AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2024 - 93

The Storm Prediction Center (SPC)
homepage (above) gives quick snapshots
of areas expected to have chances of
thunderstorms, along with their expected
intensities. The prog chart link on the
Aviation Weather Center (AWC) website
(right) paints the synoptic forecast graphics
for the upcoming seven days.
create watches, outlooks, and mesoscale
discussions (MDs) to discuss them at length.
The National Weather Service's Weather
Prediction Center (wpc.ncep.noaa.gov)
forecasts up to two and one-half days ahead
and has links to sites for hurricane and even
space weather.
Doppler weather radar is now the
norm, and the WSR-88D system (radar.
weather.gov) shows high-resolution, color
products that show precipitation returns in
detail. Still other websites, such as GOES
Image Viewer (star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/
index.php) show satellite imagery for
visible, infrared, and water vapor channels.
ATC centers now have meteorologists on
staff, and Center Weather Service Units
with Doppler radar displays that let
controllers observe and vector aircraft
away from suspicious radar
signatures.
In-cockpit, datalink
weather imagery-via FIS-B
or SiriusXM providers-
is another important tool
that lets pilots see radar
returns. This and other
weather and radar imagery,
including onboard weather
radar on higher-end general
all the clouds, turbulence and updrafts this
would be a chore. The only way was to go
to idle power, push gently on the control
yoke to coax a descent, steer around the
buildups, and wait for the altimeter to
unwind. Meanwhile, ATC provided vectors
in Lunken's direction. After an eternity I
was in clear sky below 2,000-foot cloud
bases, cleared to land, and entered the
pattern for Lunken's Runway 21L. Gusty
winds were picking up out of the west, and
turbulence made for quite a job on final. It
was a big crab angle right up to touchdown,
and quite a relief to be on the ground.
Then more drama. Yes, I'd beaten the
storm system to the airport, but lowering
dark clouds, lightning, and 40-knot wind
gusts had arrived over a ridge to the west. A
ramp worker had mercy on me and directed
me to a hangar. Once inside, torrential
rain, thunder, and lightning made their
appearance as we closed the doors.
Since those times, massive changes
have occurred in the ways we learn about
aviation weather hazards. Sure, there were
convective outlooks and radar summary
charts, but these were generally sent via
fax. Most weather briefings were done
over telephone, which could leave a lot
to the imagination. In-person weather
briefings were phasing out. Flight Watch
came to be the closest thing to real-time
weather awareness, and Doppler weather
radar had yet to mature. Meteorologists and
controllers were stuck with the old WSR57
radars that were monochromatic, didn't
show precipitation contours well, and didn't
show much in the way of airborne traffic.
Today we have access to a huge range of
weather analysis and prediction products,
virtually all of which are on the internet.
Websites run by the Aviation Weather
Center (aviationweather.gov) and Storm
Prediction Center (spc.noaa.gov) have
loads of information for analysis and
prediction, presented in large graphic
formats. When SPC meteorologists suspect
that a storm complex might develop, they
aviation airplanes, is becoming standard
equipment. Integrated weather and flight
planning resources are also available on
electronic flight bags offered by providers
ForeFlight and Garmin, among others.
And let's not forget weather apps, which
can turn any smartphone into a full-service
source of aviation weather data. Or all the
computer-driven forecast models, some of
which can forecast for weeks in the future.
But while there's been a huge increase
in the volume, character, and availability of
weather information for pilots, some things
never change. One is the meteorology of
the Midwest. The Gulf of Mexico's heat,
moisture, buoyancy, and southerly winds
power their way northward to the nation's
interior on a regular basis and drive nearly
all the summertime synoptic weather in the
central United States. Another is a semipermanent
low-pressure center that sets
up east of the Rockies, usually in Colorado.
When the warm, moist air in the Gulf flows
north, it's drawn into the dynamics of
that low, creating updrafts, wind shear
AOPA PILOT / September 2024
93
https://www.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/dailywxmap/ https://radar.weather.gov/ https://radar.weather.gov/ http://star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/index.php http://star.nesdis.noaa.gov/goes/index.php http://www.aviationweather.gov http://spc.noaa.gov
AOPA Pilot Magazine - September 2024

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