AIRMETs, G-AIRMETs, and SIGMETs:
- AIRMETs are the official source of written (or spoken) weather advisories for less severe aviation hazards.
- G-AIRMETs are the official source of graphical aviation weather advisories for less severe aviation hazards.
- SIGMETs are the official source of written (or spoken) and graphical weather advisories for more severe aviation hazards.
The AIRMETs /SIGMETS Page contains 3 major sections:
- The first section contains a table of links and a map of Graphical AIRMETs
(G-AIRMETs) and SIGMETs.
Click the corresponding link to view pregenerated plots of:
| Advisory | G-AIRMET | SIGMET |
| Icing | X | X |
| Turbulence | X | X |
| IFR/Mountain Obscuration | X | X |
| Low Level Wind Shear | X | |
| Strong Surface Winds | X | |
| Freezing Level | X | |
| Convective SIGMETs and Outlooks | | X |
| Volcanic Ash | | X |
Or all of the aforementioned choices in one plot.
This "all" plot provides an overall picture of all available AIRMETs and
SIGMETs and can be difficult to interpret when many advisories are present. It is recommended that the individual advisory
plots are consulted.
- The second section contains a link to a National Weather Service site for International
SIGMETs.
- The third section contains a FORM for obtaining the raw AIRMET (legacy AIRMETs) and SIGMET
text. Simply check the type(s) and region(s) from the checkboxes, then click the Retrieve
button to see the text messages.
Why Do We Have Both the G-AIRMETs and the old text AIRMETs?
Eventually, G-AIRMETs (Graphical AIRMETs) will replace AIRMET text products. A G-AIRMET depicts a weather
hazard and its position at a given time, but since it is a graphical product, it cannot be read over radio broadcasts.
The graphical objects that comprise a G-AIRMET are distributed in BUFR file format. This file format contains both graphic
and "attribute" information from which text could be derived. Until this text portion of G-AIRMET is tested and meets flight safety
standards, both G-AIRMETs and legacy text AIRMETs will be produced. The Aviation
Weather Center (AWC) employs the same production process for both
G-AIRMETs and AIRMETs, therefore consistency between the two products is maintained.
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