NEXRAD Limitations

Words for: Weather & Services

cloudiness
atmosphere
troposphere
stratosphere
mesosphere
thermosphere
atmospheric circulation
convection
atmospheric pressure
Coriolis force
air mass
northeasterly trade winds
prevailing westerly winds
conterminous United States
frictional force
mercurial barometer
prevailing upper level westerly winds
aneroid cell
aircraft altimeter
incapacitation
convective currents
anticyclonic circulation
cyclonic circulation
tailwinds
updrafts
cumulus
cumulus cloud layers
ballooning effect
wind gusts
ground topography
windward
leeward
windward side
Wind Shear
headwind losses
low-level wind shear
temperature inversion
Microburst
VIRGA
ASR-9 WSP
isobars
atmospheric stability
adiabatic heating
adiabatic cooling
front
pennant
surface analysis
convective activity
dry adiabatic lapse rate
moist adiabatic lapse rate
inversion layer
frontal inversions
evaporation
Sublimation
condensation
latent heat of evaporation
Relative humidity
unsaturated air
Visibility
fog
stratus clouds
stratus
condensation nuclei
stratocumulus
nimbostratus
supercooled water droplets
Ceiling
altostratus
altocumulus
cirrus
cirrostratus
cirrocumulus
towering cumulus
cumulonimbus
embedded thunderstorms
thunderstorm
squall line
nonfrontal bands
castellanus
lenticularus
nimbus
fracto
drizzle
ice pellets
hail
freezing drizzle
obscuration
preflight weather briefing
warm front
cirriform
stratiform
cirriform clouds
stratiform clouds
sleet
stationary front
occluded front
fast-moving cold front
cold front occlusion
wind shifts
cumulus stage
dissipating stage
anvil
anvil-like shape
waterspout
troughs aloft
tornadoes
gust front
Icing
supercooled
Rime
Pilot Windshear Guide
engine water ingestion
hailstones
meteorologists
observation
upper air observations
Surface Aviation Weather Observations
station identifier
modifier
METARs
altimeter reading
ARTCC — Air Route Traffic Control Center
radiosonde
Pilot Weather Report
transponder returns
milliwatt
radiosonde observations
DataLink
fpm
flight service station
milliwatt radio transmitter
ARINC — Aeronautical Radio, Inc
Radar Observations
WSR-88D
WSR-88D NEXRAD
Doppler radar
dBZ — decibels of Z
reflectivity
dBZ
phraseology
Service Outlets
1-800-WX BRIEF
conterminous states
VOR — navigational aids
TIBS — Telephone Information Briefing Service
AIRMET
NAVAIDs
Convective SIGMET
airspace procedures
EFAS
HIWAS — Hazardous Inflight Weather Advisory Service
L/MF — low or medium frequency
urgent PIREPs
winds aloft
TWEB — Transcribed Weather Broadcast
weather briefing
standard briefing
abbreviated briefing
Flight Plan
outlook briefing
synopsis
VFR flight not recommended
VFR minimums
aviation weather reports
Aviation Routine Weather Report
SPECI — special METAR
SPECI — special METAR report
DUATS
Zulu time
AUTO
AO1
AO2
COR
gusting
statute mile
VRB
SM
descriptor
SCT — scattered
SKC
CLR
FEW
VV
PRESFR
RMK
BC — Patches
SN — Snow
GS — Small hail or snow pellets
SQ — Squalls
PO — Dust/sand whirls
sandstorms
OCNL LTGICCG
NAVAID idents
CHOP
/OV
/TM
UA
/FL
/TP
inflight advisories
/SK
/WX
/TA
/WV
/TB
/IC
/RM
TAF — Terminal Aerodrome Forecast
TAF AMD — amended forecast
FM — from
TEMPO — temporary
PROB30
Aviation Forecasts
P6SM
TAF AMD
ICAO station identifier
area forecast
precautionary statements
mountain obscuration
LLWS
BECMG
FL — flight level
Zulu
WA — AIRMET designator
AIRMET Tango
AIRMET Zulu
Inflight Weather Advisories
WST — Convective Significant Meteorological Information
weather charts
Millibar
surface analysis chart
marginal VFR
weather depiction chart
hatched area
Significant Weather Prognostic Charts
FL 240
narrowband
ATC Radar Weather Displays
graphical NEXRAD data
graphical METAR data
Weather Avoidance Assistance
NTSB
Electronic Flight Displays (EFD) /Multi-Function Display (MFD) Weather
data link weather
Textual METAR data
SIGMETs/AIRMETs (SIG/AIR)
Surface analysis to include city forecasts (SFC)
The Next Generation Weather Radar System (NEXRAD)
TOPO — Topographic
STORMSCOPE
Ground Clutter
strobes
spurious radar data
base reflectivity
NEXRAD Abnormalities
sun strobes
NEXRAD Limitations
AIRMET/SIGMET Display
Graphical METARs
FIS-B — Flight Information Service–Broadcast
ADS-B — Automatic Dependent Surveillance–Broadcast
978 MHz UAT data link
SUA — special use airspace
TIS-B service status
UAT — Universal Access Transceiver
CONUS
TIS-B
electronic flight bag
geosynchronous orbit

269 words in this area · Next word: AIRMET/SIGMET Display →

Plain English Meaning

NEXRAD weather images shown on cockpit displays are not live. The picture you see can be several minutes old, may have coverage gaps, and may not show exactly what the storm is doing right now. Because of this, you should use it for big-picture planning, not for dodging individual thunderstorm cells up close.

Full Definition

The inherent constraints of NEXRAD (Next Generation Radar) weather data when displayed in the cockpit, including age delays of up to several minutes between actual weather conditions and what appears on the screen, gaps in radar coverage, and the limitation that displayed precipitation intensity reflects a composite or mosaic image rather than real-time conditions. These limitations make NEXRAD unsuitable for tactical (close-range) thunderstorm avoidance.

Plain English Meaning

Full Definition

Context Anchor

Derivation

Why Pilots Care

Analogy

Grounding Statement

Intuition Check

Example Sentence 1

Example Sentence 2