Definition
A ground-based FAA system that collects weather data from multiple sources — including the National Weather Service and ground-based weather radars — and processes it into usable products for air traffic controllers and traffic flow managers. WARP integrates this information with the National Airspace System so controllers can see weather overlaid on their displays and route traffic around hazardous conditions.
Plain English
A behind-the-scenes FAA computer system that gathers weather information and feeds it to air traffic controllers so they can see storms and bad weather on their screens and steer aircraft around them.
Context Anchor
Seen in FAA glossary material and in discussions of the weather information available to air traffic control facilities.
Why Pilots Care
Gives pilots accurate, up-to-date pictures of weather hazards so they can choose safer routes and avoid turbulence or icing.
Intuition Check
WARP does not mean the airplane or the weather is being bent or distorted. Here, WARP is simply the name of a system for processing weather and radar information.
Example Sentence 1
Center rerouted the flight north of the convective line using weather data supplied by WARP.
Example Sentence 2
ATC relayed WARP-derived precipitation intensity to the crew before issuing a vector around the cell.