Topic: METAR coding change for hail effective September 13

[Jasiu]

https://www.weather.gov/media/notification/pdfs/scn18-71metar_hail.pdf

- GR refers to all hail
- All reports of hail must include hailstone size diameter in the
Remarks (RMK) section of the METAR/SPECI in increments of 1/4 inch
- If no hail size is reported it will be assumed to be small hail
- Small hail will result in the issuance of a SPECI
- GS is used only when snow pellets are observed

For Saratoga, this looks like a one-line change to get-metar-conditions-inc.php

[BigOkie]

As a pilot I'm trying to decipher.  Will GR remain in the conditions section along with the hail size or will it be relegated to the remarks (i.e. RMK GR 2 1/2)?

[CW2274]

GR, as all precip will be in the conditions. The size will be in the remarks only.

[BigOkie]

GR, as all precip will be in the conditions. The size will be in the remarks only.

That notification, as is par for the course with all governmental statements, is murky at best about it.

[Jasiu]

There was an edited followup: (https://www.weather.gov/media/notification/pdfs/scn18-71metar_hailaaa.pdf).

This one sentence is pretty much all most of us have to know:

Effective September 13, 2018, GR will represent all sizes of hail,
and GS will only represent snow pellets.