Why is mist abbreviated BR on METARs and TAFs?

Question

The abbreviation for a condition of mist is BR on METAR and TAF reports. How did mist end up getting abbreviated as BR?

score 24 · Accepted Answer · answered Sep 25 '15 at 22:07

24

answered Sep 25 '15 at 22:07

egid

2

I believe Smoke (FU) is also from the French (fumée) – voretaq7 Sep 25 '15 at 22:27
1

as well as Hail (GR) from French grêle. – mins Sep 25 '15 at 23:26
3

The word "brouillard" would also fit and is more common, as far as I know. It's used on traffic signs in France. – Hobbes Sep 26 '15 at 10:50
3

Looked up the difference: brouillard is used when visibility is less than 1 km, brume is for visibility between 1 and 5 km. – Hobbes Sep 26 '15 at 11:52
5

"brume" is more used for mist while "brouillard" would be more often translated as fog (which would have reduced visibility). – Mahmoud Al-Qudsi Sep 26 '15 at 17:06
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A useful mnemonic for BR is "baby rain". – StephenS Dec 01 '19 at 16:09

1 Answers1