Driven by the 2009 crash of an Air France Airbus A330 into the Atlantic Ocean, researchers at the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) have developed a prototype system that combines satellite data and computer weather models to map storms above remote ocean regions.
The information, which is assembled into eight-hour forecasts that are updated every three hours, is intended to alert pilots on transoceanic flights, as well as air traffic control (ATC), to the potential for dangerous weather conditions in time to allow them to alter their flight plans. The forecasts cover about half of the Atlantic Ocean and about two-thirds of the Pacific — the areas where the NCAR has access to geostationary satellite data.
Pilots of transoceanic flights currently have preflight weather briefings and, in some cases, updates about every four hours during flight, as well as onboard radar. These sources of information have limitations, however; for example, unforecast hazardous st…
