Metar update schedule?

[rookie1255]

Metars are supposed to be updated once an hour. If more often it should say SPECI, right?

Yet the time stamp for this one shows a random time and it seems to update more often than once an hour.

KART 171428Z AUTO 23015G24KT 2 1/2SM -RA BR FEW008 OVC013 04/03 A3002 RMK AO2 P0002 T00390028

What am I missing?

 

[midwestpa24]

I'm not sure I've ever seen the code SPECI attached to a METAR.

On that note, I've never understood why in this day and age, and the technology we have, we can't have real time METARs. Or at least 1 or 5 minute METARs. The idea that in 2020 I can have live updates on nearly everything little detail in life, from Wall Street, to if your dog is sleeping, but the METAR may be 59 minutes old, just astounds me.

 

[asicer]

ATIS is updated once per hour because it is typically augmented by human observation. The METAR you cited says "AUTO" so it's machine generated and those can be updated every few minutes.

 

[Timbeck2]

So you are flying into or out of KART? I'm there every November, week before Thanksgiving. I attempted to meet a local last year but he wasn't there at the time I was.