Definition
A review of current and forecast weather conditions obtained by a pilot before flight, covering adverse conditions, synopsis, current conditions, en route forecast, destination forecast, winds aloft, NOTAMs, and any other information relevant to the planned route, altitude, and time of flight.
Plain English
Before you fly, you check the weather along your route — what it's doing now, what it's going to do, and anything else that might affect the flight. It's a structured check, not just a quick glance at the sky.
Context Anchor
You will see this term during flight planning, especially before deciding whether weather conditions could make visual flying difficult or increase the chance of spatial disorientation.
Derivation
"Preflight" simply means before flight. "Briefing" comes from the Old French brief, meaning a short, structured summary — the same root as a legal brief. So a preflight weather briefing is a structured weather summary received before flight.
Why Pilots Care
Allows the pilot to anticipate hazards such as turbulence, icing, or low ceilings that can contribute to spatial disorientation.
Intuition Check
A preflight weather briefing is not just checking the local forecast on a phone. In aviation, it means getting flight-specific weather information that helps the pilot make a safe go/no-go decision.
Example Sentence 1
She got a standard preflight weather briefing from Flight Service and learned that icing was forecast at her cruise altitude, so she delayed the flight.
Example Sentence 2
Before filing IFR, she reviewed the preflight weather briefings again to confirm no SIGMETs were active along her route.