Definition
A federally sponsored research program, conducted jointly by the FAA and the National Weather Service, focused on improving the quality, accuracy, and timeliness of weather information provided to pilots. The program develops better tools, forecasts, and reporting methods for hazards such as turbulence, icing, thunderstorms, ceiling and visibility, and in-flight icing.
Plain English
A government research effort aimed at giving pilots better, more accurate weather information before and during flight.
Context Anchor
You may see this term in discussions of aviation weather services, weather technology, and the development of tools used by pilots, dispatchers, and air traffic controllers.
Why Pilots Care
Better forecasts and products from this program reduce weather-related delays, diversions, and accidents.
Intuition Check
Do not read this as a weather report or forecast. It is the research program behind improvements to aviation weather information, not the weather information itself.
Example Sentence 1
Improvements in turbulence forecasting over the last decade came largely from work done under the Aviation Weather Research Program.
Example Sentence 2
Updates from the Aviation Weather Research Program are gradually incorporated into the tools used for enroute weather decisions.