METAR for 0/0 and severe IMC
 

Has anyone heard of WOKSOF? I don't even know if thats how you spell it. But it would sound like walk soft if you said it. It's supposed to be an acronym for WX when it's zero zero and IMC .

WOXOF

W - indefinite ceiling

O - zero vertical visibility

X - obscured

O - zero horizontal visibility

F - fog


Joe

It stands for "I'm staying at home, call me when it clears up!"

hmmmm, never heard of severe imc. Do you mean LIFR?

Perhaps its a play on words, similar to "Extreme Clear" to describe the weather of the desert south west. Maybe they are joking its "Severe IMC"

Ive heard its a term that isnt used any more in wx reports. Had a college professor tell me just to know it means horizontal vis 0, vertical vis 0.
Told us to know it so when we fly with a captain thats been flying for 20 years he doesnt have to teach us all over agian.

As noted in an earlier response, it is WOXOF. That means nothing is moving. With vis and ceiling at zero/zero, you can not even taxi if you are part 121 or 135. Part 91 you can try it but it isn't smart.

Many airports have low visibility taxi charts and routes so you can grope you way either too or from the runway but when it gets to less than 600 or 330 RVR, it takes a long time to feel your way to the runway or the gate. And more than a few times before the airports got good ground radar, airplanes would be surprised to find themselves nose to nose with another airplane. NO FUN.

I've done a number of CatIIIB approaches and the approach and autoland was simpler and quicker than the taxi to the gate.

It's from the days of SAs, RAs, RSs, and FAs, before METARs. Long ago and far away the typetypes had the circles with lines through them for cloud cover and even used 8 arrows for wind direction. I'm getting old.