[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":311},["ShallowReactive",2],{"page-blog-\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories":3,"mdc-8rg3g1-key":300},{"post":4,"surround":286,"translations":293},{"id":5,"title":6,"body":7,"date":271,"description":272,"extension":273,"image":274,"meta":277,"navigation":278,"path":279,"seo":280,"stem":283,"translationKey":284,"__hash__":285},"blog_en\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories.md","GAFOR Colours: What Charlie, Oscar, Delta, Mike and X-Ray Mean",{"type":8,"value":9,"toc":259},"minimark",[10,14,19,22,136,139,143,152,156,160,163,166,174,178,181,191,194,198,206,209,213,216,222,226,229,233,237],[11,12,13],"p",{},"Anyone planning a VFR flight in Germany runs into GAFOR sooner or later. The name is short for General Aviation Forecast, a forecast the German Weather Service (DWD) issues for general aviation. For each area it boils the flying weather down to a single letter. The METARMAP uses the same five categories and turns each letter into a colour.",[15,16,18],"h2",{"id":17},"the-five-categories","The five categories",[11,20,21],{},"Two values decide the category: visibility and cloud ceiling. The letters come from the phonetic alphabet, which is why pilots say Charlie, Oscar, Delta, Mike and X-Ray.",[23,24,25,47],"table",{},[26,27,28],"thead",{},[29,30,31,35,38,41,44],"tr",{},[32,33,34],"th",{},"Category",[32,36,37],{},"Meaning",[32,39,40],{},"Visibility",[32,42,43],{},"Cloud ceiling",[32,45,46],{},"Colour on the METARMAP",[48,49,50,68,85,102,119],"tbody",{},[29,51,52,56,59,62,65],{},[53,54,55],"td",{},"C (Charlie)",[53,57,58],{},"clear",[53,60,61],{},"10 km or more",[53,63,64],{},"5000 ft or more",[53,66,67],{},"blue",[29,69,70,73,76,79,82],{},[53,71,72],{},"O (Oscar)",[53,74,75],{},"open",[53,77,78],{},"8 km or more",[53,80,81],{},"2000 ft or more",[53,83,84],{},"green",[29,86,87,90,93,96,99],{},[53,88,89],{},"D (Delta)",[53,91,92],{},"difficult",[53,94,95],{},"5 km or more",[53,97,98],{},"1000 ft or more",[53,100,101],{},"yellow",[29,103,104,107,110,113,116],{},[53,105,106],{},"M (Mike)",[53,108,109],{},"marginal",[53,111,112],{},"1.5 km or more",[53,114,115],{},"500 ft or more",[53,117,118],{},"orange",[29,120,121,124,127,130,133],{},[53,122,123],{},"X (X-Ray)",[53,125,126],{},"closed",[53,128,129],{},"below 1.5 km",[53,131,132],{},"below 500 ft",[53,134,135],{},"red",[11,137,138],{},"Charlie is the best VFR weather there is, with long visibility and high cloud or no closed cloud layer at all. Oscar is still good flying, the cloud just sits a bit lower. Delta means difficult: visibility is reduced or the ceiling is below 2000 ft, so the flight needs more planning. Conditions under Mike are marginal. And X-Ray means VFR flight is practically impossible, for example in fog or very low cloud.",[15,140,142],{"id":141},"check-the-limits-at-your-own-airfield","Check the limits at your own airfield",[11,144,145,146,151],{},"Our ",[147,148,150],"a",{"href":149},"\u002Fen\u002Ftools\u002Fmetar-decoder","METAR decoder"," works out the category for every current METAR, with the same table as above. Type in an identifier and you can see where your airfield stands:",[153,154],"blog-metar-tool",{"mode":155},"gafor",[15,157,159],{"id":158},"the-worse-value-decides","The worse value decides",[11,161,162],{},"You need two rules to read the table correctly.",[11,164,165],{},"First, the less favourable of the two values always wins. With 12 km visibility and a cloud layer at 800 ft, an airfield ends up in Mike despite the excellent visibility. High cloud doesn't help either if visibility is only 4 km; that also gives Mike.",[11,167,168,169,173],{},"Second, a layer only counts as the ceiling if it covers at least five eighths of the sky. In a METAR those are the groups BKN (five to seven eighths) and OVC (eight eighths). A few scattered clouds at 600 ft leave the category alone, while a solid layer at the same height pulls it down. Our article on ",[147,170,172],{"href":171},"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fhow-to-read-a-metar","how to read a METAR"," shows what these groups look like in the report.",[15,175,177],{"id":176},"the-metarmap-legend","The METARMAP legend",[11,179,180],{},"Every METARMAP ships with this legend in print. It lays the categories out as a grid, with the cloud ceiling rising upwards and visibility increasing to the right. Where the two values meet, you find the category and its colour.",[11,182,183],{},[184,185],"img",{"alt":186,"className":187,"src":190},"METARMAP legend: GAFOR categories by visibility and cloud ceiling",[188,189],"mx-auto","max-w-md","\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fmetarmap-legende.webp",[11,192,193],{},"The grid also shows why an airfield so rarely glows blue. Charlie needs both 10 km visibility and no closed cloud layer below 5000 ft. A layer at 4500 ft is enough to turn a clear day into Oscar.",[15,195,197],{"id":196},"blinking-lightning-and-dark-leds","Blinking, lightning and dark LEDs",[11,199,200,201,205],{},"The METARMAP shows two things on top of the GAFOR scheme. If the wind reaches 15 knots or the airfield reports gusts, the LED blinks between its colour and a darker shade of it. White blinking means lightning. You can change the wind limit and every colour in ",[147,202,204],{"href":203},"\u002Fen\u002Fconnect","METARMAP Connect",".",[11,207,208],{},"A dark LED means there is no usable report for that airfield right now. For airfields on the edge of the map, it can also mean the edge LEDs are switched off in Connect.",[15,210,212],{"id":211},"forecast-or-observation","Forecast or observation",[11,214,215],{},"The DWD's GAFOR is a forecast for areas, and it measures the ceiling from a reference height for each area. The METARMAP applies the same limits to the METAR, which is the current observation at the airfield itself. So what you see is the weather now, not the weather in three hours.",[217,218,219],"note",{},[11,220,221],{},"The METARMAP gives you a quick overview. It doesn't replace a weather briefing or proper flight preparation.",[15,223,225],{"id":224},"the-colours-on-your-wall","The colours on your wall",[11,227,228],{},"If you'd rather see the categories every day than look them up during your briefing, the METARMAP shows them live for around 80 airfields.",[230,231],"blog-products",{":handles":232},"[\"metarmap-mini\", \"metarmap\"]",[15,234,236],{"id":235},"frequently-asked-questions","Frequently asked questions",[238,239,240,247,253],"accordion",{},[241,242,244],"accordion-item",{"label":243},"What does GAFOR mean?",[11,245,246],{},"GAFOR stands for General Aviation Forecast. It's an aviation weather forecast by the German Weather Service for general aviation, and it sorts the weather of an area into five categories from C to X.",[241,248,250],{"label":249},"What do Charlie, Oscar, Delta, Mike and X-Ray stand for?",[11,251,252],{},"They are the letters C, O, D, M and X in the phonetic alphabet. They mean clear, open, difficult, marginal and closed, ranging from the best VFR weather to conditions where VFR flight is practically impossible.",[241,254,256],{"label":255},"Why don't scattered clouds count as the ceiling?",[11,257,258],{},"That's how the scheme is defined: only a layer covering at least five eighths of the sky counts as the ceiling, which in a METAR means BKN or OVC. Scattered cloud below it doesn't change the category.",{"title":260,"searchDepth":261,"depth":261,"links":262},"",2,[263,264,265,266,267,268,269,270],{"id":17,"depth":261,"text":18},{"id":141,"depth":261,"text":142},{"id":158,"depth":261,"text":159},{"id":176,"depth":261,"text":177},{"id":196,"depth":261,"text":197},{"id":211,"depth":261,"text":212},{"id":224,"depth":261,"text":225},{"id":235,"depth":261,"text":236},"2026-09-29","The five GAFOR categories with their visibility and cloud ceiling limits, and how the METARMAP turns them into colours.","md",{"src":275,"alt":276},"\u002Fimages\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-legende.webp","The METARMAP legend card that comes with every map: GAFOR categories C, O, D, M and X by visibility and cloud ceiling",{},true,"\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories",{"title":281,"description":282},"GAFOR Categories and Colours Explained","What do Charlie, Oscar, Delta, Mike and X-Ray mean? The GAFOR categories with their visibility and cloud ceiling limits, explained in plain terms.","en\u002Fblog\u002Fgafor-categories","gafor-colors","Jly85NwOFhGlNR4trbSqivC6WZAJMQiZVhh53OwYttQ",[287,288],null,{"title":289,"path":290,"stem":291,"description":292,"children":-1},"Gifts for Pilots: What Gets Used and What Ends Up in a Drawer","\u002Fen\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots","en\u002Fblog\u002Fgifts-for-pilots","What do you give someone who flies? Ideas from small tokens to a guest flight, and two things to check with them before you buy.",[294,297],[295,296],"de","gafor-farben",[298,299],"en","gafor-categories",{"data":301,"body":302},{},{"type":303,"children":304},"root",[305],{"type":306,"tag":11,"props":307,"children":308},"element",{},[309],{"type":310,"value":272},"text",1790966140869]