Open your favorite EFB or log onto a web-based aviation weather site and you’ll be presented with a deluge of information on the environment in which we fly. Text-based weather observations and forecasts, plus Nexrad weather radar mosaics, satellite-based cloud and moisture images, and information-dense graphical products are but a few taps or clicks away. With a smidgen of understanding, a lot of it becomes self-explanatory to even the infrequent pilot.
But each of the pictures, phrases and products have their own tale to tell, and a method behind their madness. Making sense of this sometimes-confusing collection of weather resources can require getting in touch with your inner wonk, but the rewards of being able to explain to your CFI why you prefer such-and-such a presentation over the one she recommends are both rare and satisfying.
