Definition
A National Weather Service office that produces and distributes aviation-specific weather forecasts, warnings, and analyses for pilots, dispatchers, and air traffic control. It issues products such as AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Convective SIGMETs, area forecasts, and turbulence and icing graphics, and publishes them through its public website (aviationweather.gov) and official data feeds.
Plain English
A government office that creates the weather information pilots use for flight planning. It gathers data from across the country, turns it into pilot-friendly products, and puts it online for free.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA weather-source discussions and when pilots check official online aviation weather information during flight planning.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots use AWC products to obtain reliable weather information needed for flight planning and safe decision-making.
Intuition Check
Do not think of the AWC as a single local airport weather station. It is a national aviation weather source that gathers and publishes weather information for flight planning over large areas.
Example Sentence 1
Before the cross-country, she pulled up the AWC website to check for any SIGMETs along the route.
Example Sentence 2
AWC issues the convective SIGMETs that alert pilots to developing thunderstorms.