Definition
A category of pilot report (PIREP) used to relay weather conditions considered urgent because they represent an immediate hazard to flight, such as severe or extreme turbulence, severe icing, hail, low-level wind shear, tornadoes, funnel clouds, waterspouts, volcanic ash, or any other weather phenomenon judged hazardous enough to warrant priority handling and rapid distribution to other pilots and forecasters.
Plain English
A pilot's weather report that gets fast-tracked because what they saw or felt is dangerous enough that other pilots need to know right away.
Context Anchor
Seen in aviation weather briefings, weather reports, and pilot weather report listings, where UUA marks a report as urgent rather than routine.
Derivation
The first U stands for 'urgent,' added in front of the standard UA (pilot report) tag to flag the report for priority handling. The doubled U is simply the format convention that distinguishes urgent reports from routine ones at a glance.
Why Pilots Care
Urgent PIREPs alert pilots to immediate hazards such as severe turbulence or icing so they can adjust routing or altitude without delay.
Intuition Check
Do not read UUA as just another weather note. The extra U means the report is urgent and should get immediate attention.
Example Sentence 1
After encountering severe turbulence at 12,000 feet, the captain contacted Flight Watch and filed a UUA so following traffic could be warned.
Example Sentence 2
Controllers broadcast UUAs promptly so pilots can avoid the reported weather hazard.