ATIS: True or Magnetic?

When talking about wind directions and aviation you've probably learned that if its read aloud to you the direction is magnetic and if you read it it is true. For better or worse with the introduction of digital ATIS (D-ATIS) that rule now has quite a few exceptions.

When listening to the ATIS via radio or telephone for any of the D-ATIS airports the wind direction is given with reference to true north! Digital ATIS received in text format is in true north and will match the automated D-ATIS recording on the radio.

However for non-D-ATIS airports it is important to note that the wind direction is given in MAGNETIC. Depending on the local magnetic variation this could be a fairly significant difference. Transcribed ATIS provided by this website does not adjust the wind direction that is reported, so it is good to note whether you are flying into a D-ATIS airport or not.

Additionally you should expect any ASOS/AWOS received via this website to also use magnetic wind direction.