Definition
A computer system used by the FAA's Air Traffic Control System Command Center to gather, process, and distribute weather information that affects national air traffic flow. It supports traffic management decisions such as ground stops, reroutes, and ground delay programs by providing a consolidated weather picture to flow controllers.
Plain English
A central FAA computer that pulls together weather data from across the country so traffic managers can decide how to keep the air traffic system flowing when storms or other weather get in the way.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists and in discussions of weather systems that support air traffic control and traffic flow management.
Derivation
‘Central’ because it serves the whole national system from one place. ‘Flow’ refers to traffic flow management — keeping aircraft moving smoothly through the system. ‘Weather processor’ describes its job: taking in raw weather data and turning it into something controllers can act on.
Why Pilots Care
When weather causes delays, reroutes, or ground stops affecting your flight, the decisions often trace back to the weather picture this system provides to FAA flow managers.
Intuition Check
Do not read flow here as airflow over a wing. In this term, flow means the movement of aircraft through the airspace system.
Example Sentence 1
The ground delay program for the Northeast was issued after the CFWP showed a line of thunderstorms moving across the major arrival routes.
Example Sentence 2
The CFWP feed helped the flow management unit decide when to resume departures after fog cleared.