Effective August 14, 2019 at 1900 UTC, the experimental Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA) Expansion for the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and Atlantic Ocean produced by the NWS Aviation Weather Center (AWC) has transitioned to an operational status. The GFA expansion is designed to provide meteorological information equivalent to the textual Area Forecast (FA) for the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea in a graphical format. The GFA expansion also expands this graphically depicted information into the western North Atlantic Ocean, and includes the domain of the operational Graphical Forecasts for Aviation over the conterminous United States. This product includes observations and forecasts valid for the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, and the New York Oceanic Flight Information Region that provide data critical for aviation safety, overlaid on high-resolution base maps. The AWC continues to provide text Area Forecasts for the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean, and portions of the Atlantic
Ocean. The expansion of the GFA to these regions is intended to replace the text FAs upon completion of a formal product termination review and notification process.
