AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2014 - 90

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The answer is in the synoptic situation. Yes, only 40 percent may be affected,
and you may be surrounded by clear skies
right now, but conditions within those
3,000 square miles are such that thunderstorms may well form elsewhere in
the coverage area.
The big takeaway is that convective
sigmets should make you perk up and
start checking the weather extra carefully. After all, we're talking about lines
of storms, embedded thunderstorms, and
large areas of thunderstorms-and all of
these are on the move. If in flight, it's time
to keep a good visual lookout, better track
of satellite and radar imagery if you're
equipped with datalink weather, and to
begin thinking about escape plans in case
things fall apart.
POP-UP CONVECTIVE SIGMETS

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Let's say the atmosphere is especially hot
and juicy, and a forecaster sees what he
or she believes could be a severe thunderstorm pop up suddenly-or strongly
suspects that a severe thunderstorm may
form. That's when a special issuance will
be made. In flight, you're most likely to
hear about this over an ATC center, Flight
Watch, or HIWAS frequency.
This kind of urgent convective sigmet should sound a loud alarm. Where
are you in relation to the coverage area?
How do you navigate so as to avoid the
area? Should you land and wait it out? In
other words, it's time to get super-serious
about avoiding these sorts of thunderstorms. Why? Severe thunderstorms, by
definition, are those with any or all of the
following features:
* Tornados
* Hail with three-quarter-inch diameters
(at the surface)
* Surface wind gusts of 50 knots or more
When it comes to thunderstorm season there's plenty of weather information
to consider, and convective sigmets are
just one element.
Next month we'll touch on another
related topic: radar imagery.
AOPA
EMAIL tom.horne@aopa.org

90 | AOPA PILOT April 2014
http://www.eFIRC.com http://www.eFIRC.com http://www.aopafoundation.org http://www.aopafoundation.org http://www.aviationseminars.com/pilot http://www.aviationseminars.com/pilot
AOPA Pilot Magazine - April 2014

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