Weather Products Flashcards
Visual Flight Rules
VFR
Ceiling greater than 3,000 feet and
Visibilities greater than 5SM
Instrument Flight Rules
IFR
Ceiling of 500 to less than 1,000 feet and
Visibilities of 1 to 3SM
Marginal VFR
Ceiling between 1,000 to 3,000 feet and
Visibilities anywhere from 3 to 5SM
1800-WX Briefer
Identify yourself as a pilot VFR or IFR Aircraft ident and type Your name Departure: route and final destination Altitude Departure time Time enroute ETA
How many types of weather briefing?
- Outlook briefing
- Standard briefing
- Abbreviated briefing
Outlook briefing
Six or more hours advance of your proposed departure time
Standard briefing
- Complete weather history for the briefing flight
- Provides conditions at departure enroute and arrival
Abbreviated briefing
Used to update a previous briefing, or to supplement or add to information you already have
What is ceiling?
The height above the earths surface of the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena such as fog or haze
METAR
- Weather OBSERVATION
- Routinely
- Only towering cumulus (TC) and cumulonimbus (CB) reported
- Temperature and dew point spread less than 5 degrees possible fog
- 1C = 1.8F
Types of precipitation
- RA: rain
- DZ: drizzle
- SN: snow
- SG: snow grains
- GR: hail > 1/4 inch
- GS: small hail pellets
- PE: ice pellets
- IC: ice crystals
- BC: patches
- FZ: freezing
- SH: showers
- TS: thunderstorms
Obstructions to visibility
- FG: fog (vsby <5/8mile)
- BR: mist (vsby 5/8 - 6 mile)
- FU: smoke
- HZ: haze
- PY: spray
- SA: sand
- DU: dust
- VA: volcanic ash
VV008 or VV///
VV008 = indefinite ceiling with vertical visibility indefinite at 800 feet VV/// = indefinite ceiling with vertical visibility undetermined
What letter K in front of airport means?
- K represents lower 48 continuous states
- PA: Alaska
- PH: Hawaii
Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF)
- Valid 24hours
- Scheduled at 0000Z, 0600Z, 1200Z, 1800Z
- Routine forecast
- Can be amended
3 different types of TAF
- TAF Amd (amended)
- TAF Cor (corrected)
- TAF RTD (delayed)
TAF time periods
- Tempo 1316 = temporary conditions 1300Z to 1600Z
- FM 1600 = from 1600Z
- BECMG 2224 = becoming 2200Z to 2400Z
- PROB40 0608 = probability 40% from 066Z to 0800Z
PIREPs
Weather OBSERVATION reports by pilots
A list of abbreviation in PIREPs
- UA = routine report
- OV = location
- TM = time UTC
- FL = flight level
- TP = aircraft type
- SK = sky cover
- WX = Weather, vsby, clouds
- TA = temperature
- WV = wind
- TB = turbulence
- IC = icing
Wind aloft report
Direction, velocity, temperature
- No wind forecast <1,500 of surface
- No temperature <2,500 feet of surface
- Expressed in true North and knots
- Temperature is negative > 24,000
Wind aloft 9900?
- Wind less than 5knots
- Light and variable
Decode the following:
FL390
731960
- Direction = 73 - 50 = 230 true North
- Velocity = 100 + 19 = 119knots
- Temperature = -60
Weather Depiction Charts
Based on information from METAR
3 different types of weather depictions
- No contour (VFR)
- Contoured without shading (MVFR)
- Shading area (IFR)
5 different types of sky coverage
1) Clear
2) Scattered
3) Broken
4) Overcast
5) Obscurred
6 different types of fronts
1) Cold front
3) Warm front
4) Occluded front
5) Upper level of cold front
6) Lower level of warm front
7) Stationary front
In-flight WX Advisories
1) Airmet
2) Sigmet
3) Convective Sigmet
AIRMETs (smaller aircraft)
- moderate icing
- moderating turbulence
- surface wind of 30knots or more
- ceiling less than 1,000
- visibility less than 3SM
- mountain obscurement
SIGMETs (all aircraft)
- all pilots, all aircraft
- severe icing (NO THUNDERSTORM)
- severe or clear air turbulence
- dust storm or volcanic eruption reduce vsby <3SM
CONVECTIVE SIGMETs
- tornadoes
- thunderstorm
- wind > 50knots
- hail (GR) > 3/4inch
Significant WX Prognostic Chart
- 12hr and 24hr after issuance
- Top panel: VFR, MVFR, IFR, Turbulence
Bottom panel: fronts, pressure system, precipitation
Radar Summary Chart
Precipitation
- shading - Echo area
- contours at intensities 1, 3, 5
- Tops____ Base ———- in 100 ft
- Prefix A - aircraft report top
- MVMT - - Area and Lines - - Pennants
- MVMT - - Cells - - Arrows
- Precipitation (+) new, incrg
(-) dcrg
Transcribed WX Broadcast (TWEB)
- Transmitted continuously over certain VORs and NDBs
- Usually includes route oriented information with specially prepared National Weather Service Forecast, In-flight Advisories, Wind Aloft, NOTAMs, and other special notices
Hazardous in-flight weather advisories
HIWAS
- available to pilots over select navaids
- listed on aeronautical charts with the letter H in the blue nav box
- transmit information on SIGMETs, AIRMETs, and Convective SIGMETs
Enroute Flight Advisory Service
Flight Watch
- call on frequency 122.0 when flying b/w 5,000 and 18,000 AGL
- provide weather advisories pertinent to your route of flight, altitude and type of aircraft you are flying
