Interpreting Weather Radar

Aviation Safety

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

Verified

Edited By: Omar Filipovic

Key Takeaways:

In-cockpit Nexrad weather displays have significant latency (up to 20 minutes), showing where weather *was* rather than where it *is*, meaning conditions can rapidly intensify (e.g., from yellow/moderate rain to red/thunderstorm) before updates appear.
Nexrad detects precipitation, not turbulence, offering no assurance of avoiding turbulence; moderate and heavy precipitation (yellow and red areas) should always be avoided.
The safest approach is to use Nexrad as a strategic tool to navigate *around* weather systems rather than as a tactical guide to fly *through* any depicted precipitation, especially given the dynamic nature of storms and data lag.

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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.