Keep Up the Good Fight

tkarmer

Wednesday, November 25, 2020 at 01:25 PM ET

Verified

Key Takeaways:

An air traffic controller recounts a challenging afternoon managing a persistent and developing thunderstorm that required constant adaptation for both arriving and departing aircraft.
Initial strategies included approving pilot-reported deviations and adapting to tight, non-standard dogleg approaches as the storm expanded and blocked typical flight paths.
As the storm intensified and became stationary, ATC and pilots collaboratively explored unconventional solutions, such as opposite-direction landings and hard-turn departures to circumvent the hazardous weather, always deferring final decisions to the pilots.
Ultimately, with wind shear and routes completely blocked, all flight operations ceased, demonstrating that holding on the ground until conditions improve is the final and safest option when all others are exhausted.

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The clock read a few minutes past noon when I pulled through my control tower’s entry gate. As always on my way into work, I took in the weather conditions, mentally prepping for the day ahead.

A scattered cloud deck mottled the blue above. What drew my eye most, though, was a pocket of cumulus clouds quickly rising to the west, aspiring to cumulonimbus status. I had a feeling I’d be dealing with the product of that convection shortly—and I wasn’t wrong.