If 8/8 of the sky is covered by a layer aloft that hides 6/8 of the sky, how should the sky cover layer and contraction be recorded?

The scenario describes a situation where 8/8 of the sky is covered by a layer that obscures 6/8 of the sky underneath it. When reporting sky cover, the convention is to use the amount of the sky covered by clouds to determine the appropriate reporting term.

In this case, the term "OVC" stands for "overcast," which is used when the sky is more than 7/8 covered with clouds. Since 8/8 indicates that the entire sky is covered, this falls into that category of overcast conditions. The quantification of sky cover usually uses whole octants, and when complete coverage is observed (8/8), it is standard practice to record this as "8" for the sky cover amount.

Therefore, the correct choice accurately reflects that the sky is completely covered by the cloud layer above, justifying the designation of "8" for the sky cover and "OVC" for overcast conditions. This reporting is crucial for pilots and meteorologists to understand the weather conditions they may encounter.