Weather

Lots of info below, but in short, these are useful sites:

• 1800WXBrief
• If you make an account (free), you'll avoid additional prompts when calling.
• Aviation Weather Center
• How to obtain a good weather brief.
• Standard Weather Brief (bottom of page)
• Skyvector
• Storm Prediction Center
• Text for TAF or METAR
• M KFLY or T KCOS to 358-782 (use any ICAO)
• Weather Prediction Center
• Weather minimums for airspace. (in Airspace)
• Also see Pilot Tips of the Week.

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General:

• 6 flight factors to consider as summer weather heats up.
• 7 ways to get the most out of your weather products.
• 9 uncommon weather codes that could affect you on your next flight.
• How to co-exist with weather. (NAFI vid).
• Questions (five) you need to know for your checkride (boldmethod).
• Use of weather information (FAA Aviation Safety).
• Weather BASICS explained.
• Weather CAMs by the FAA.

Air Masses and Stability (King).

AIRMETs: (see in-flight advisories below)

Altitudes:

• Density Altitude:
• Does departing in the morning with lower density altitude really help?
• What is density altitude and pressure altitude in aviation?
• What is it and how it affects your performance.
• What is it and how to calculate it.
• Pressure Altitude:
• What is pressure altitude and density altitude in aviation?
• See also Performance.

ASOS / AWOS:

• If AWOS reports IFR conditions when it's VFR, can you legally fly?
• The difference between ASOS and ADS-B weather.

Aviation Weather Center (AWC)

Brief, standard or official:

• 5 reasons why you should always get a weather briefing.
• Does an EFB count as an 'official' weather briefing? (Vid 19).
• How to obtain a good weather brief. (FAA)
• Official weather brief - is there one?
• Reverse Weather Briefing. (Flying Mag).

Clouds:

• 6 ways to interpret the clouds on your next flight.
• Can you identify these 7 cloud formations?
• Ceilings:
• How cloud ceilings are reported.
• Clouds and precipitation. (FlightInsight Vid)
• Four basic groups:
• Low/Surface to 6,500.  Stratus, Stratocumulus, and nimbostratus
• Medium/6,500 to 20,000.  Altostratus and altocumulus
• High/20,000 and up.  Cirrus, Cirrostratus, and Cirrocumulus
• Clouds with vertical development.
• How do clouds form?
• How do lenticular clouds form? (Vid 23).
• Rotor clouds: How they form, and why you should avoid them.
• Why you experience turbulence when flying through a cloud?

Fog:

• 4 signs that radiation fog is about to form.
• 6 types of fog.
• Can you land VFR on a runway that's half covered in fog?
• Expect it if temperature and dew point are within three degrees.
• How freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and freezing fog form.
• How to avoid unexpected fog this fall.
• Types (checkride)
• 5 or 10 types (the 5 are more common).
• Upslope flow: How it forms clouds and precipitation. (Vid 16).

Forecasts:

• Area Forecasts
• Used if TAFs are unavailable and replaced by the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA).
• Frequency:  3x per day; valid for 12 HRS forecast & 6 HRS outlook (18 total)
• Categorical outlook includes:
• LIFR (low IFR):  ceiling < 500 feet and/or visibility < 1 mile
• IFR:  ceiling 500 to < 1,000 feet and/or visibility 1 to < 3 miles
• MVFR (marginal VFR):  ceiling 1,000 to 3,000 feet and/or visibility 3 to 5 miles inclusive
• VFR:  ceiling > 3,000 feet & visibility > than 5 miles; includes sky clear
• Terminal Area Forecast (TAF)
• Coverage:  an area within approximately five statute miles (8.0 km) from the center of an airport runway complex.
• Duration:  generally, apply to a 24- or 30-hour period
• Frequency:  normally every six hours; 0000, 0600, 1200 and 1800 UTC.
• 'QNH' mean in a TAF? What is it? (Vid 124).
• TAF decoder
• Text for TAF - "T KCOS" to 358-782 (replace KCOS with any ICAO).

Fronts, pressures and associated weather:

• Basic discussion on pressure (NWS).
• HIGH pressure = clear, sunshine
• LOW pressure = cloudy, rainy, snowy
• WARM front = overcast
• COLD front = showers/thunderstorms
• Frontal weather (AvWeb).
• Weather typically associated with pressures and fronts? (checkride).

Hazards:

• 5 weather hazards that affect all aircraft.
• See also in-flight advisories above.

Human Factors: see Human Factors.

Ice / Icing:

• 5 weather products that help you determine icing conditions.
• 6 reasons why taking off with frost on your wings is a bad idea.
• Frost contributes to Cessna 172 takeoff accident.
• Accident Case Study: Trapped in ice.
• Aircraft icing - AOPA Safety Advisor.
• How ice affects your wings, and why it leads to an early stall.
• Icing - COPA Vid.
• Is flying through snow considered 'known icing'?
• Is that airframe icing or snow?
• Pilot stalls in icing conditions and recovers below min IFR altitude.

In-flight weather advisories:

• AIRMETs and SIGMETs (Epic video)
• AIRMET (WA) – Forecast
• An advisory of significant weather phenomena but describe conditions at intensities lower than those that require the issuance of a SIGMET.
• AIRMET Sierra is for IFR conditions or mountain obscuration
• AIRMET Tango is for turbulence
• AIRMET Zulu is for icing
• Memory aide: Socked-in (IFR), Turbulence and Zero (icing)
• Center Weather Advisory (CWA).
• Convective SIGMET (WST) – Forecast or Observation
• Includes tornadoes, lines of thunderstorms, thunderstorms over a wide area, embedded thunderstorms, hail > ¾ inch in diameter, and/or wind gusts of 50 knots or greater.
• NOTE: A WST consists of either an observation and a forecast or simply a forecast.
• See also Thunderstorms below.
• SIGMET (WS)  – Forecast
• Advise of non-convective weather that is potentially hazardous to all aircraft.
• SIGMETs are unscheduled products that are valid for four hours but can be extended.

Isobar and isotherm differences (checkride):

• Pressure / temperature differences

Knowledge check / Quizzes:

• A dry line is a type of boundary that... 5Qs (fall weather).
• Most weather reported in a METAR... 6Qs.
• Questions you need to know for your checkride.
• Why does your airplane have better... 6Qs.
• What height are the clouds…6Qs.
• What type of cloud is this... 6Qs.
• Which type of fog is associated with... 6Qs.

METARs:

• 7 METAR codes you only see in summer.
• How close is weather in a METAR? (Vid 157).
• METAR decoder.
• Text for METAR - "M KFLY" to 358-782 (replace KFLY with any ICAO)
• See also Winds below.

Microbursts:

• 3 reasons microbursts are more hazardous in the mountains.
• 7 things you should know about microbursts.

Minimums:

• For Approaches - see Alternates and Minimums in Instruments.
• Personal weather minimums - Identify yours. (Flying Mag).

Mountain(s): See Mountain Flying.

Official weather brief: see Brief above.

PIREPs:

• 7 times ATC is required to ask you for a pilot report.
• Quizzes:
• What is the temperature in this... 6 Qs.
• What to include in a PIREP.

Planning / Scenarios:

• Finding the smoothest ride.
• Would you go?
• Ceilings are 1900' with 6SM visibility and light rain.
• Ceilings are 2000' with 4SM visibility and light snow.

Prog Charts:

• At Aviationweather.gov.
• Difference between this and Prog Charts - surface analysis charts already happened. Prog charts show forecast and precipitation. I use "P". Prog chart, prediction (forecast) and precipitation.

Radar:

• Go or No Go: never judge a forecast by its radar image. (Air Facts)

Rain:

• Flying through heavy rain.
• Freezing rain: How it forms.
• How freezing rain, freezing drizzle, and freezing fog, form.

Seasonal:

• Summer:
• 6 flight factors to consider as summer weather heats up.
• 6 tips for flying on hot-weather days.
• Does departing in the morning with lower density altitude really help?
• How the Southwest Monsoon affects weather. Vid 36.
• Fall:
• 5 flight considerations you need to prepare for when fall arrives.
• Winter:
• 5 of the best winter flying tips.
• 7 tips for your cold weather flying.
• 7 ways cold winter air affects your airplane.
• Quizzes:
• Why does your airplane have better... 6Qs.
• Quiz: Cold weather operations.
• See also Rules-of-Thumbs.

SIGMETs: (see in-flight advisories above)

SPECI Reports: When is a SPECI issued?

Standard weather brief(ing): answers "what is a legit/complete/thorough/correct weather brief?"

Supplemental Info / Articles:

• Flying Solo: proper use of cockpit weather resources. (Flying Mag).
• Flying with datalink weather. (Flying Mag).

Surface Analysis (Charts):

• At NOAA. Aviationweather.gov only uses Prog Charts.
• Difference between this and Prog Charts - surface analysis charts already happened. Prog charts show forecast and precipitation. I use "P". Prog chart, prediction (forecast) and precipitation.
• What is an outflow boundary shown on a surface analysis chart?

Terrain:

• How terrain creates lifting action. Vid 32.

Thunderstorms:

• 3 conditions for a thunderstorm (checkride).
• Moisture, instability, and lifting force (see Terrain above).
• 3 forecast products for thunderstorms.
• 3 stages (checkride).
• Developing, Mature, Dissipating
• 3 ways thunderstorms form and in the mountains.
• 5 reasons why you should fly around the upwind side of a thunderstorm.
• Why you should fly on the upwind side of a thunderstorm.
• 7 factors every pilot should consider before flying around thunderstorms.
• Actions if caught in a thunderstorm? (checkride).
• Airmass Thunderstorms: What triggers them.
• Associated hazards? (checkride).
• CAPE (convective available potential energy):
• CAPE explained. (Vid 12).
• CAPE values and what they mean. (Vid 13).
• What CAPE values cause thunderstorms? (Vid 34).
• Can you fly into a thunderstorm? (checkride).
• Dry line: how it forms thunderstorms.
• How does a cap form and prevent thunderstorms? (Vid 10).
• How thunderstorms form.
• Is it every safe to fly underneath a thunderstorm?
• Navigating around thunderstorms. (Vid 33).
• Knowledge Check/Quizzes:
• Safety quiz: Thunderstorms.
• Strategy & tactics: Part I and Part II (Flying Mag).
• The Severe Storm. (Av Web).
• Thunderstorms. (COPA Vid).
• Upslope flow convergence thunderstorms - case study or Vid 37.
• Also see Microbursts above.

Turbulence:

• 6 types of turbulence, and how to report each one.
• 8 signs of turbulence ahead.
• Avoidance, five tools to help you.
• PIREPs
• G-AIRMETs / SIGMETs
• Analyze Weather Charts And Radar Summaries
• Winds And Temperatures Aloft Chart
• Other Pilots And ATC
• Knowledge Check / Quizzes:
• What is an example of mechanical... 6Qs.
• May the g-force not be with you. (Machado).
• Mountain wave turbulence: where you'll find it in flight.
• Also see Landing in Maneuvers and Tips of the Week. 

Websites:

• Aviation Weather Center (AWC)
• How to obtain a good weather brief.  (FAA)
• Windy.com

Winds:

• Diurnal winds, what are they?
• Gap winds: How they affect airports on the west coast. (Vid 7).
• METAR winds vs. instantaneous winds. (Vid 75)
• Reported wind vs. instantaneous wind. (Vid 160).
• Why is spring so windy?
• Wind Shear:
• 4 most common sources of wind shear at low altitudes.
• Winds in the Columbia River Gorge. (Vid 5).

Winter: see Seasonal above.

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Standard Weather Briefing <>

The standard preflight briefing includes the following elements: 

• Adverse Conditions. Significant meteorological information (SIGMET) (for example, thunderstorms, icing, turbulence, low ceilings or visibility) that might influence you, the pilot, to alter your proposed route of flight or even cancel your planned flight entirely. AIRMET.
• Synopsis. (PROG CHART) A brief statement about the cause of the weather (for example, fronts or pressure systems) that is pertinent to your proposed route of flight.
• Current Conditions. When your proposed time of departure is within two hours, current conditions include a summary of the current weather, including Pilot (weather) Reports (PIREPs) and radar weather information applicable to your planned flight.
• En Route Forecast. The briefer will summarize the forecast conditions (unless requested to read the forecasts verbatim) along your proposed route in a logical order (that is, climbout, en route, and descent). 
• Destination Forecast. The briefer will provide the destination forecast for your estimated time of arrival, including any significant changes expected within 1 hour of your planned time of arrival.
• Winds Aloft. The briefer will summarize Forecast Winds Aloft (FD) for the proposed route. Temperature information will be provided on request.
• Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs). The briefer will provide current NOTAMs pertinent to your proposed route of flight in a standard briefing. Information on GPS outages, Long Range Navigation Military Training Routes (MTRs) (pretty good video) and Military Operations Areas (MOAs) (same video author) and published NOTAMs must be specifically requested.
• Special Use Airspace.

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