N B Understanding Aviation Weather Reports
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TABLE OF CONTENTS UNDERSTANDING METARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 UNDERSTANDING TAFS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 UNDERSTANDING PIREPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 UNDERSTANDING AIRMETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 UNDERSTANDING SIGMETS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 UNDERSTANDING CONVECTIVE SIGMETS . . . . . . .
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UNDERSTANDING METARS Refer to the numbers on the following diagram to find the appropriate descriptions. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 METAR KPIT 201955Z AUTO 22015G25KT 3/4SM R28R/2600FT TSRA OVC010CB 18/16 A2992 RMK SLPO13 T01760158 PK WND 22030/15 9 10 11 1. Type of Report: METAR (SPECI will be seen here if this is a Special Weather Report) 2. ICAO Station Identifier: KPIT This is the location for which the METAR pertains. 3. Date and Time of Issue: 201955Z The 20th day of the month at 1955Zulu or UTC. 4.
7. Significant Present Weather: TSRA TS is a two letter designation for thunderstorm. Other possible designations could be as follows: BC BL DR FZ MI PR SH Patches Blowing Low Drifting Supercooled/Freezing Shallow Partial Showers The second two letter designator, RA, indicates moderate rain. Moderate is indicated by the absence of a “+”, “-” or “VC” preceding the designation.
CLR FEW SCT BKN OVC Clear below 12,000 ft. (automated observing systems) 1-2 Octas 3-4 Octas 5-7 Octas 8 octas “VV” may also be encountered here indicating an indefinite ceiling. For example, VV004 would indicate a vertical visibility of 400 feet. 010 indicates clouds are at 1000 feet. CB denotes cloud type is cumulonimbus. “TCU” is another possible designator meaning towering cumulus. CI is cirrus. 9. Temperature/Dew Point: 18/16 18 indicated the temperature is 18° Celsius.
UNDERSTANDING TAFS Refer to the numbers on the following diagram to find the appropriate descriptions. 1 3 2 6 5 4 7 8 TAF KPIT 091730Z 091818 22020KT 3SM -SHRA BKN020 19 FM2030 30015G25KT 3SM SHRA OVC015 WS015/30045KT TEMPO 2022 1/2SM TSRA OVC008CB 20 FM0100 27008KT 5SM -SHRA BKN020 OVC040 PROB40 0407 21 00000KT 1SM -RA BR 10 9 FM1000 22010KT 5SM -SHRA OVC020 BECMG 1315 20010KT P6SM NSW SKC 16 17 18 11 12 13 14 15 1. Type of Report: TAF TAF indicates a Terminal Area Forecast.
FM denotes “from” and 1000 indicates 1000Z. “From” means a significant change in prevailing conditions is expected. The described conditions follow this element and supercede all previous forecast conditions. 10. Forecast Wind: 22010KT See #5 in the UNDERSTANDING METARs section for details. 11. Forecast Visibility: 5SM See #6 in the UNDERSTANDING METARs section for details. 12. Forecast Weather Phenomenon: -SHRA See #7 in the UNDERSTANDING METARs section for details. 13.
UNDERSTANDING PIREPS The following is an example of a typical PIREP with an explanation of the elements. 1 2 3 KCRW UA/OV KBKW 360015-KCRW/TM 1815/FL120/TP BE99/SK IMC/ WX RA/TA M08/WV 290030/TB LGT-MDT/IC LGT RIME/RM MDT MXD ICG DURGC KROA NWBND FL080-100 1750Z 1. Station Identifier: KCRW This is the station identifier of the nearest weather reporting location to the reported conditions. 2. Report Type: UA Reports will be routine (UA) or urgent (UUA). 3.
LGT - Light - Momentarily causes slight, erratic changes in altitude and/or attitude. MOD - Moderate - Greater intensity changes in altitude and/or attitude, but aircraft remains in positive control at all times. Usually causes changes in indicated airspeed. SEV - Severe - Causes large and abrupt changes to aircraft altitude and/or attitude. Large variations in indicated airspeed and momentary loss of control. EXTRM - Extreme - Aircraft is violently tossed about and is nearly impossible to control.
UNDERSTANDING AIRMETS The following is an example of a typical AIRMET with an explanation of the elements. 1 2 3 4 CHIT WA 151900 AMD 5 AIRMET TANGO UPDT 2 FOR TURB 6 VALID UNTIL 160100 AIRMET TURB...KS MO 7 8 9 10 FROM MCI TO STL TO SGF TO ICT TO MCI MOD TURB BLW 100 EXPCD CONDS IPVG AFT 160000Z 1. Forecast Area: CHIT This is Office. BOS CHI DFW MIA SFO SLC the station identifier of the issuing Weather Service Forecast Boston Chicago Dallas/Ft.
4. AMD indicates an amended report. Reports can be amended due to changing weather conditions or issuance/cancelation of a SIGMET. COR in this field would indicate a corrected AIRMET. RTD indicates a delayed AIRMET. 5. This line indicates that there is a second (2) update (UPDT) to this AIRMET issued for turbulence (FOR TURB).
UNDERSTANDING SIGMETS The following is an example of a typical SIGMET issued for turbulence with an explanation of the elements. 1 2 3 CHIR UWS 041430 4 SIGMET ROMEO 1 VALID UNTIL 041830 5 KY TN WV VA OH 6 FROM CVG TO EKN TO PSK TO VXV TO CVG OCNL SEV TURB BTN 300 AND 360. RPRTD BY AIRCRAFT. 7 CONDS CONTG BYD 1830Z. 8 SLM/GTB 1. Forecast Area: CHIR This is Office. BOS CHI DFW MIA SFO SLC the station identifier of the issuing Weather Service Forecast Boston Chicago Dallas/Ft.
3. Date and Time Issued: 041430. 04 indicates the 4th day of the month. 1430 indicates UTC. 4. This line indicates that SIGMET ROMEO 1 is VALID UNTIL the 4th day (04) of the month at 1830 UTC. Each subsequent report issued for this same weather phenomenon designated ROMEO would increment the number. For example, ROMEO 2, ROMEO 3 and so on. 5. Area of coverage by state or geographic area.
UNDERSTANDING CONVECTIVE SIGMETS The following is an example of a typical Convective SIGMET with an explanation of the elements. 1 2 3 MKCC WST 221855 4 CONVECTIVE SIGMET 20C 5 VALID UNTIL 2055Z 6 ND SD 7 FROM 60W MOT-GFK-ABR-90W MOT INTSFYG AREA SVR TSTMS MOVG FROM 2445. TOPS ABV FL450. 8 WIND GUSTS TO 60KT RPRTD. TORNADOES…HAIL TO 2 IN…WIND GUSTS TO 65KT PSBL ND PTN. 1. Station Identifier: MKCC MKC is the station identifier of the Aviation Weather Center (AWC) in Kansas City.
SIGMETs are issued hourly and replace the previous hour’s product. Each subsequent report issued for this same weather phenomenon would increment the number. For example, 21C, 22C and so on. 6. Area of coverage by state ND (North Dakota) and SD (South Dakota) or geographic area. In addition to state abbreviations, other area abbreviations may be seen here, such as FL CSTL WTRS (Florida Coastal Waters). 7. Location of weather phenomenon (may be an area, single cell or line).
UNDERSTANDING ALERT WEATHER WATCHES (AWW) The following is an example of a typical Alert Weather Watch with an explanation of the elements. 1 2 3 SPC AWW 162236 5 4 WW 1162 SEVERE TSTM MS AL FL AND ADJ CSTL WTRS 6 162300Z - 170400Z 7 AXIS..75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF LINE.. 45SW MOB/MOBILE AL/ - 30SSE DHN/DOTHAN AL/ 8 ..AVIATION COORDS.. 65NM N/S /37SW MOB - 51WNW TLH/ 9 HAIL SURFACE AND ALOFT..1 1/4 INCHES. WIND GUSTS..60 KNOTS. MAX TOPS TO 400. MEAN WIND VECTOR 23035. 1.
7. Coordinates of the watch box area. Draw a line 75 STATUTE MILES NORTH AND SOUTH OF A LINE.. The endpoints of the line are 45SSW MOB/MOBILE AL/-30SSE DHN/DOTHAN AL/ (45 miles south-southwest of Mobile, Alabama and 30 miles south-southeast of Dothan, Alabama). Connect the lines to form the box. Sometimes it might be defined as EAST AND WEST OF A LINE.. or EITHER SIDE OF A LINE.. 8. Aviation coordinates of the watch box area. Draw a line 65NM N/S / (65 nautical miles north and south) of a line).
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APPENDIX A COMMON WEATHER ABBREVIATIONS AFCTD AFCTG AFDK AFOS ABNDT ABNML ABT ABV AC Abundant Abnormal About Above Convective outlook or altocumulus ACC Altocumulus castellanus clouds ACCAS Altocumulus castellanus clouds ACFT MSHP Aircraft Mishap ACCUM Accumulate ACFT Aircraft ACLT Accelerate ACLTD Accelerated ACLTG Accelerating ACLTS Accelerates ACPY Accompany ACRS Across ACSL Altocumulus standing lenticular ACTV Active ACTVTY Activity ACYC Anticyclone ADJ Adjacent ADL Additional ADQT Adequate ADQTLY Ade
AMT ANLYS ANS AO1 AO2 AOA AOB AP APCH APCHG APCHS APLCN APLCNS APPR APPRG APPRS APRNT APRNTLY APRX APRXLY AR ARL ARND ARPT ASAP ASL ASMD ASOS ASSOCD ASSOCN ATCT ATLC ATTM ATTN AUTO AVBL AVG AVN Rev 1 Oct.
BLKTG BLKTS BLO BLW BLZD BN BND BNDRY BNDRYS BNTH BOOTHEEL BR BRF BRG BRK BRKG BRKHIC BRKS BRKSHR BRKSHRS BRM BRN BRS BS BTWN BWER BYD C CA CAA CAPE CARIB CAS Rev 1 Oct.
CIG CIGS CIN CLD CLDNS CLDS CLKWS CLR CLRG CLRS CMPLX CNCL CNCLD CNCLG CNCLS CNDN CNTR CNTRD CNTRLN CNTRS CNTRL CNTY CNTYS CNVG CNVGG CNVGNC CNVTN CNVTV CNVTVLY CONFDC CO COMPAR COMPARG COMPARD COMPARS COMPR COMPRG COMPRD COMPRS COND CONS Rev 1 Oct.
DBL DC DCR DCRD DCRG DCRGLY DCRS DE DEG DEGS DELMARVA DFCLT DFCLTY DFNT DFNTLY DFRS DFUS DGNL DGNLLY DIGG DIR DISC DISCD DISCG DISRE DISRED DISREG DKTS DLA DLAD DLT DLTD DLTG DLY DMG DMGD DMGG DMNT DMSH DMSHD Rev 1 Oct.
DTRTD DTRTG DTRTS DU DURC DURD DURG DURGC DURGD DURN DVLP DVLPD DVLPG DVLPMT DVLPS DVRG DVRGG DVRGNC DVRGS DVV DWNDFTS DWPNT DWPNTS DX DZ E EBND EFCT ELNGT ELNGTD ELSW EMBD EMBDD EMERG ENCTR ENDG ENE ENELY ENERN Rev 1 Oct.
EXTSV F FA FAH FAM FC FCST FCSTD FCSTG FCSTR FCSTS FEW FG FIBI FIG FILG FIR FIRAV FIS FIS-B FIRST FL FLG FLRY FLRYS FLT FLW FLWG FM Rev 1 Oct.
GA GEN GENLY GEO GEOREF Georgia General Generally Geographic Geographical reference GF Fog GICG Glaze icing GLFALSK Gulf of Alaska GLFCAL Gulf of California GLFMEX Gulf of Mexico GLFSTLAWR Gulf of St.
IMPT INCL INCLD INCLG INCLS INCR INCRD INCRG INCRGLY INCRS INDC INDCD INDCG INDCS INDEF INFO INLD INSTBY INTCNTL INTER INTL INTMD INTMT INTMTLY INTR INTRMTRGN INTS INTSFCN INTSFY INTSFYD INTSFYG INTSFYS INTSTY INTVL INVRN IOVC INVOF IP IPV IPVG Rev 1 Oct.
LIFR LIS LK LKS LKLY LLJ LLWAS LLWS LMTD LMTG LMTS LN LNS LO LONG LONGL LRG LRGLY LRGR LRGST LST LTD LTG LTGCA LTGCC LTGCG LTGCCCG LTGCW LTGIC LTL LTLCG LTR LTST LV Rev 1 Oct.
MLTLVL MN MNLD MNLY MO MOD MOGR MOS MOV MOVD MOVG MOVMT MOVS MPH MRGL MRGLLY MRNG MRTM MS MSG MSL MST MSTLY MSTR MT MTN MTNS MULT MULTILVL MVFR MWO MX MXD N N/A NAB NAT Rev 1 Oct.
NMC NML NMRS NNE NNELY NNERN NNEWD NNW NNWLY NNWRN NNWWD NNNN NOAA NOPAC NOS NOSPECI NPRS NR NRLY NRN NRW NS NSC NSW NTFY NTFYD NV NVA NW NWD NWLY NWRN NWS Rev 1 Oct.
OUTFLO OV OVC OVHD OVNGT OVR OVRN OVRNG OVTK OVTKG OVTKS P P6SM PA PAC PATWAS PBL PCPN PD PDS PDMT PE PEN PERM PGTSND PHYS PIBAL PIREP PK WND PL PLNS PLS PLTO PM PNHDL Rev 1 Oct.
PROC PROD PRODG PROG PROGD PROGS PRSNT PRSNTLY PRST PRSTS PRSTNC PRSTNT PRVD PRVDD PRVDG PRVDS PS PSBL PSBLY PSBLTY PSG PSN PSND PTCHY PTLY PTNL PTNLY PTNS PUGET PVA PVL PVLD PVLG PVLS PVLT PWB PWINO PWR Rev 1 Oct.
RDVLPMT RE RECON REF RES REPL REPLD REPLG REPLS REQ REQS REQSTD RESP RESTR RGD RGL RGLR RGN RGNS RGT RH RHINO RI RIME RIOGD RLBL RLTV RLTVLY RM RMK RMN RMND RMNDR RMNG RMNS RNFL RNG ROT ROTD Rev 1 Oct.
RVRNO RVS RVSD RVSG RVSS RW RWY RY S SA SAB SAO SASK SATFY SBND SBSD SBSDD SBSDNC SBSDS SC SCND SCNDRY SCSL SCT SCTD SCTR SD SE SEC SELY SEPN SEQ SERN SEV SEWD Rev 1 Oct.
SMLR SMRY SMS SMTH SMTHR SMTHST SMTM SMWHT SN SNBNK SND SNFLK SNGL SNOINCR SNOINCRG SNST SNW SNWFL SOP SP SPC SPCLY SPD SPECI SPENES SPKL SPLNS SPRD SPRDG SPRDS SPRL SQ SQAL SQLN SR SRN SRND SRNDD Rev 1 Oct.
SUPSDS SVG SVR SVRL SW SWSW+ SWD SWLG SWLY SWODY1 SWOMCD SWRN SWWD SX SXN SYNOP SYNS SYS T TA TACAN TAF TB TCNTL TCU TDA TEI TEMP TEMPO THD THDR THK THKNG THKNS THKR THKST Rev 1 Oct.
TROF TROFS TROP TRPCD TRPCL TRRN TRSN TRW TRW+ TS TS + TSFR TSFRD TSFRG TSFRS TSHWR TSNO TSNT TSQLS TSTM TSW TSW+ TURBC TURBT TWD TWDS TWI TWR TWRG TX UA UDDF UN UNAVBL UNEC UNKN Rev 1 Oct.
VCTR VCTS VDUC VFR VFY VFYD VFYG VFYS VHF VIS VSNO VLCTY VLCTYS VLNT VLNTLY VLY VMC VOL VOR VORT VORTAC VR VRB VRG VRBL VRISL VRS VRT MOTN VRY VSB VSBY VSBYDR VSBYIR VT Rev 1 Oct.
WRMR WRMST WRMFNT WRMFNTL WRN WRNG WRS WS WSHFT WSFO WSO WSR-88D WSTCH WSW WSWLY WSWRN WSWWD WTR WTSPT WUD WV WVS WW WWAMKC WWD WWS WX WY XCP XPC XPCD XPCG XPCS XPLOS XTND XTNDD XTNDG Rev 1 Oct.
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APPENDIX B INFLIGHT ADVISORY LOCATOR CHARTS East Sector Identifier Map Rev 1 Oct.
East Sector Location Identifiers Rev 1 Oct.
Central Sector Identifier Map Rev 1 Oct.
Central Sector Location Identifiers Rev 1 Oct.
West Sector Identifier Map Rev 1 Oct.
West Sector Location Identifiers Rev 1 Oct.
Aviation Area Forecasts FA Locations for AIRMETs/SIGMETs Rev 1 Oct.
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