Learning more about weather

I've recently earned my instrument ticket, and feel that I still need to
learn more about weather. I've been looking at several resources for
study and would like recommendations on which ones are good/bad, which
ones are best, other suggestions.

Jepp Aviation Weather
Buck Weather Flying
Sportys has a 2 DVD set by Ricard Collins on weather

Anybody used/red these and have any comments?

Severe Weather Flying by Newton

Mike
MU-2

"Matt Young" wrote in message
news
I've recently earned my instrument ticket, and feel that I still need to
learn more about weather. I've been looking at several resources for
study and would like recommendations on which ones are good/bad, which
ones are best, other suggestions.

Jepp Aviation Weather
Buck Weather Flying
Sportys has a 2 DVD set by Ricard Collins on weather

Anybody used/red these and have any comments?

"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
.net...
Severe Weather Flying by Newton

Seconded, plus Flying the Weather Map by Richard L Collins.

Julian Scarfe

Flying the Weather Map is good. It was one of the first
books I bought when I was working on Inst rating.


"Julian Scarfe" wrote in message
...
"Mike Rapoport" wrote in message
.net...
Severe Weather Flying by Newton

Seconded, plus Flying the Weather Map by Richard L Collins.

Julian Scarfe

"Peter" wrote in message
...

"Mike Rapoport" wrote

Severe Weather Flying by Newton

Mike
MU-2

One can learn as much as one wants to about weather interpretation -
there are countless books and websites which talk about atmospheric
behaviour. However I think the biggest problem is getting the data
which to interpret or perhaps interpreting the data which one can in
today's internet era. All the weather tutorial material I have seen is
the old-fashioned stuff which just talks and talks about how warm
fronts interact with cold fronts, etc, etc - what I feel is needed is
a tutorial which teaches, hands-on, how to get onto for example the
NOAA website and interpret the stuff that's on there.

If somebody did a course showing how to do this, I would gladly pay
for it. But I've never heard of one.



I tend to agree. Pilots really should have a course that amounts to a
"Practical Forecasting" course first, before (or even instead of) the
"Weather for Pilots" type of instruction that ground-school pretends to
provide.

Every so often I get an urge to try to assemble something, but then life
gets in the way...

Perhaps a CD such as: http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/cd.rxml may already
be doing it, anyway.

There are also a number of on-line University courses that seem to be of the
"practical forecasting" type, but I don't know if they get into it deeper
than we care to go.

At any rate, my suggestion is to look for something *in addition* to (and
other than) the standard "weather-for-pilots" sort of thing.

If you have the time and opportunity, take a University night class.

Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and
asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more
helpful.

"Randy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and
asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more
helpful.


Oh, I am sure they are, as they are in the Meteorological Service of Canada
(MSC).

I don't know exactly about the NWS, but the MSC has "centralized", and the
TAF for your airport is issued (typically), from a windowless basement some
hundreds of miles away. The phone number for that basement is not public.
You get to speak to an FSS briefer for your area, but he gets what he gets
through the MSC communications network. I am not even sure that even *he*
gets to actually speak to the windowless basement.... except possibly in the
case of "emergency" where the forecast is truly bust.

The guys in the basement would be *very* helpful.... if you could get to
them, somehow. MSC used to publish a 1-900 pay-per-call number for speaking
to a forecaster, but I don't see those advertised anymore, either.

Even the FSS has "centralized". In the most densely populated area of
Canada, a single FSS now handles an area well over 200 miles across. No
sweat... what with 1-800 number dialup, internet, and
strategically-distributed remote-radio transceivers....

But those methods of communication do not beat "going there and asking a few
questions", as you put it.

I guess I'm fortunate: the local NWS installation is 10 miles from me,
and one of their staff is in my local flying club :P

Dave

Icebound wrote:
"Randy" wrote in message
oups.com...

Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and
asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more
helpful.



Oh, I am sure they are, as they are in the Meteorological Service of Canada
(MSC).

I don't know exactly about the NWS, but the MSC has "centralized", and the
TAF for your airport is issued (typically), from a windowless basement some
hundreds of miles away. The phone number for that basement is not public.
You get to speak to an FSS briefer for your area, but he gets what he gets
through the MSC communications network. I am not even sure that even *he*
gets to actually speak to the windowless basement.... except possibly in the
case of "emergency" where the forecast is truly bust.

The guys in the basement would be *very* helpful.... if you could get to
them, somehow. MSC used to publish a 1-900 pay-per-call number for speaking
to a forecaster, but I don't see those advertised anymore, either.

Even the FSS has "centralized". In the most densely populated area of
Canada, a single FSS now handles an area well over 200 miles across. No
sweat... what with 1-800 number dialup, internet, and
strategically-distributed remote-radio transceivers....

But those methods of communication do not beat "going there and asking a few
questions", as you put it.

In addition to visiting the NWS offices you can read the forecast
discussion from the NWS websites. I've learned a lot by reading where
the forecasters discuss why they made the forecast the way they do and
what factors they were considering that day.

It's gotten a bit tougher. Last time I visited, having an informal chat was
made a bit more difficult by post-9/11 security. But the chat was
informative anyway....

..... it concerned the apparent lack of agreement between the METARs for RDU
and actual conditions. That's when I learned about the limitations of a
windowless office even if it is located between the runways. Can't look out
if there isn't a window and the METARs and briefers are sourced from
instruments that may or may not reflect weather over the majority of the
airport. Very interesting. No sub for taking a look whether in the air or
on the ground.

"Randy" wrote in message
oups.com...
Have you tried visting the local office of the NWS? I went there and
asked a few questions and the staff (CRW) could not have been more
helpful.