Weather Chart Types Flashcards
What is depicted in a Surface Analysis Chart?
How often are they issued?
P**
A
S
T
W
I
N
D
S**
P: Pressure systems
A: Airmass boundaries
S: Station information
T: Temperature/dew point
W: Wind
I: Isobars
N: Sky coverage (clouds)
D: Dew point
S: Storms (precipitation)
Issued every 3 hours (or every 6 hours in Hawaii and tropical regions)
How often is a Unified Surface Analysis Chart produced?
Every 6 hours.
Combines analysis from the 4 centers: OPC, WPC, NHC, and HFO.
What information does the Radar Summary Chart (SD) provide?
PRECIP
P: Precipitation
R: Radar echoes
E: Echo movement
C: Coverage
I: Intensity
P: Peaks (maximum tops)
Issued hourly.
How often are Wind & Temp Aloft Forecasts (FB) issued?
4 times daily.
Covers various altitudes and flight levels.
What is the format for Wind & Temp Aloft Forecasts?
DDff±tt, where DD = wind direction; ff = wind speed; tt = temperature.
Light and variable winds are coded as 9900.
What does the Low Level Significant Weather Chart forecast?
How often is it issued?
Significant weather conditions for a 12 and 24 hour period from the surface to 400 mb level.
Issued 4 times a day.
What altitude range does the Mid-Level Significant Weather Chart cover?
From 10,000’ MSL to FL450.
Shows thunderstorms, jet streams, and other significant weather phenomena.
What are High-Level Significant Weather Charts used for?
How often are they issued?
Depicting forecasts of significant weather phenomena for FL250 to FL630.
Issued 4 times a day.
What classifications are used in the Convective Outlook (AC)?
Marginal (MRGL), slight (SLGT), enhanced (ENH), moderate (MDT), and high (HIGH) risk for severe weather.
Available in graphical and textual format.
What does visible satellite imagery help identify?
Cloud coverage based on visible light reflection.
Not useful for identifying cloud height.
What color represents the highest clouds in infrared satellite imagery?
Bright white.
Middle clouds appear in shades of gray, low clouds and fog are dark gray.
What does the Water Vapor satellite imagery show?
Areas of moist and dry air in shades of gray from white to black.
Moist air appears bright white, dry air appears black.
What does the Base Reflectivity product in NEXRAD show?
Echo intensities in dBZ.
Available for several elevation tilt angles.
What is the purpose of the Graphical Turbulence Guidance (GTG) tool?
Shows color-coded turbulence forecast based on aircraft category, altitude, and time.
What information is provided by the Ceiling & Visibility Charts?
Ceiling based on surface observations.
This tool has replaced the older weather depiction chart.
