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Weather Products

Objective​

To understand the standard aviation weather products, and apply them in a flight planning scenarios.

Motivation​

Timings​

  • 1 hour

Format​

  • Slides
  • Walk-through of AviationWeather.gov
  • Flight planning exercise with ForeFlight

Elements​

Weather Products Presentation​

  • Weather Data Sources
    • EFBs: ForeFlight, Garmin Pilot
    • AviationWeather.gov
    • 1800wxbrief.com (Leidos Flight Service)
    • In-cockpit weather
  • Aviation Routine Weather Report (METAR)
    • Observation of current surface weather
    • Reported in standard international format
    • Updated regularly, often hourly
    • SPECI reports between scheduled reports
    • Type of report: METAR or SPECI
    • Station: ICAO code
    • Time of report: Time and date
    • AUTO: Automatic reporting station
      • AO1: No precipitation discriminator
      • AO2: Precipitation discriminator
    • Wind: Direction and speed
      • Variable wind: VRB
    • Visibility
      • Runway visual range (RVR)
    • Weather: Qualifiers and descriptors
      • Intensity: Light, Moderate, Heavy
      • Vicinity: VC
    • Explanation of weather descriptor codes (e.g., RA, SN, TS)
    • Sky cover: BKN, OVC, etc.
    • Altitude of cloud bases (AGL)
    • Cumulonimbus (CB), Towering Cumulonimbus (TCU)
    • Vertical visibility (VV)
    • Temperature and dewpoint (C)
    • Altimeter setting (" Hg)
    • Pressure tendency: PRESFR, PRESRR
  • Pilot Report (PIREPS)
    • Reports from aircraft in flight
    • ATC solicits PIREPs if ceiling below 5,000'
    • Report type (UA)
    • Location (OV)
    • Time (TM)
    • Flight level (FL)
    • Aircraft type (TP)
    • Sky condition (SK)
    • Weather (WX)
    • Temperature (TA)
    • Wind (WV)
    • Turbulence (TB)
    • Remarks (RM)
    • Routine report (UA)
    • Location relative to VOR
    • Time (Z)
    • Altitude
  • Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAF)
    • Forecast for 5sm radius around airport
    • Valid for 24 or 30-hour period
    • Updated four times daily
    • Station identifier
    • Issuance time
    • Valid period
    • Wind forecast
    • Visibility and weather
    • Sky condition
    • "From" (FM) group
    • "Temporary" (TEMPO) group
  • Winds and Temperature Aloft Forecast (FB)
    • Based on radiosonde data
    • Winds in true north
    • Header information
    • Valid time
    • Temperatures negative above 24,000'
    • Forecast wind and temperature at various altitudes for specific locations
    • Example wind and temperature decoding
    • 3000' MSL wind
    • 6000' MSL wind and temperature
    • Temperatures above 24,000'
    • Calm winds (9900)
    • Winds greater than 100 knots (731960) - decoding
  • AIRMETs and SIGMETs
    • In-flight weather advisories for:
      • Moderate icing
      • Moderate turbulence
      • Sustained surface winds ≥ 30 knots
      • Widespread conditions less than VFR
      • Extensive mountain obscuration
    • Significant Meteorological Information
    • Issued for non-convective weather:
      • Heavy hail
      • Severe turbulence
      • Icing
      • Dust/sandstorm
      • Volcanic ash
    • Valid for 4 hours
  • Convective SIGMETs
    • Conditions
      • Severe thunderstorms
      • Hail
      • Tornadoes
  • Charts
    • Surface Analysis Charts
      • Issued every 3 hours
      • Based on surface pressure observations
    • Weather Depiction Chart (Prognostic Charts)
      • Surface-analysis forecasts
      • Shows:
        • High/low-pressure systems
        • Frontal positions
        • Precipitation
        • IFR/VFR conditions
    • Convective Outlook
      • Likelihood of severe thunderstorms
        • TSTM: 10% or higher probability
        • SLGT: Slight risk
        • ENH: Enhanced risk
        • MDT: Moderate risk
        • HIGH: High risk
    • Graphical Forecast for Aviation
      • Map-based products
      • Replaces text-based area forecasts
    • GFA: Ceiling and Visibility Chart
      • Graphical representation of ceiling and visibility forecasts
  • In-Cockpit Weather Systems
    • ADS-B in weather products:
      • FIS-B
      • TIS-B
  • Flight Information Service (FIS-B)
    • Products:
      • METARs/SPECIs/TAFs
      • PIREPs
      • AIRMETs/SIGMETs
      • Graphical AIRMETs
      • Icing
      • Lightning
      • NEXRAD
      • NOTAMs
      • Center Weather Advisories
      • Winds and temperatures aloft
      • Turbulence
  • Cautions of Using NEXRAD
    • Depicts past, not current, weather
    • Accidents due to reliance on NEXRAD
    • Importance of image age
    • System update frequency

ForeFlight Flight Planning Walk-Thru​

References​