Definition
A federally funded research institution based in Boulder, Colorado, that studies the Earth's atmosphere, including weather, climate, and the impact of weather phenomena on aviation. NCAR conducts research that supports forecasting, turbulence detection, icing prediction, and other weather services pilots rely on.
Plain English
A major weather and atmosphere research center in Boulder, Colorado. A lot of the science behind aviation weather forecasts and turbulence and icing tools comes from work done there.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA acronym lists and in discussions or references connected with aviation weather research.
Why Pilots Care
Many of the tools pilots use to plan around weather — turbulence forecasts, icing maps, convective outlooks — trace back to research developed at NCAR. Recognizing the name helps when reading weather product documentation or training material.
Example Sentence 1
The turbulence forecasting product the dispatcher used was developed from research conducted at NCAR.
Example Sentence 2
Research at NCAR has contributed to better understanding of turbulence and storm development.