An Aviation Area Forecast (FA or ARFOR) was a message product of the

National Weather Service The National Weather Service (NWS) is an Government agency, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weathe ...

(NWS) in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. It has been replaced by ''Graphic Area Forecasts'', or ''GFA'', in 2017. There are also weather charts forecast like SIGWX. FA encompasses the

weather Weather is the state of the atmosphere, describing for example the degree to which it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. On Earth, most weather phenomena occur in the lowest layer of the planet's atmosphere, the ...

conditions over a large regional area and is considered one of the better sources of information for en-route weather. It is also beneficial in verifying airport conditions at airports that do not have terminal aerodrome forecasts. FA's were issued three times daily in all 48 contiguous states of the

, and modified as required. The NWS offices also issued FA's for

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

and

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, but Alaska used a slightly different format.

Description

Area forecasts (FA's) were issued 3 times daily, valid for 18 hours (12-hour forecast, plus 6-hour categorical outlook), and cover an area the size of several states Description of content: * Visibility is always stated in

statute miles The mile, sometimes the international mile or statute mile to distinguish it from other miles, is a British imperial unit and United States customary unit of distance; both are based on the older English unit of length equal to 5,280 English ...

(SM) * Times are issued in UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) * Comprise four sections **a. A communications and header section ***i. Issue time of forecast ***ii. Valid times of the synopsis and the

visual flight rules In aviation, visual flight rules (VFR) are a set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in weather conditions generally clear enough to allow the pilot to see where the aircraft is going. Specifically, the weather must be better ...

(VFR) CLOUDS/WX sections ***iii. Area of coverage **b. A precautionary statement section ***i. Warns users to check the

AIRMET An AIRMET, or Airmen's Meteorological Information, is a concise description of weather phenomena that are occurring or may occur (forecast) along an air route that may affect aircraft safety. Compared to SIGMETs, AIRMETs cover less severe weather: ...

section for

IFR In aviation, instrument flight rules (IFR) is one of two sets of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations; the other is visual flight rules (VFR). The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) ''Instrument Fly ...

and/or mountain obscuration ***ii. Describes the hazards associated with all thunderstorm ***iii. Reminds users that all altitudes are given in MSL, unless noted as AGL or CIG (

ceiling A ceiling is an overhead interior surface that covers the upper limits of a room. It is not generally considered a structural element, but a finished surface concealing the underside of the roof structure or the floor of a story above. Ceilings ...

) **c. A synopsis section ***i. Brief summary of the location and movement of fronts, pressure systems and circulation patterns for an 18-hour period ***ii. References to low ceilings, reduced visibility and/or strong winds may be included **d. A VFR CLOUDS/WX section ***i. Contains a 12-hour specific forecast, followed by a 6-hour categorical outlook ***ii. Broken down into geographical areas, and/or states ***iii. Describes cloud and weather affecting VFR flight operations, including precipitation, thunderstorms, and sustained surface winds 20 Kts or greater. Also includes visibility when the forecast to visibility is between 3 and 6 SM and/or obstructions to visibility Some abbreviations that are used in FA's include: *OCNL Occasional >50% chance for <1/2 of the forecast period *ISOLD Isolated Single cells *WDLY SCT Widely scattered <25% of the area affected *SCT Scattered Areas of 25% to 54% of the area affected *NMRS Numerous >55% of the area affected *WDSPRD Widespread >55% of the area affected Status of an FA can be: *AMD Amended Includes

SIGMET SIGMET, or Significant Meteorological Information (AIM 7-1-6), is a severe weather advisory that contains meteorological information concerning the safety of all aircraft. Compared to AIRMETs, SIGMETs cover more severe weather. Types There a ...

s, and Convective SIGMETs *COR Corrected *RTD Delayed

References

External links

A handy list of common abbreviations used in Area Forecasts
* * {{cite book, url=https://www.faa.gov/air_traffic/publications/at_orders/media/Basic7110.10T.pdf, title=FAA's "Flight Services" publication (Order JO 7110.10), format=pdf, date=February 14, 2008 Weather forecasting