TAF KSLE 231730Z 2318/2424 21008KT 10SM FEW035 SCT070 FM240400 22006KT 6SM BR SCT015 TEMPO 2406/2410 3SM BR BKN008 BECMG 2412/2414 25012KT P6SM SKC
Tap any part:
Open Full TAF Trainer →Tap through a real TAF's header, base forecast, and each change group to see what it means.
Toca el encabezado, el pronóstico base y cada grupo de cambio de un TAF real para ver qué significa.
Explain what a TAF forecasts and how it differs from a METAR, and decode the FM, TEMPO, and BECMG change indicators.
A METAR only ever describes conditions at one moment already in the past — a TAF is what actually lets a pilot plan tomorrow morning's flight tonight, by forecasting exactly how conditions are expected to change over the many hours before departure.
Teach It / Enséñalo
ENTIENDE
Un TAF (Pronóstico de Aeródromo Terminal) es un pronóstico — no una observación como el METAR — para un aeropuerto específico, típicamente cubriendo un período de 24 o 30 horas y emitido cuatro veces al día. Un TAF reutiliza gran parte de la misma estructura de grupo y vocabulario que un estudiante ya conoce del curso de METAR. Esa estructura temporal se construye usando INDICADORES DE CAMBIO específicos. FM ("from"/desde) marca un momento específico en el que se espera un cambio significativo y relativamente rápido — las condiciones después de un grupo FM reemplazan completamente lo que se pronosticó antes. TEMPO ("temporary"/temporal) marca un período durante el cual se esperan fluctuaciones temporales, cada una durando menos de una hora — un TEMPO NO reemplaza el pronóstico predominante, describe una variación temporal esperada superpuesta a él. BECMG ("becoming"/convirtiéndose) marca una transición gradual esperada dentro de una ventana de tiempo especificada.
¿Tiene sentido?
AVIATION WORDS · Palabras de aviación
DILO EN INGLÉS · SAY IT IN ENGLISH
“A TAF forecasts weather at a specific airport for the next 24 to 30 hours using the same groups as METAR, plus change indicators — FM for a sudden complete change, TEMPO for brief temporary fluctuations, and BECMG for a gradual transition.”
Ejemplo guiado
A TAF includes the line "FM1400 22015G25KT P6SM BKN020" following an earlier forecast period. This tells a pilot: starting at 1400Z, expect a complete change to wind from 220 at 15 gusting to 25 knots, visibility greater than 6 statute miles, and a broken ceiling at 2,000 feet — this FM group entirely replaces whatever conditions were forecast for the period just before 1400Z, rather than blending with them.
Real Aviation Application / Aplicación real en aviación
Checking a destination airport's TAF the night before a flight, and again just before departure, is a real, standard part of flight planning — it's specifically what lets a pilot anticipate a forecast change in conditions (like an approaching front's arrival time) well before it would show up in a same-moment METAR.
Ask Your Teacher / Pregúntale a tu maestro
- How accurate are TAFs typically, especially toward the end of their forecast period?
- What does a PROB30 or PROB40 group in a TAF mean?
- How often should a pilot recheck the TAF before an actual departure?
HAMPTON'S .02 CENTS
Since students already know METAR's group structure by this point in the domain, focus classroom time specifically on the three change indicators (FM/TEMPO/BECMG) rather than re-teaching the shared groups — that's genuinely the new material here, and it's also the part most prone to being confused with each other.
It Would Behoove You… Continue to the final lesson in this unit: PIREPs, AIRMETs, and SIGMETs — real-time reports and advisories that supplement both METAR and TAF.
Standards Alignment
CLASSROOM: Weather Fundamentals — TAF
FAA: FAA Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28), Chapter 21: Aviation Weather Forecasts
CERTIFICATION: Private Pilot, Part 107
SOURCES: Aviation Weather Handbook (FAA-H-8083-28)