Sky condition

Sky condition is an assessment of cloud cover measured in units of eighths known as oktas. The number of oktas is the density of cloud in eighths of that layer. The SkyVue PRO can report up to five layers of cloud when reporting sky condition. The algorithm used in the SkyVue PRO follows guidance in the ICAO 9837, Manual on Automatic Meteorological Observing Systems at Aerodromes.

Sky condition is not an instantaneous measurement. It is based on cloud data for the previous 30 minutes, with cloud detection in the previous 10 minutes given an extra weighting. Therefore, sky condition is not available until sufficient data has been collected. See Sky condition algorithm description for more detail.