Good job! Here are the table-decoded observations from Charlotte again:
METARDECODE> clt 7z-18z
STN TIME VIS PRESS ALTMR TMP DEW DIR SPD GST WEATHER CLOUDS REMARKS
==== ==== === ====== ===== === === === === === ================ ===================== =======
KCLT 0650 0.5 1013.3 29.94 21 20 060 3 -99 FG BKN001 OVC005 SLP133 T02100196=
KCLT 0719 0.7 -999.9 29.94 21 21 000 0 -99 BR SCT001 BKN005 OVC022
KCLT 0750 0.7 1013.3 29.94 22 21 060 4 -99 BR OVC006 SLP133 98059 T02160210=
KCLT 0820 1.5 -999.9 29.94 22 21 080 3 -99 BR BKN008 OVC014
KCLT 0850 1.5 1013.3 29.94 22 21 080 3 -99 BR OVC005 SLP133 8/6// T02190206 56003=
KCLT 0950 1.5 1013.3 29.94 22 20 080 4 -99 -RA BR BKN008 OVC020 RAB45 SLP133 T02170201=
KCLT 1025 1.5 -999.9 29.95 22 20 160 4 -99 BR FEW005 OVC010 SFC VIS 3=
KCLT 1030 1.5 -999.9 29.96 22 20 240 12 -99 TS BR FEW005 OVC010 OCNL LTGIC W TSB30 TS W MOV N=
KCLT 1050 1.5 1014.8 29.98 19 19 250 10 -99 +TSRA BR SCT005 OVC010 FRQ LTGICCG TSB30 TS OHD MOV NE PRESRR SLP148
T01920189=
KCLT 1050 1.5 1014.8 29.98 19 19 250 10 -99 +TSRA BR SCT005 OVC010 FRQ LTGICCG TSB30 TS OHD MOV NE SHRAB35 PRESRR
SLP148 T01920189=
KCLT 1130 2.5 -999.9 30.00 19 19 320 11 -99 TS +SHRA SHRA BR SCT005 SCT010 OVC030 OCNL LTGICCG TS N MOV NE=
KCLT 1150 4 1015.2 29.99 19 19 330 9 -99 TS +SHRA SHRA BR FEW005 SCT010 OVC045 OCNL LTGICCG TS N MOV NE SLP152 60072 70072 8/
9// T01850185 10220 20185 53017 K=
KCLT 1150 4 1015.2 29.99 19 19 330 9 -99 -TSRA BR FEW005 SCT010 OVC045 OCNL LTGICCG TS N MOV NE SLP152 60072 70072 8/
9// T01850185 10220 20185 53017=
KCLT 1216 5 -999.9 29.99 18 18 030 5 -99 -SHRA FEW005 OVC040
KCLT 1216 5 -999.9 29.99 18 18 030 5 -99 -SHRA FEW005 OVC040 TSE15 MOV E=
KCLT 1250 6 1015.2 29.99 19 18 010 6 -99 -SHRA FEW005 BKN045 OVC095 TSE15 MOV E SLP152 T01850184=
KCLT 1351 15 1015.2 30.00 19 18 050 5 -99 BKN045 OVC100 SHRAE30 SLP152 T01940181=
KCLT 1450 15 1014.8 29.98 22 19 040 5 -99 BKN100 SLP148 60004 8/070 T02200194 58003=
KCLT 1651 15 1013.9 29.96 27 19 080 4 -99 FEW020 FEW100 SLP139 T02650192=
KCLT 1750 20 1013.4 29.95 28 20 140 4 -99 SCT030 SCT100 BKN250 SLP134 60004 8/171 T02780199 10278 20183 57012
To use these observations for weather forecasting, particularly in the Weather Challenge, you need to be able to read some of the codes in the remarks. Here, I will discuss one-hour precipitation, three- and six-hour precipitation, exact temperatures, and six-hour maximum and minimum temperatures.
The one-hour precipitation is not reported by Charlotte. If it were, you would see a five-character group starting with a P, such as P0005. The numbers indicate the amount of precipitation, in hundredths of inches, during the current hour.
The six-hour precipitation is reported every six hours, at 0000 GMT, 0600 GMT, 1200 GMT, and 1800 GMT. Look at the 1200 UTC observation (the one taken at 1150 UTC). See the five-character group starting with a 6. That's the amount of rain (or liquid equivalent of snow), in hundredths of inches, which has fallen during the preceding six hours. To keep a running total of the amount of rain, just add up the successive six-hour totals. In between, every three hours, the 6 group is the intermediate three-hour total.
In our example, at 1200 GMT, CLT reported 60072, or 0.72 inches of rain in six hours. Did they get any more? At 1500 GMT, they reported 60004, for another 0.04 inches of rain in the three hours between 1200 GMT and 1500 GMT. At 1800 GMT, they also reported 60004. Was that an additional 0.04 inches? No. The 1800 GMT observation covers the period 1200 GMT to 1800 GMT, and therefore includes the 0.04 inches reported at 1500 GMT.
Temperatures and dew points are reported to the nearest tenth of a degree Celsius in the nine-digit T group. At 1150 UTC, you will find T01850185. This means that the temperature and dew point are both 18.5 C. In the main part of the report, they were only reported to the nearest whole degree, or 19 C. The difference amounts to almost a full degree Fahrenheit.
Maximum and minimum temperatures are reported every six hours. The 1 group contains the max, in tenths of a degree Celsius, and the 2 group contains the min. To get, say, the maximum temperature for a longer period, take the highest max from any given six-hour period within that interval. So what was the maximum temperature at CLT between 0600 UTC and 1800 UTC? At 1200 UTC they reported 10220, for a high of 22.0 C. At 1800 UTC they reported 10278, for a high of 27.8 C. So the overall high was 27.8. You'll note that the current (1800 UTC) temperature is also 27.8 C, so I bet the temperature is still going up.