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Preflight Preparation > Weather Information > Flashcards

Weather Information Flashcards

1
Q

What weather sources do you use to obtain the weather information regarding your flight?

A
  • Flight Service Station
  • Aviation Weather Center
  • Call the weather briefer
  • ForeFlight
  • ATIS
  • ATC
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2
Q

What weather products do you use to obtain the weather information regarding your flight?

A
  • AIRMETs
  • SIGMETs
  • Convective SIGMETs
  • PIREPs
  • METARs
  • TAFs
  • Surface Analysis Chart
  • Wind & Temp aloft forecasts
  • Low level significant weather chart
  • Ceiling & visibility charts
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3
Q

What is a METAR?

When is it issued?

A
  • An observation of current surface weather reported in a standard international format
  • Issued hourly
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4
Q

What is a TAF?

When is it issued?

A
  • A concise statement if the expected meteorological conditions significant to aviation for a specified time period within 5 SM of the center of the airports runway
  • Issued every 6 hours
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5
Q

What is a Surface Analysis Chart?
What does it show?
When is it issued?

A
  • A chart that depicts an analysis of the current weather
  • Shows areas of high and low pressure, fronts, temperatures, dew-points, wind directions and speeds, local weather and visual obstructions
  • Issued every 6 hours and valid 24-30 hours
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6
Q

What is a Weather Depiction Chart?
What does it show?
When is it issued?

A
  • Shows details from METAR and other surface observations

- Issued every 3 hours

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7
Q

What is a Radar Summary Chart?

When is it issued?

A
  • Graphically displays a summary of radar weather reports

- Issued hourly

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8
Q

What is a low-level prognostic chart?

When is it issued?

A
  • A chart that combines forecasts of fronts, isobars and high/low pressure systems
  • Issued 4 times a day
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9
Q

What is the Winds and temperatures aloft chart?
When is it issued?
When are negative temps implied?
How do you solve is wind is greater than 99 kts? Ex. 794358
When are winds not reported?
When are temps not reported?

A
  • A chart that shows wind speed, wind direction and temperatures at different altitudes
  • Issued every 6 hours, valid for 6, 12, or 24 hrs
  • At and after FL240 temps are always negative
  • Subtract 50 from wind direction 79 = 290, add 100 to wind speed 43 = 143 kts, and temp -58
  • Winds not reported at levels within 1,500 ft of location’s elevation
  • Temps not reported at levels within 2,500 ft of location’s elevation
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10
Q

What are AIRMETs?
How long are they valid for?
What are they issued for?
What are the 3 types of AIRMETs?

A
  • Adverse weather conditions that may affect safety of flight
  • Valid for 6 hours
  • Issued for weather phenomena at lower intensities that are NOT SIGMETs
  • AIRMET (T): Moderate turbulence, winds of 30 knots or greater, and low-level wind shear
  • AIRMET (S): Mountain obscuration and IFR conditions
  • AIRMET (Z): Moderate icing
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11
Q

What are SIGMETs?
How long are they valid for?
What are they issued for?

A
  • Adverse weather conditions that are hazardous to all types of aircrafts
  • Valid for 4 hours
  • Issued for severe turbulence, severe icing, dust/sand storms that lower visibility below 3 SM, and volcanic ash
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12
Q

What are Convective SIGMETs?
How long are they valid for?
What are they issued for?

A
  • Inflight advisory of convective weather significant to the safety of all aircraft that can include implied severe turbulence, severe icing, and low level wind shear
  • Valid for 2 hours, updated hourly
  • Issued for Hail 3/4 inch or greater, tornadoes, embedded or severe thunderstorms, surface winds greater than 50 knots, squall lines of 40% coverage and 60 NM of length, and thunderstorms covering 40% of a 3000 mile area
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13
Q 
What is the atmosphere?
What is the atmosphere composed of?
What causes weather?
Where does most weather occur?
What are the 3 layers of the atmosphere?
A
  • A mixture of gases that surrounds the Earth
  • 78% Nitrogen, 21% Oxygen, 1% other gasses
  • The uneven heating of earths surface
  • Most weather occurs in the Troposphere
  • Troposphere, Tropopause, Stratosphere
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14
Q

What is standard lapse rate?

A

2°C down per each 1,000 feet climbed

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15
Q

What is wind?

A

horizontal motion of air caused by atmospheric pressure differences

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16
Q

What is wind shear?

A

A sudden, drastic change in wind speed and/or direction over a very small area.

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17
Q

What is Mountain Wave?

A

Wind flowing over and around mountains create waves and turbulence dangerous to aircraft

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18
Q

When does moisture exist?
How does precipitation occur?
What are the types of precipitation?

A
  • Moisture exists within the atmosphere as vapor, clouds and precipitation
  • Occurs when there is sufficient water vapor, sufficient lift, and a growth process
  • Freezing rain, snow, ice pellets, and rain
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19
Q

What are air masses?

A

large bodies of air that have uniform temperature, humidity, and pressure

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20
Q

What kind of weather are cold air masses associated with and how do they move?

A

Fast moving, associated with instability and good visibility

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21
Q

How does high pressure move?

A

O.C.D

Outwards

Clockwise

Downwards

22
Q

What kind of weather are warm air masses associated with and how do they move?

A

Slow moving, associated with stability and poor visibility

23
Q

How does low pressure move?

A

I.C.C.U

Inwards

Counterclockwise

Upwards

24
Q

What are fronts?

What are the 4 types of fronts?

A
  • A boundary between two air masses
  • C.O.W.S

Cold front

Occluded front

Warm front

Stationary front

25
Q

What is a cold front?

What kind of weather does it contain?

A
  • A fast moving front with a steep slope that forces warm air up abruptly
  • Narrow bands of showers and thunderstorms
26
Q

What is an occluded front?

What kind of weather does it contain?

A
  • A fast moving cold front overtaking a slow warm front

- Unstable and severe weather

27
Q

What is a warm front?

What kind of weather does it contain?

A
  • A slow moving front with a gentle slope that forces cold air up gradually
  • Cirrus or stratus clouds and fog
28
Q

What is a stationary front?

What kind of weather does it contain?

A
  • Warm front and a cold front at a standstill

- Combination of cold and warm front

29
Q

What are clouds?

A

Clouds are a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals that condense onto tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air. when billions of these droplets come together they become a cloud

30
Q

What is turbulence?

What are kinds of turbulence exist?

A

-Turbulence is caused by the flow of wind being broken from its equilibrium

-Convective currents (thermals), mechanical turbulence,
temperature inversion, and clear air turbulence (CAT)

31
Q

What are convective currents?

A

Areas of rising warm air and sinking cool air due to the uneven heating of the earths surface. These can also sometimes be know as thermals

32
Q

How is mechanical turbulence caused?

A

Caused by obstructions such as trees, buildings, and mountains. This is what causes mountain waves

33
Q

What is clear air turbulence (CAT)?

A

Higher altitude turbulence associated with wind-shear. caused mostly by jet streams. Most common in winter where jet streams are strongest

34
Q

What are thunderstorms?

A

A storm produced by a cumulonimbus cloud that is always accompanied by lightning and thunder, strong gusts, heavy rain, and sometimes hail

35
Q

What are the 3 conditions to form a thunderstorm?

A
  1. Sufficient water vapor
  2. An unstable lapse rate
  3. An uplifting force
36
Q

What are the 3 stages of a thunderstorm?

A
  1. Cumulus stage: mostly updrafts
  2. Mature stage: when the storm is at its strongest point
  3. Dissipating stage: strong down drafts
37
Q

What are some thunderstorm hazards

A
  • Limited visibility
  • Strong updrafts/ downdrafts
  • Hail
  • Wind shear
  • Icing
  • Heavy rain
  • Severe turbulence
  • Lightning and tornadoes
38
Q

Name the 4 types of thunderstorms and explain each one

A
  • Single cell: one cell
  • Multicell: a cluster of cells, usually squall lines
  • Supercell: has a single rotating updraft that can last many hours
  • Embedded thunderstorms: Thunderstorms that can be embedded in other cloud types making it hard to see them
39
Q

How do you fly through a thunderstorm?

A
  • DO NOT fly under it or within 20 NM of it
  • Advice ATC if deviation is necessary and try to land and wait it out
  • If flying through the storm then turn on the anti icing equipment such as the pitot heat, fly a Va and maintain constant altitude
40
Q

What is a microburst?
What are some indications of a microburst
What kind of weather does it contain?
How long does it last and what size can it reach?

A
  • Small scale intense downdrafts of up to 6,000 FPM which spread outwards upon reaching the surface
  • Intense rain at the surface, virga at a cloud base and dust halos
  • They consist of both vertical and horizontal wind shears
  • They usually last 15-30 minutes and can be 1-2 miles in diameter
41
Q

How do you fly through a microburst?

A

Increase full power and try to climb out and through it

42
Q

What are the 3 different types of icing?

A
  • Structural icing
  • Instrument icing
  • Induction icing
43
Q

Name the 3 types of structural icing and explain each and what temperatures they begin to form

A
  • Clear icing: Clear, hard to see ice. Formed by slow freezing. (0 to -10 C)
  • Mixed icing: Mixture of clear and rime ice. Forms from small scale variations of liquid water. (-10 to -15 C)
  • Rime ice: Milky and opaque. Formed by instantaneous freezing of small supercooled water droplets. (-15 to -20 C)
44
Q

What is instrument icing?

A

Icing that can occur on the pitot-static system

45
Q

What is induction icing?

A

Icing that occurs on the induction system of an aircraft such as the air intake

46
Q

What is freezing level information?

A

The altitude at which the temperatures are cold enough to facilitate icing

47
Q

What is fog?

A

Clouds at the surface

48
Q

Name the 4 types of fog and explain each

A
  • Advection fog: warm, moist air over a cool surface
  • Upslope fog: warm air travels up slope and cools
  • Steam fog: cold air over warm surface
  • Radiation fog: cool air over warm surface
49
Q

What is frost?

A

The formation of thin ice crystals on solid objects below the freezing point that disrupt the smooth airflow over the wings which can reduce lift

50
Q

Name some obstructions to visibility abs where they are reported

A
  • Smoke, haze, volcanic ash, and dust-storms
  • Smoke and haze are reported in METARs
  • Volcanic ash and dust storms are reported in SIGMETs

Preflight Preparation (4 decks)

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