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Hi Tom and Tim, METARs use octets for sky cover: The cloud cover will either be FEW (1/8 TO 2/8 cloud coverage), SCT (SCATTERED, 3/8 TO 4/8 cloud coverage, BKN (5/8-7/8 coverage), and OVC (OVERCAST, 8/8 Coverage). Hope this helps, > Hi Timothy, > > this is beyond my expertise, so I am forwarding your question to IDD > support. They should either be able to answer your question or refer you > to the correct source. > > IDD support: the data in question here are the IDD decoded surface METAR > observations, which we archive in RDA dataset ds336.0 ( > http://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds336.0). > > Best regards, > - Tom > > address@hidden> wrote: > > > Tom, I'm starting to work with the IDD global observational data on the > > RDA and a question has arisen. How is cloud cover measured in the METAR > > data? If this is not your area, please refer me to someone who can help. > > Thanks for your time. > > > > > > Timothy J Silverman, PhD > > Scientist > > National Center for Photovoltaics > > National Renewable Energy Laboratory > > 303 384 7912 telephone > > > > > > > -- > Thomas Cram > NCAR / CISL / DSS > tel: +1-303-497-1217 > e-mail: address@hidden > web: rda.ucar.edu Cheers, Jeff Jeff Weber Unidata User Support http://www.unidata.ucar.edu Ticket Details =================== Ticket ID: LSK-251795 Department: Support IDD Priority: Normal Status: Open