Interpreting Weather Radar

Aviation Safety

Friday, November 15, 2024 at 06:00 AM ET

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipovic

Key Takeaways:

In-cockpit Nexrad displays have significant latency (up to 20 minutes), showing where weather *was* rather than where it *is*, and they detect precipitation, not turbulence.
Due to this latency and the dynamic nature of storms, areas depicted as "yellow" (moderate rain) on Nexrad can rapidly intensify to "red" (heavy precipitation/thunderstorm) before updates appear in the cockpit.
Therefore, pilots should be very cautious flying into any area depicted in yellow, avoid anything in yellow or red entirely, and use Nexrad as a strategic tool for weather avoidance, not for tactical navigation through it.

See a mistake? Contact us.

I very much enjoy your magazine. I have a question I would like your opinion on.

Reading “Riding The Storm Out” (September 2024) was very informative. However, the question I have is this: What weather would be safe to fly through? I have asked many experienced pilots the basic question: What specific weather should I not fly through? I have received different answers from just about every experienced pilot I ask.