National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Strong Bering Storm Impacting Portions of Alaska; Critical Fire Weather Conditions in the Great Basin and Northern Rockies

A strong Bering Sea storm will continue to impact the Aleutian Islands and parts of southwestern Alaska through Friday. High Wind Warnings have been issued for the entire Aleutian Island chain. Across the Great Basin and northern Rockies, strong winds and dry conditions will lead to critical fire weather conditions Friday as a strong Pacific system moves inland. Read More >

Pilot and Aircraft Reports

An Aircraft Report is a report of actual weather conditions encountered by an aircraft while in flight. There are two types of reports. An AIREP is a routine, often automated report of in-flight weather conditions such as wind and temperature. A PIREP is reported by a pilot to indicate encounters of hazardous weather such as icing or turbulence. Both are transmitted in real-time via radio to a ground station.

PIREPs and AIREPs are encoded differently. AIREP format is more common outside the contiguous U.S. even though there are some AIREPs over the CONUS. The location is specified by latitude and longitude which is better for international routes. PIREPs are preferred over the CONUS where the location is based on distance and direction to a known Nav Aid such as a VOR.

 

Go to PIREPs page at AWC