How to be proficient with weather
| Figure 1. A surface analysis will show you the current conditions along your route and at your destination. |
| Figure 2. Use a surface prog to get a forecast of the weather. |
Both services offer the maps and other National Weather Service information that you need for a complete weather briefing, and more. You can use DUAT (in this article DUAT refers to both companies) to learn about notices to airmen (notams) and file flight plans, in addition to obtaining weather information.
Any pilot with a current medical certificate may register to use either site. The companies offer the same basic services, but they have different designs and site navigation, and you might find one works better than the other for you.
A good weather briefing strategy begins with tracking the weather a day or two before a planned flight using television weather segments or Web sites. With the resulting big picture in mind, you can log into one of the DUAT sites to obtain a weather briefing. If you plan to take off more than six hours after the briefing, you should select "Outlook Briefing." Then, closer to flight time, you should obtain a detailed, standard briefing, which includes:
- Reports and forecasts of adverse conditions
- A synopsis of the general weather picture
- Current weather conditions along your route
- Forecasts for weather along your route
- The forecast for your destination
- The winds and temperatures aloft along your route
- Notams
Printing out some maps is a good way to begin since they help you to visualize what text reports and forecasts say. These should include at least one map showing current conditions, such as the surface analysis in Figure 1, which is from DTC, and one showing the surface prog (forecast) as in Figure 2, which is from CSC.
On DTC, DUAT links to the parts of the site, including to "Weather Graphics," and "Route Briefing," are in the left-hand margin of the home page. On the CSC service, you find maps by clicking on "Main Menu" after signing in. Then go to the "Weather Graphics" section and select the maps you want. Once you have the maps you want from either service, you go to the "Area Briefing" page if your flight will be in the vicinity of the airport you are taking off from or "Route Briefing" for a cross-country flight.
Unless you are proficient at reading weather code, which isn't likely unless you are a meteorologist or an experienced pilot, you should choose to have text products displayed in plain language.
On the DTC service, you do this by selecting "English" instead of "FAA" under the "Briefing Output" heading. All times shown on DTC are UTC (Zulu) time, and help is available in translating to your local time: Put your cursor on the clock symbol next to "ETD" (estimated time of departure) to view a table converting Zulu time to U.S. local times.
On CSC, selecting the type of briefing, such as "Standard," takes you to a "Briefing Request" page. Here you can select "Departure Time Zone, Plain Language" and then the time zone you want using the "Output Format" menu. Choices also include "UTC, Plain Language" and "Undecoded" reports and forecasts.
Even for a local flight you'll probably get at least a few pages of text, especially if it's in plain English instead of code. Don't be discouraged. The aeronautical chart or charts you used to plan your flight, the maps you printed out, and the list of items in a standard briefing can help you select the information you need. In addition to being the first item on the list, "Reports and Forecasts of Adverse Conditions" is the logical place to start since it could prompt you to delay your flight.
Such information is found in various kinds of reports, beginning with FA Hazards and Flight Precautions. (Boldface items are the National Weather Service names for the product.) An FA is an area forecast for a large area of the United States. You should also look for reports such as FA Turbulence, Severe Weather Outlook, Severe Weather Warnings, Sigmets, Convective Sigmets, Center Weather Advisories, and Airmets.
The FA Synopsis section plus a surface analysis chart take care of the "Synopsis of the General Weather Picture" briefing section. "Current Weather Conditions Along Your Planned Route" are found on surface analysis charts plus the reports of surface conditions (called METARs) at airports along the route. A glance at your aeronautical chart will help you select a few airports that are more or less evenly scattered along your route.
The "Forecast Weather Along Your Route" is found using the forecast maps you printed out, terminal forecasts (called TAFs) along your route, and the VFR Clouds/Weather section of the area forecast. This FA section gives the visibility and expected ceilings as the height above mean sea level, unless otherwise noted, of clouds below 20,000 feet that cover at least three-eighths of the sky). It also gives cloud top heights in feet above mean sea level and the general visibility. The terminal forecast for your destination takes care of that briefing item. Finally, the FD Winds Aloft Forecast gives you the winds and temperatures aloft for your route.
DUAT forecasts also give you notams.
If you obtain a standard briefing more than an hour or so before you plan to take off or if you think the weather could have changed since your briefing, you should log in on the DUAT service you are using, or call 800-WX-BRIEF, and obtain an abbreviated briefing after telling the briefer how and when you obtained the standard briefing.
As with most aspects of learning to fly, gaining skill at obtaining and understanding weather information takes practice. DUAT offers a perfect method for becoming a proficient consumer of aviation weather information. You can practice your flight-planning skills by plotting courses for dream flights, obtaining DUAT briefings for these flights--and then using what you learn to decide whether you could go or stay home if you were planning a real flight.
If it would be a go, you could then use the winds and temperature aloft data to fill out a flight log--more practice. Finally, shortly after the time you would have arrived, check the reported weather along the route and at your destination. Was the decision to go a good one? If not, what went wrong? Thanks to DUAT you can practice your weather skills at no cost.
You should aim to be as skilled with weather as with landings by the time you finish your training. With both landings and weather briefings, you shouldn't doubt your success, but should know you have to concentrate on the task each time and continue practicing to stay sharp.
Jack Williams is coordinator of public outreach for the American Meteorological Society. An instrument-rated private pilot, he is the author of The USA Today Weather Book and The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Arctic and Antarctic, and co-author with Bob Sheets of Hurricane Watch: Forecasting the Deadliest Storms on Earth.
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