Forecasting for the Royal International Air Tattoo

The Met Office might be best known for providing public weather forecasts, but our services go far beyond the weather on the TV and radio.

This week we are taking a look behind the scenes at the Royal International Air Tattoo 2017, where an onsite team of Met Office meteorologists provided critical weather forecasting and observations.

The Royal International Air Tattoo

Linda Jennings, Senior Marketing Manager, Aviation

Fog – the challenges it brings to an airport

Fog is a challenge generally in aviation because it has a profound effect on safety – pilots and air traffic controllers still often rely on seeing each other, especially when landing and taxiing on the ground.

Supporting safety for General Aviators

The extensive range of products and services that the Met Office provides on behalf of the CAA to support airlines operating globally is well known. What is perhaps less well known is the commitment that the Met Office places in supporting the flight safety and well-being of the UK’s general aviation community.

St Helena – forecasting at one of the world’s most remote airports

St Helena is a long way from where you are – it’s a long way from anywhere. The nearest land (and diversion airfield) is Ascension Island 703 miles away and the mainland of Africa is at least 1200 miles away. Prior to the building of the airfield, it was also a long time from anywhere; a 2-3 day trip from Ascension Island or 5 days from Cape Town, both by ship, were the only ways most could travel to or from the Island.

High-resolution weather modelling above San Francisco

Low cloud forecasting challenge

San Francisco International Airport (SFO) has two closely spaced parallel runways. Both runways can only be used at the same time when the approach is completely clear of any cloud. Maximum flow rates change from 35 aircraft landing per hour when there is cloud, to up to 54 per hour once the clear conditions are reached. Therefore an accurate forecast of cloud clearance can be of considerable benefit for planning for both Air Traffic Control and the airlines coming into SFO.

Onsite meteorologists working at Air Traffic Control

For the first time a team of Met Office meteorologists are going to be based all year round at the NATS control centre in Hampshire.

Why is volcanic ash a problem?

From 15^th -20^th April 2010, most aircraft scheduled to fly in western or northern European airspace were grounded, leaving passengers and crews stranded and causing large economic losses to the airline and airport industry. There were further significant airspace restrictions in European airspace during the following weeks.

VIDEO: 5 facts about lightning…

Producing Aftercast reports for the AAIB

Civil aviation accidents in the UK are investigated by the Air Accident Investigation Branch (AAIB), part of the Department for Transport. There are many factors that can lead to an aviation accident, one of which is weather conditions that can affect an aircraft or airport.