Weather Report Key Terms and Definitions Flashcards
Airman’s Meteorological Information (AIRMET)
Inflight weather advisory issued as an amendment to the area forecast, concerning weather phenomena of operational interest to all aircraft
Automated Surface Observing System (ASOS)
Weather reporting system which provides surface observations.
Automated Weather Reporting System (AWOS)
reporting system consisting of various sensors, a processor, a computer-generated voice subsystem, and a transmitter to broadcast weather data.
Automatic Terminal Information Service (ATIS)
The continuous broadcast of recorded non-control information in selected terminal areas.
Ceiling
the lowest layer of clouds or obscuring phenomena that is reported as “broken,” “overcast,” or “obscuration.”
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC)
is the primary time standard by which the world regulates clocks and time. It is effectively a successor to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT)
Density Altitude
the altitude in the standard atmosphere corresponding to a particular value of air density
Fronts
The zone between two different air masses.
International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)
The United Nations agency for developing the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fostering planning and development of international civil air transport.
Low-Level Wind Shear
a sudden, drastic change in wind speed and/or direction over a very small area.
METAR Report
the international standard code format for hourly surface weather observations.
Significant Meteorological Information (SIGMET)
a weather advisory that contains meteorological information concerning the safety of all aircraft. There are two types of convective and non-convective.
TAF Report
the international standard code format for terminal forecasts issued for airports.
Temperature/Dew Point Relationship
defines the concept of relative humidity. Given in degrees, is the temperature at which the air can hold no more moisture.
Time Group
Four digits representing the hour and minutes from the Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) clock. FAA uses UTC for all operations. The term “ZULU” may be used to denote UTC.
