Terminal Weather Dashboard help
Overview
The Terminal Weather Dashboard is a time series display of weather conditions which utilizes a user-friendly interface displaying the start and end times of impactful weather. The potential impacts are colored based on severity and can be broken down to view specific criteria which are defined by the National Aviation Meteorologists. Impacts are color coded by severity with red representing a high potential impact, orange a moderate potential impact, yellow a slight potential impact, while boxes are left blank if no impact is expected for that time period. The letters in the box represent the cause of the hazard. Designed as a decision support tool, the dashboard is meant to aid in efficient air traffic planning and improves operational efficiency across the NAS.
The forecast board displays the current observation under the OBS column with the latest TAF for the airport broken into hourly impacts. If TEMPO conditions are present for a certain hour, the data is displayed in [brackets]. The forecast board provides data out to 36 hours, switching to the Localized Aviation MOS Program (LAMP) forecasted data (outlined in magenta) following the TAF valid period. LAMP provides statistically-calibrated forecast guidance for ceiling and visibility. More information on LAMP can be found here.
Condensed View
The condensed view displays data for multiple stations. Learn more about the options to view airports in the Customizable Capabilities section below. There may be multiple hazards for a particular hour however only the highest ranked from this list will be displayed for compactness.
- CIG - ceiling
- VIS - visibility
- TS or WX - thunderstorms (when present) or weather (rain, freezing rain, fog)
- WSpd - wind speed
- WGst - wind Gust
Expanded View
For more detailed information for a specific site, click on the station identifier on the left. The expanded view lists weather conditions along the vertical axis.
- VIS - visibility in miles
- CIG - cloud ceiling in 100s feet
- Cover - sky condition based on the amount of cloud cover
- FltCat - flight category: VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR
- Wx - weather
- WDir - wind direction
- WSpd - wind speed in knots
- WGst - wind gust speed in knots
- WSHgt - wind shear height in ft AGL
- WSDir - wind shear direction
- WSSpd - wind shear speed in knots
The expanded forecast board also provides the capability to display the raw METAR and TAF below the table or add calculated runway crosswinds to the table by using the toggles on the right side of the screen under the Issued time. The crosswind values are calculated in reference to the first runway designation listed.
- XWnd - cross wind speed from left to right across the runway in knots, a negative value indicates winds from right to left
- XGst - cross wind gust speed in knots
- HWnd - head wind speed in knots, a negative value indicates a tail wind
- HGst - head wind gust speed in knots
The observation board displays the past 13 METAR observations from oldest to newest, left to right. On the expanded view, additional parameters are included.
Condensed View
The condensed view displays data for multiple stations. Learn more about the options to view airports in the Customizable Capabilities section below. There may be multiple hazards for a particular hour however only the highest ranked from this list will be displayed for compactness.
- CIG - ceiling
- VIS - visibility
- TS or WX - thunderstorms (when present) or weather (rain, freezing rain, fog)
- WSpd - wind speed
- WGst - wind Gust
Expanded View
For more detailed information for a specific site, click on the station identifier on the left. The expanded view lists weather conditions along the vertical axis.
- Temp - temperature in Fahrenheit
- Dewpt - dew point in Fahrenheit
- Altim - pressure (altimeter) in inches Hg
- VIS - visibility in miles
- CIG - cloud ceiling in 100s feet
- Cov - cloud cover: CLR, FEW, SCT, BKN, OVC
- FltCat - flight category: VFR, MVFR, IFR, LIFR
- Wx - weather
- WDir - wind direction
- WSpd - wind speed in knots
- WGst - wind gust speed in knots
The Terminal Weather Dashboard offers several customizable features to cater to the diverse needs of its users. The ID search bar allows the user to type in specific airports that alter the dashboard to display information only at those identified locations (see below). To load the requested data into the table the user must select "Load". The "Data" button redirects to the respective METAR/TAF Data page. To load the default dashboard, with the forecasts for Top 30 Core airports, select "Reset".
ID search bar
4 letter ICAO id's for Airports
- KJFK
- ksfo, klax, klas, kphx
- KBOS,KTEB,KJFK,KLGA,KEWR,KPHL,KIAD,KDCA,KBWI,KCLT,KATL,KTPA,KMCO,KMIA,KFLL,KDTW,KBNA
3 letter ARTCC id's
- @zma (displays all airports within Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center)
- @TOP (will display core 29 airports and SMB airport)
NOTE: must include '@' as a precursor.
2 letter state identifiers
- @IL (will display all airports in Illinois)
NOTE: must include '@' as a precursor.
Threshold Types
There are currently three options for highlighting potential impacts.
- Impact - Thresholds with identified impacts to efficient operations of the National Airspace System. Please note these have very low ceiling and visibility impact levels that are less applicable for general aviation.
- IMC - Traditional flight category rules for Marginal Visual Meteorological Conditions (MVMC/MVFR), Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC/IFR), and Low Instrument Meteorological Conditions (LIMC/LIFR).
- CAC - Categorical Amendment Criteria. Flight rules as above modified based on FAA approach plates.
| IMC Impact | Category | Ceiling | Visibility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High | LIFR | below 500 feet AGL | and/or | less than 1 mile |
| Medium | IFR | 500 feet to below 1000 feet AGL | and/or | 1 mile less than 3 miles |
| Slight | MVFR | 1000 feet to 3000 feet AGL | and/or | 3 to 5 miles |
| None | VFR | greater than 3000 feet AGL | and | greater than 5 miles |
Toggles
To enhance the interpretation of impact times, hovering capability is available. Hover the hourly impact boxes to on the condensed view to identify additional hazards that may be impacting an airport. The "Condensed" option narrows the height of the impact boxes to allow users to view more airports in a single view.
What has changed recently?
The entire site was overhauled in October 2023. For information about the most recent updates, please see the change log.
How can I keep up with planned changes?
Major changes are announced through NWS Service Change Notices. Further information and other significant changes are shown on the upcoming changes page. Subscribe to the RSS or JSON feed for regular updates.
How often do you update the website?
We fix critical bugs as soon as possible, and we deploy functional upgrades regularly. Please let us know if you find something that isn't working.
Why can't I log in to my account?
Most features of AviationWeather.gov do not require an account. If you recently signed up for a new account, please check your email (including spam folders) for a confirmation email as email addresses must be verified. Accounts are generally approved within one to two business days.
Where is the METAR page?
The interactive Graphical Forecasts for Aviation observation tab displays METARs along with other current data including surface fronts and radar imagery. To view METARs alone, click on the Layers button at the top right corner of the map and deselect items you do not wish to view. Decoded METARs can be displayed by enabling the "decoded METARs" option in the Map Options under the gear icon on GFA.
Raw and decoded textual METAR data can be displayed by selecting the Products dropdown and selecting METAR data.
Where is the Satellite/Radar page?
Satellite and radar imagery are available on the observations tab of the interactive Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, that displays surface observations, imagery, fronts, and more in one place. Satellite imagery is an optional layer available from the layer selector in the upper right corner of the map. To display satellite or radar imagery alone, deselect items on the layer selector to simplify the display.
How can I submit PIREPs?
Sign up for an account on our registration page, select PIREP Submit Access, and be sure to include your airman's certificate number or affiliation with an airline, flight school, government or military organization for validation purposes to streamline the process. Accounts are validated via the FAA Airmen Inquiry.
Then watch your email in order to verify your address and then confirming your account. Once you have an account and are logged in, select "Submit a PIREP" from the Tools dropdown and fill out the form. For more information on PIREP submit, use the link at the bottom, or click here. For more information on PIREP content, please see the PIREP data help page.
How do I access the Flight Path Tool?
The flight path tool is now embedded into the interactive Graphical Forecasts for Aviation map. Click on the route button along the right side of the map to open the display. Enter the airports to navigate, and select the product you wish to display from the dropdown. Watch a video on how to use the cross sections here.
Where is the HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Services) tool?
The HEMS tool has been integrated into the interactive Graphical Forecasts for Aviation. Click on the helicopter button in the upper right part of the map to switch GFA from general aviation mode into low-altitude mode, which offers similar features as the HEMS tool.
What happened to ADDS?
The ADDS static graphics were phased out and replaced with the Graphical Forecasts for Aviation, which offers greater flexibility and configurability; some static graphics continue to be available for decision support. The ADDS Text Data Server has been succeeded by the Data API. Please let us know if you need assistance with the migration.
How can I display list of METARs and/of TAFs? What about decoded products?
The METAR and TAF data pages provide access to raw, tabular, and decoded output that automatically refreshes every five minutes. The page is designed for quick lookups and printability.
Where is the Text Data Server? How do I download METARs?
The Text Data Server was discontinued and has been replaced by the Data API. The new data offerings are more flexible and provide more data. Interfaces designed for greater compatibility with the Data Server to ease the transition as well as cache files to retrieve many reports at once are also available.
How do I access data for previous dates?
The METAR data page displays up to the previous 96 hours of observations. The Archive View allows viewing nearly all products on the site as they were presented for up to the past two weeks. For data more than 14 days old please reference the resources available on bottom of the Archive View page.
Data appears to be missing. Where can I find more information?
Automated status information and the latest announcements can be found on the status page
Why is a particular station not reporting?
The site generally displays all observations within a minute or two of being reported as we receive it. Individual station outages are usual indicative of a problem at the source. AWC does not maintain weather stations or observing platforms.
What do all of the map symbols indicate?
A full listing of map symbols is available.
Why is the map dark?
Dark mode is automatically applied based on systems settings. Selecting the person icon in the upper right and and selecting Light disables this mode.