Definition
Pilot reports submitted to ATC or Flight Service describing an encounter with wind shear, including the location, altitude, aircraft type, and the magnitude of airspeed loss or gain experienced. These reports alert other pilots and controllers to hazardous shear conditions that may not appear on weather products.
Plain English
When a pilot flies through a sudden change in wind that affects airspeed, they report it on the radio so other pilots and controllers know it's there. That report is called a wind shear PIREP.
Context Anchor
You may hear or read wind shear PIREPs in weather briefings, airport recorded weather broadcasts, or information passed by air traffic control near takeoff, approach, or landing areas.
Derivation
PIREP is short for 'pilot report.' The term simply combines 'wind shear' (a sudden change in wind speed or direction) with the standard PIREP reporting system pilots use to share real-time weather encounters.
Why Pilots Care
They give immediate, real-world alerts about where wind shear is happening so other pilots can add speed, change runways, or delay landing to stay safe.
Grounding Statement
A wind shear PIREP means another aircraft has already felt the sudden wind change in that area.
Intuition Check
Do not treat wind shear PIREPs as just general weather comments. They are firsthand reports of an actual wind shear encounter, so they deserve immediate attention.
Example Sentence 1
Tower, Cessna 412 reporting wind shear on final, lost fifteen knots at two hundred feet.
Example Sentence 2
ATC broadcast the latest wind shear PIREPs to all arriving aircraft before clearing them for the ILS.