Weather Information Flashcards
What are the various ways that you can check the weather while flying enroute?
ATC, HIWAS, FSS, listen to the weather frequencies of nearby airports.
What kind of weather would legally require us to be on an IFR flight plan in order to take off today out of KIWA?
Anything below VFR T/O mins, i.e. below either 3sm OR 1000ft ceiling when departing from a controlled airport.
What kind of weather would legally require us to be on an IFR flight plan in order to take off today out of KCGZ?
Vis below 1sm OR if you can’t maintain clear of clouds.
Show METARs with various weather and ask, could we take off VFR if this were the weather at our departure airport, or would we need to be on an IFR flight plan?
Look for METARS
With whom can you file a PIREP?
ATC or a FSS.
Interpret this PIREP: KCMH UA /OV APE 230010/TM 1516/FL085/TP BE20/SK
BKN065/WX FV03SM HZ FU/TA 20/TB LGT/IC MDT MXD 040-050/RM LLWS –15 KT SFC-030 DURGC RY 22 CMH
KCMH UA /OV APE 230010/TM 1516/FL085/TP BE20/SK
BKN065/WX FV03SM HZ FU/TA 20/TB LGT/IC MDT MXD 040-050/RM LLWS –15 KT SFC-030 DURGC RY 22 CMH
What would “UUA” (instead of UA) on a PIREP signify?
Urgent.
What ingredients are necessary for a thunderstorm to form?
Lifting force
Unstable Lapse Rate
Visible Moisture
Are all three ingredients for a storm always required?
Yes
Is it VISIBLE moisture or just any moisture in the air, like water vapor, that is required for thunderstorm formation?
Doesn’t have to be visible.
What charts can you use to determine the presence each ingredient?
Plenty of options
here. One viable answer: For moisture look at the temp/dew point spread; for instability look at the temperature lapse rate on the winds aloft; for a lifting action look at the surface analysis and/or prog chart for low pressure systems, frontal activity, etc.
What is meant by “unstable air?”
Air that, when it’s pushed up, keeps rising. Conversely, stable air resists upward movement.
What are some examples of weather phenomena that can cause a lifting action?
Orographic effects (wind moving across mountains and valleys), frictional effects (low pressure systems), frontal lifting, buoyancy (uneven heating of surface).
What weather is associated with a thunderstorm?
Flash flooding, lightning, hurricanes, tornadoes
If you accidentally fly into a thunderstorm what airspeed will you fly?
Penetration speed