FXST01 XSTR 300530 · AFDSTR ISSUED 07:30 CEST · WE 30.09.2026 PAGE 005
Area Forecast Discussion Storm Tracker · Station XSTR

Scattered projects, isolated progress.

Advisory Heat advisory. The laptop fan can be heard from the next room.

Station info

Station XSTR 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
XSTR
Name
Storm Tracker
Operator
Stormy, resident pfauguin
Elevation
Variable
Established
25.09.2026
Systems tracked
15
Observations logged
59
Clock
Central European Time, with coded lines in UTC
Schedule
Rebuilt with every update and once a night
Stormy as a penguin with a red bow, hiking a mountain trail with a backpack and trekking poles.
Fig. 1 · Operator on a routine elevation check

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 XSTR 300530Z 27012G25KT 9999 VCTS FEW030 SCT060CB 10/05 Q1009 TEMPO TSRA RMK PRESFR=

GroupWhat it meansAt 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.
XSTR Station identifier, the four-letter ICAO location code. Storm Tracker itself. Each project has its own code, listed in the station directory on Station info.
300530Z Observed on day 30 of the month at 05:30 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.
10/05 Temperature 10 °C, dew point 5 °C. 10 active systems and 5 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 BECMG for lasting changes and TEMPO for passing ones.
FXST01 XSTR · AFDSTR
The header at the top of every page, as on a product from a real forecast office. FX marks a miscellaneous forecast, ST the area, and 01 the sequence. The six digits after the station are the issue time as day, hour, and minute in UTC. AFDSTR names the product: an area forecast discussion from STR.
/////
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. UA marks a routine report, /OV the location, /TM the time in UTC, and /TP the 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.

IdentifierSystemStatusObservations
XSTC Storm Tracker TSTM Public
XRFL Reflectopia TRPCL STM Public
XFAD Friends Adventure CLR Public
XFPP Friendship Pop HIPRES Public
XIML Geometric Enlightenment CLR Public
XKLC Kane vs. Lagrange vs. Cartesian LOPRES Public
XLRN Life Rain CLR Public
XGPW Garden Pattern Works GR Public
XPRX Praxis Model TSTM Withheld
XOTG Off The Grid TSTM Withheld
XPFA Pfau.ai DZ Public
XGAD German Anki Decks TSTM Public
XGPM The Great Penguin Mystery TSTM Withheld
XFHA Family History App HIPRES Withheld
XWEX World Explorers TRPCL STM Public
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