#!/usr/bin/env perl use strict; use warnings; my ($in,@array,$array,$i,@foo); $in=0; while(<>){ if (/^OBS ASH CLOUD/) { $in=1; } elsif (/^\n/) { $in=0; } chomp; if($in) { @array=split(/\s+/); push(@foo, @array); #print "@array\n"; } } shift (@foo); shift (@foo); shift (@foo); shift (@foo); print "@foo\n"; OUTPUT: N1705 W06244 - N1702 W06227 - N1643 W06210 - N1641 W06211 - N1633 W06220 - N1648 W06241 - N1705 W06244 MOVING NW 5-10 KNOTS.