Definition
An aviation weather forecast covering general weather conditions over a wide geographic region, typically used to determine en route weather and to forecast conditions for airports that do not issue their own terminal forecasts. In the United States, FAs are now issued only for Alaska, Hawaii, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico; the contiguous 48 states are covered by the Graphical Forecast for Aviation (GFA) instead. A standard FA includes a communications and product header, a precautionary statement section, and forecast sections covering synopsis, clouds, and weather over a defined area for a specified valid period.
Plain English
A weather forecast that describes expected conditions over a large area rather than a single airport. It tells a pilot what kind of clouds, visibility, and weather to expect along the route, especially in places where smaller airports don't have their own forecasts.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation weather planning, especially when studying FAA weather forecast products and planning a flight that covers more than one local airport area.
Derivation
"Area" comes from Latin area, meaning an open piece of ground or a region. "Forecast" combines the Old English fore- ("before") with cast ("to throw or plan"), so a forecast is literally something planned ahead of time. Together: a prediction of weather thrown ahead in time, covering a region rather than a single point.
Why Pilots Care
Gives pilots a regional picture needed to choose routes, altitudes, and alternates when weather varies across wide areas.
Analogy
It is like checking a regional weather map before a road trip instead of only checking the weather at your driveway. You need to know what you will meet along the way.
Intuition Check
Do not assume an Area Forecast is only for the area right around one airport. In this FAA use, area means a broad region that may cover many airports and the airspace between them.
Example Sentence 1
Before her cross-country flight from Anchorage to Fairbanks, she reviewed the Area Forecast to see what cloud layers and icing conditions to expect en route.
Example Sentence 2
The FA indicated scattered layers and good visibility, supporting a VFR departure.