Definition
A telephone-based service that provides a recorded weather briefing for a specific area, allowing pilots to call a published number and listen to current weather information relevant to flight planning. PATWAS recordings typically cover a 50 nautical mile radius around the originating station and include items such as current conditions, forecasts, and pertinent advisories.
Plain English
A phone number a pilot can call to hear a pre-recorded weather report for the local area before flying.
Context Anchor
Seen in older FAA acronym lists and in discussions of aviation weather information services.
Derivation
The name describes itself: a telephone service that automatically answers with weather information for pilots. 'Automatic' refers to the recorded, always-available nature of the message — the pilot does not speak to a briefer.
Why Pilots Care
PATWAS gives a quick weather snapshot when a full briefing isn't needed or when other sources aren't convenient. Pilots should know it is informational only and does not replace an official preflight weather briefing for cross-country flights.
Intuition Check
Do not assume PATWAS was a personal weather briefing from a specialist. It was an automatic telephone recording service for aviation weather information.
Example Sentence 1
Before driving to the airport, the pilot called PATWAS to get a quick read on local weather conditions.
Example Sentence 2
PATWAS provided a quick way to hear the latest forecast without needing a radio or computer.