Tailwind · Vol I, N° 01
Tailwind.

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Task CWeather Information

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PA.I.C.K2· K

Weather products for preflight

Acceptable weather products and resources for preflight planning, current and forecast weather

This element is about the weather products themselves — what each one is, what it tells you, when to use it, and how it fits into the documented preflight briefing under .

Current observations

Current observations for what's happening. Forecasts for what's expected. Hazard advisories for what could hurt you. Synoptic charts for the picture they all sit inside.

What's happening right now at the airport or along the route.

METAR

The hourly surface observation, plus SPECIs when conditions change between hours. Format: station, time (Zulu), wind, visibility, weather phenomena, sky condition, temperature/dewpoint, altimeter, remarks.

Weather products

METAR / TAF decoder

Hover any segment to decode it. Switch scenarios to see different weather.

Scenario

KPHX 031453Z 27015G22KT 10SM FEW250 32/M02 A2992 RMK AO2 SLP128

Hover any segment of the METAR above to decode it. Switch scenarios to see different weather.

Or skim the full decode:

  1. STNKPHXICAO identifier — KPHX
  2. TIME031453ZDay 03, 14:53 Zulu (UTC)
  3. WIND27015G22KT270° at 15 kt gusting 22
  4. VIS10SM10 statute miles
  5. SKYFEW250Few clouds (1–2 oktas) at 25,000 ft AGL
  6. T/DP32/M0232°C / -2°C — spread 34°C
  7. ALTA299229.92" Hg
  8. RMKRMKRemarks follow
  9. RMKAO2 SLP128Coded supplementary data — sea level pressure, sensor type, precip details, etc.

METAR and TAF decoder. The METAR / TAF pill picks the report type; the scenario pill picks among Clear, IMC, Storms, and Fog. The live string below renders each parsed token as a focusable span — Tab through them and Enter to surface the full decode in the detail panel.

A worked example:

KPHX 031453Z 27015G22KT 10SM FEW250 32/M02 A2992 RMK AO2 SLP128

  • KPHX — station
  • 031453Z — 3rd of the month, 1453 Zulu
  • 27015G22KT — wind 270° at 15, gusting 22 (gust group required when spread is 10+ KT)
  • 10SM — visibility 10 statute miles
  • FEW250 — few clouds at 25,000 ft AGL
  • 32/M02 — temperature 32°C, dewpoint −2°C (M = minus)
  • A2992 — altimeter 29.92" Hg
  • RMK AO2 SLP128 — automated station with precipitation discriminator, sea level pressure 1012.8 hPa

Watch for closing temperature/dewpoint spread (fog risk), wind shifts, falling pressure, and gusts.

On-airport observations

  • ATIS — Automatic Terminal Information Service, human-recorded at towered fields (D-ATIS is the digital version)
  • ASOS — Automated Surface Observing System, full sensor suite, most common
  • AWOS — Automated Weather Observing System, older, capability varies (AWOS-A through AWOS-3, 3PT, 3T)

PIREPs

The only real-time human observation from cockpit altitude. Two types per AIM 7-1-19:

  • Routine (UA) — typical conditions
  • Urgent (UUA) — severe or extreme turbulence, severe icing, low-level wind shear, hail, volcanic ash, tornado, funnel cloud, or waterspout

Read PIREPs when checking en route weather. File yours when conditions matter — sparse coverage is a national problem and silence helps no one.

Forecast products

What's expected over the next few hours to a day or two.

TAF

  • Terminal Aerodrome Forecast — a 5 SM radius around a selected airport
  • Valid 24 or 30 hours
  • Issued four times daily at 00, 06, 12, 18 Zulu
  • Available at selected airports only (typically Class C/D and major non-towered)

Change groups inside a TAF:

  • FM — definite change at a specific time (from)
  • TEMPO — temporary fluctuation, less than half the period
  • BECMG — gradual change
  • PROB30 / PROB40 — probability of conditions

For airports without a TAF: nearest TAF + GFA + METAR trends.

Graphical Forecast for Aviation

  • Interactive map-based forecast on aviationweather.gov/gfa
  • Replaced the legacy textual Area Forecast around 2017
  • Layers: clouds, visibility, weather, winds, icing, turbulence, convection
  • Selectable by altitude and forecast hour: 15 hours of observations plus 18 hours of forecasts

Winds and Temperatures Aloft

  • Forecast wind (true direction, speed in KT) and temperature (°C)
  • Standard altitudes: 3, 6, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 34, 39 thousand feet
  • No 3,000-ft value within 1,500 ft of station elevation
  • No temperature reported at the 3,000-ft level

High-wind encoding rule: speeds 100+ knots add 50 to the direction code and subtract 100 from the speed. Example: 7305-55 decodes as 230° at 105 KT, −55°C.

Hazard advisories

When the NWS sees something hazardous, three product types issue separately by severity and who's affected.

AIRMETs

Hazardous to light aircraft. Issued every 6 hours, valid 6 hours.

  • AIRMET Sierra — IFR conditions and mountain obscuration
  • AIRMET Tango — moderate turbulence and sustained surface winds 30+ KT
  • AIRMET Zulu — moderate icing and freezing levels

SIGMETs

Hazardous to all aircraft. Severe weather not associated with thunderstorms. Valid up to 4 hours (6 hours for hurricanes and volcanic ash).

  • Severe or extreme turbulence
  • Severe icing
  • Widespread dust or sandstorms reducing visibility below 3 SM
  • Volcanic ash

Convective SIGMETs

Thunderstorm-specific severe-weather product, issued separately. Issued hourly at H+55, valid up to 2 hours.

  • Severe thunderstorms
  • Embedded thunderstorms
  • Lines of thunderstorms
  • Hail ≥ 3/4 inch
  • Tornadoes

A Convective SIGMET along your route is a deviate / delay / cancel signal.

Synoptic and hazard charts

The picture every individual product sits inside. Best read first, before METARs and TAFs — synoptic context is the chapter that makes individual paragraphs readable.

Surface Analysis and Surface Prog

  • Surface Analysis — observed state: current fronts, isobars, pressure centers
  • Surface Prog — forecast: same elements at 12, 18, 24, and 36 hours
  • Use them together

Front symbols: cold (blue triangles), warm (red half-circles), stationary (alternating), occluded (purple, both shapes). Isobars at 4-mb intervals; close spacing means strong wind.

Weather chart symbols

Surface analysis chart legend

Standardized depictions — fronts, pressure systems, sky cover, wind, weather.

Fronts

Cold front

Cold air mass advancing — temperature drops sharply, gusty winds, often a sharp line of showers/thunderstorms.

Warm front

Warm air mass advancing — gradual lift over the cold wedge, widespread stratiform cloud, steady precipitation.

Stationary front

Boundary with little movement — extended periods of cloud and precipitation along the line.

Occluded front

Cold front overtakes warm front, lifting the warm sector aloft — embedded thunderstorms hide in stratiform cloud.

Trough

Elongated area of lower pressure — often a focus for shower and thunderstorm activity.

Pressure systems

High pressure

Descending air, generally clear and stable weather — anticyclonic (clockwise) flow.

Low pressure

Rising air, often associated with cloud, precipitation, and instability — cyclonic (counter-clockwise) flow.

Isobars

Lines of equal sea-level pressure, drawn at 4-mb intervals. Tight spacing means strong pressure gradient and strong winds.

Sky cover

Sky clear

0/8 coverage — no cloud.

Few

1–2/8 coverage.

Scattered

3–4/8 coverage.

Broken

5–7/8 coverage — first ceiling layer at this report level.

Overcast

8/8 coverage.

Sky obscured

Visibility from the ground straight up is restricted (fog, smoke, heavy precipitation).

Wind barbs

Calm

0 knots — single open circle.

5 kt

Half barb.

10 kt

One full barb.

20 kt

Two full barbs (sum of barb values).

50 kt

One pennant (filled triangle).

100 kt

Two pennants — add pennants/barbs to get the total.

Stem points from the wind direction. Barbs sit on the stem’s right side (the side pointing toward low pressure).

Weather symbols

Rain

Three vertical dots.

Snow

Six-pointed stars.

Drizzle

Curved comma marks.

Fog

Horizontal parallel lines.

Thunderstorm

Stylized lightning bolt.

Hail

Filled triangle.

Showers

Chevron over a dot — intermittent precipitation.

Full standardized depiction reference: FAA AC 00-45 (Aviation Weather Services) and the NWS Surface Analysis user guide. This card covers the most common symbols a Part 91 GA pilot encounters at the synoptic level.

Icing forecast

  • Current and forecast layers on aviationweather.gov
  • Selectable by altitude and severity
  • Cross-reference against the freezing level chart and FB temperatures aloft

Turbulence forecast

  • Current and forecast layers
  • Pair with PIREPs for ground truth

Radar and satellite

  • Composite radar (NEXRAD) for precipitation
  • Satellite (visible / IR / water vapor) for cloud cover and moisture

The briefing flow

A documented preflight briefing satisfies and is the operational anchor for the products above. Per , the FAA-approved sources are aviationweather.gov and 1800wxbrief.com (Leidos). EFB apps delivering a Leidos-backed standard briefing carry the same documented-record status.

Three briefing types

All three are available via 1-800-WX-BRIEF (voice) or 1800wxbrief.com (web), producing the same logged record either way:

  • Standard — full preflight briefing, 1-6 hours before flight; adverse conditions, VNR if applicable, synopsis, current, en route, destination, winds aloft, NOTAMs, ATC delays
  • Abbreviated — update a previous briefing or get a specific item ("any new SIGMETs since 14Z?")
  • Outlook — 6+ hours before flight, forecast-focused, for planning the day

ForeFlight and Garmin Pilot can deliver a Leidos standard briefing with the same logged status.

Sequence to brief in

  1. Synoptic — Surface Analysis and Surface Prog
  2. Current — METARs at departure, en route, destination; PIREPs along the track
  3. Forecast — TAFs, GFA, winds and temps aloft
  4. Hazards — AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Convective SIGMETs
  5. Radar and satellite
  6. NOTAMs and TFRs

Synthesize: are conditions legal and within personal minimums for departure, en route, and destination? Are diverts available? Modify (time, route, altitude) before going binary go/no-go.

Worked examples:

  • Convective SIGMET along route. Issued at 14Z, valid until 16Z, covering a 100 NM corridor between you and your destination. Aircraft impact: severe turbulence, lightning, possible microburst near any cell. VFR avoidance is 20 NM minimum, never under an overhang, never through a line. Options: deviate around, delay until the system passes, or scrub. If the destination is inside the SIGMET footprint at your arrival time, you need a divert with its own confirmed weather.
  • Destination airport with no TAF. Build the picture from the nearest TAF (typically within 30-50 miles), the GFA covering the destination area, METARs from neighboring airports for trend, and PIREPs if available. Weight local effects higher if the destination is mountainous or has known microclimate behavior (sea breeze, lake-effect, valley fog).

Common DPE questions

1 of 5
Multiple choice

What's the geographic coverage area of a TAF?

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