfield issues, every half hour or hour. It reads left to right as a series of groups, each with a fixed format. This is the station's own report, as it stands right now.
METAR XSTF 261000Z 27012G25KT 9999 VCTS FEW030 SCT060CB 09/02 Q1009 TEMPO TSRA RMK PRESFR=
| Group | What it means | At this station |
|---|---|---|
METAR |
Routine weather report, issued on a regular schedule. | The station files routine reports. A system files a SPECI when its status changes sharply, as with a thunderstorm or a tornado. |
XSTF |
Station identifier, the four-letter ICAO location code. | Stormy Fans itself. Each project has its own code, listed in the station directory on Station info. |
261000Z |
Observed on day 26 of the month at 10:00 UTC. | The time of the newest line in the observation log. |
27012G25KT |
Wind from 270° (west) at 12 knots, gusting 25. | Gusty, because at least one system is a thunderstorm, tropical storm, tornado, or hail. |
9999 |
Visibility 10 km or more. | Always good at the station itself. |
VCTS |
Thunderstorm in the vicinity, but not at the station. | At least one active system is stormy. |
FEW030 |
Few clouds (1 to 2 eighths of the sky) at 3,000 ft. | Scenery. This cloud encodes nothing. |
SCT060CB |
Scattered clouds (3 to 4 eighths) at 6,000 ft, cumulonimbus (thunderstorm cloud). | The thunderstorm cloud that goes with the storm nearby. |
09/02 |
Temperature 9 °C, dew point 2 °C. | 9 active systems and 2 cleared or dissipated. |
Q1009 |
Pressure 1,009 hPa, reduced to sea level (QNH). | Falls from 1015 to 1009 hPa while any system is stormy. |
TEMPO |
Temporarily: conditions will come and go within two hours. The groups after it describe them. | Storm activity is expected to come and go. |
TSRA |
Thunderstorm with rain. | More storms may come and go. |
RMK |
Remarks follow, in contractions and plain language. | |
PRESFR |
Pressure falling rapidly. | Falling, because something is stormy. |
Each system's METAR follows the same pattern. Its temperature and dew point are a fixed pair chosen for the project, and its wind, cloud, and weather come from its status. Pilots are taught to read a report more than once, and the coded lines on this site reward the habit.
Other coded lines on this site
- SPECI
- A special report, issued between routine ones when conditions change sharply. Systems in a thunderstorm, wind shift, or tornado report this way.
- TAF
- Terminal aerodrome forecast. The station's outlook for the next day or two sits at the end of the forecast discussion, with
BECMGfor lasting changes andTEMPOfor passing ones. - FXSF01 XSTF · AFDSTF
- The header at the top of every page, as on a product from a real forecast office.
FXmarks a miscellaneous forecast,SFthe area, and01the sequence. The six digits after the station are the issue time as day, hour, and minute in UTC.AFDSTFnames the product: an area forecast discussion from STF. - /////
- Missing data. A private station reports its status but withholds everything else, so each group of its METAR is replaced with slashes of the same length.
- UA /OV /TM /TP
- A pilot report, which heads each visitor comment.
UAmarks a routine report,/OVthe location,/TMthe time in UTC, and/TPthe aircraft type, which here is always FAN. - && and $$
- Section and product endings in a forecast discussion. The station signs off with
$$ FORECASTER...STORMY.
Station directory
Every identifier begins with X. ICAO assigns no location codes beginning with X, so none of these can be mistaken for a real airfield.
| Identifier | System | Status | Observations |
|---|---|---|---|
| XSFC | Stormy Fans | TSTM | Public |
| XRFL | Reflectopia | HIPRES | Public |
| XFAD | Friends Adventure | PTCLDY | Public |
| XFPP | Friendship Pop | HIPRES | Public |
| XIML | Infinity Mirror Lamp | FOG | Public |
| XKLC | Kane vs. Lagrange vs. Cartesian | LOPRES | Public |
| XLRN | Life Rain | FRONT | Public |
| XGPW | Garden Pattern Works | TRPCL STM | Public |
| XPRX | Praxis Model | TSTM | Withheld |
| XOTG | Off The Grid | PTCLDY | Public |
| XPFA | Pfau.ai | PTCLDY | Public |
Traffic
- Pilot briefings given
- Instrument ratings earned
- Visitors lost in fog
- Go-arounds flown
- Compliments on the wall
- Pilot reports filed
Anonymous tallies. Each is a single number, and nothing about any visitor is kept.
Key to codes
- FRONT · Front approachingnot started
- PTCLDY · Partly cloudyin progress
- DZ · Drizzlesmall, steady updates
- TSTM · Thunderstormintense burst of work
- WSHFT · Wind shiftchanged direction
- TRPCL STM · Tropical stormscope creep
- TURB · Turbulencerefactor underway
- +FC · Tornadorewrite from scratch
- GR · Hailbugs coming down hard
- ICG · Icingblocked from outside
- FOG · Fognext step unclear
- LOPRES · Low pressurestalled
- DSIPTG · Dissipatingwinding down
- DSIPTD · Dissipatedshelved or abandoned
- CLR · Clearshipped
- HIPRES · High pressurestable, in steady use