Aviation applications
Providing expertise and developing solutions in the field of aviation meteorology.
Aviation is an industry that is significantly impacted by everyday and severe weather, in relation to both safety and efficiency. The Aviation applications team provides research, product support and consultancy services to inform the aviation community on the impacts of meteorology across a range of temporal and spatial scales, including airport operations, the Terminal Manoeuvring Area (TMA) environment, en-route flight planning and the global network.
Summaries of reports
These reports represent the outcome of a coordinated three-year plan for aviation meteorology research and development in the Met Office. They address all stages of the forecasting process and a wide range of meterological conditions that impact the aviation industry, but all of the work is underpinned by the key motivation of delivering benefits to aviation users to support safety and efficiency.
Below are summaries of the reports and if you would like access to the full reports, please email [email protected]
- Use of satellite imagery severe convection products for aviation
- Assessment of FCI versions of the Severe Convection Products used for WAFC Verification
- WAFC Convective cloud (Cb) verification using satellite data
- Severe Turbulence Incidents: Case Studies of Convectively Induced Turbulence
- Assessment of WAFC turbulence forecasts
- WAFS In-flight Icing Report 2024/25
- Report on Potential Enhancements to the Forecast Inflight Icing Algorithms
- High Altitude Ice Crystals Nowcast Verification
- Progress report on machine learning for convective nowcasting
- Development of Cell Tracking Capabilities for Use in Aviation
- Machine Learning in Aviation Weather Forecasting: Progress and Planning
- On the understanding of Aircraft Condensation Trails and Prediction Capability
- Cloud forecasting scheme improvements update
- Case Study: Predicting fog at London Gatwick on 28th December 2024 using machine learning
- Investigation into the current state of the Visibility Nowcast
- Progress Report on Turbulence for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems
Key aims
- To translate our world-leading weather and climate research into products and services that benefit aviation, helping to improve the safety, efficiency and environmental impacts across the sector
- To improve forecast accuracy of weather phenomena that affect air transport such as turbulence, icing and convective storms.
- To provide scientific support to aviation products and services
- To raise awareness among the aviation community on the potential benefits of using advances in meteorological information within their operations
Core activities
- A programme of research, funded by the Civil Aviation Authority, to advance knowledge in the field of aviation meteorology
- Contributions to European projects, such as the Single European Sky ATM Research (SESAR) programme
- Engagement with key stakeholders such as Air Traffic Management (ATM) service providers (for example, NATS) to understand how meteorology affects their operational requirements
- Development of products in support of the Met Office's role as a World Area Forecast Centre for aviation
- Consultancy services regarding meteorology and aviation
- Working alongside other teams in the Met Office (across Science, Forecasting, Observations and Business areas) to ensure the best possible outcomes for our customers
