Definition
A concise, coded weather forecast issued for the area within a five statute mile radius of an airport, typically valid for 24 or 30 hours and updated every six hours. A TAF describes expected wind, visibility, weather phenomena, and cloud conditions, including significant changes anticipated during the forecast period.
Plain English
A short weather forecast for a specific airport that tells you what the weather is expected to do at that field over the next day or so, including any changes in wind, visibility, and clouds.
Context Anchor
Pilots use TAFs during preflight planning and before deciding whether the weather at a destination, alternate, or departure airport is suitable for the flight.
Derivation
From 'terminal' (the airport area where flights begin or end) and 'aerodrome' (the British/ICAO term for an airport). The name reflects that the forecast applies to the terminal area of a specific aerodrome, not a wide region.
Why Pilots Care
Pilots rely on the TAF to decide whether current or forecast conditions at their destination will allow a safe landing or require an alternate airport.
Analogy
A TAF is like a local weather forecast, but narrowed down to one airport and written in the standard aviation format pilots use for flight planning.
Intuition Check
Do not read “terminal” as the airline passenger building. In a TAF, “terminal” means the airport area where aircraft operate.
Example Sentence 1
Before departing, the pilot checked the TAF for the destination and saw that ceilings were forecast to drop below 1,000 feet around the planned arrival time.
Example Sentence 2
The updated TAF showed clearing skies after 2200Z, so the flight could continue as scheduled.