Here's the Lowdown on 'Vertical Visibility'

During any flight, a pilot will encounter several different flavors of visibility.

Scott Dennstaedt, Ph.D

Monday, February 26, 2024 at 12:59 PM ET

Verified

FLYING contributor Scott Dennstaedt poses the question: Is vertical visibility even a legitimate visibility? [iStock]

Key Takeaways:

Vertical Visibility (VV) is a "misnomer" for an indefinite ceiling, representing the distance one can see vertically from the surface into an obscuring phenomenon (like fog or precipitation), not a well-defined cloud base.
VV is reported when automated weather systems (ASOS) cannot detect a distinct cloud base due to moisture scattering the laser beam, and it always implies the sky is completely covered.
Indefinite ceilings are consistently paired with low surface visibility, often caused by fog or precipitation, and typically indicate prolonged low IFR conditions that can make instrument approaches more challenging and take longer to dissipate.

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During any flight, a pilot will encounter several different flavors of visibility. This includes flight visibility, ground visibility, prevailing visibility, tower visibility, runway visual range, and vertical visibility.

But wait, is vertical visibility even a legitimate visibility? Actually, it’s a bit of a misnomer and not a true measure of visibility in the traditional sense. Vertical visibility is a close cousin to ceiling. That is, it represents the distance in feet a person can see vertically from the surface of the Earth into an obscuring phenomenon, or what is called an indefinite ceiling. What isn’t obvious is how vertical visibility is determined, and how this is different from a definite ceiling.