Forecast Models
From the 1930s until the 1980s, many pilots got their weather briefings from a meteorologist at a flight service station or airline dispatch counter....
GOES Satellite Imagery
You’ve probably heard someone tossing around the term “GOES satellite” at one time or another. This refers to a NOAA satellite program that has...
The Severe Storm
Strong thunderstorms are one of the places aviation and fear often intersect. And for good reason: severe storms have led to countless disasters, perhaps...
Frontal Weather
Now that we’re staring at the weather picture from the depths of winter, perhaps you've been re-acquainted with how fronts make an impact on...
Changing of the Guard
You’re flying along, listening to a controller issue instructions to many aircraft. From one second to the next, you suddenly start hearing a different...
Ice Is Not Nice
Icing affects flight operations in many ways. Accordingly, we offer some thought-provoking reports from pilots who’ve been there. Little has been said about instrument...
Vertical Air Movement
Heading into another winter season, our thoughts begin shifting to cold-weather flying hazards—fog, icing, and widespread precipitation. Most pilot training considers each of these...
Reading the Sky
Part of being able to forecast comes from reading the sky, because so much of what's taking place in the atmosphere can be seen...
Tropical Weather
Entering the dog days of summer, our attention shifts to the south. Rich moisture, weaker winds, and an increase in thunderstorms are classic signs...
Not-So-Gentle-T-Storms
On a warm summer afternoon, a two-ship flight consisting of a Beech A-36 Bonanza and a Piper PA-31 Navajo lifted off from Newport, Rhode...
Summer Patterns
Summertime almost certainly means vacations, cookouts, and maybe some time on the beach. There are airshows, fly-ins, $100 hamburgers, and of course AirVenture at...
A Radar Primer
Radar, whether we're talking air traffic control, thunderstorm detection, navigation, or even air combat, is a technology that has shaped the history of flight...