Definition
Weather information presented to the pilot on a glass-cockpit screen rather than on paper or analog gauges. An Electronic Flight Display (EFD) is any cockpit screen that replaces traditional instruments with a digital presentation. A Multi-Function Display (MFD) is the screen used for non-primary information such as moving maps, traffic, terrain, and weather overlays. EFD/MFD weather typically includes datalink products such as radar mosaic, METARs, TAFs, AIRMETs, SIGMETs, winds aloft, lightning, and icing or turbulence forecasts, displayed graphically over a navigation map.
Plain English
Weather pictures and reports shown on the cockpit screens instead of being read off paper or heard over the radio. The map shows where the rain, storms, and bad weather are, along with airport weather reports.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft with glass cockpit displays, especially when a pilot uses the display to review weather while planning, en route, or deciding whether to change course.
Derivation
Multi-Function Display literally means a screen that performs many roles. The same physical screen can show a moving map, then traffic, then weather, then engine data, depending on what the pilot selects. That flexibility is what makes it 'multi-function.'
Why Pilots Care
Gives pilots immediate visual access to weather so they can avoid hazards and adjust routes in real time.
Analogy
It is like using a traffic map on a phone: it gives a useful big-picture view, but it may not show exactly what is happening at your bumper right now.
Grounding Statement
Use displayed cockpit weather as a planning and awareness tool, not as proof that a nearby area is safe to enter.
Intuition Check
Do not assume that weather on the screen is live, complete, or safe to fly through. In this context, EFD/MFD weather is supporting information that must be checked against outside conditions, pilot judgment, and official weather sources.
Example Sentence 1
Before descending into the area, the pilot checked the EFD/MFD weather page and saw a line of precipitation building west of the destination.
Example Sentence 2
Using EFD/MFD Weather, the crew selected a route that kept them clear of the heavy precipitation area.