Hello and thanks for reading the 30th edition of EZNews!
We really appreciate those that have recently joined, renewed their annual membership or signed up for auto-renewal. A big thanks goes out to Michael P. who renewed his annual membership for $75. We truly appreciate your generosity which helps support our continued innovation and growth moving forward.
For members new to EZWxBrief, you won't find EZWxBrief in the App Store or Google Play Store. For the best user experience, EZWxBrief is optimized to run as a progressive web app (PWA) and must be installed on your device which takes less than 10 seconds per device. Follow the link above or see the 140+ page Pilots Guide for more information on how to install EZWxBrief as a PWA on all of your devices. Also check out our playlist on YouTube for some helpful videos on how to use the various features found in EZWxBrief.
>"Who's who in Aviation & Weather" YouTube series continues...
We had a great time chatting with Ben Bernstein of Leading Edge Atmospherics in our latest "Who's Who in Aviation & Weather" series that recently aired. You can view this 28 minute video with Ben who is one of the leading icing experts in the world. We talk about his role in the accident investigations of an ATR-72 in Roselawn, Indiana in 1994 and an EMB-120RT in Monroe, Michigan in 1997. We also ask him about what's on the horizon for icing products which includes his role in a joint effort with the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the FAA to develop the Terminal Area Icing Weather Information for NextGen (TAIWIN) products.
This new program will bring you the latest news and insights from the top minds in the aviation and weather industries. With a focus on weather, each month we'll feature interviews with leading experts on topics such as air traffic control, flight safety, forecasting, flight instruction and more. We'll also explore the latest trends and developments in these fields, and provide you with the information you need to stay ahead of the learning curve. So join us every four to six weeks as we explore the latest news and trends in these two fascinating industries.
Stay tuned for our next live program on Friday, October 20th at 11 am EDT. We are very excited to be talking with Dan Adriaansen. He's an icing researcher that is spearheading the effort at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) to advance many of the icing diagnostic tools used by general aviation pilots. We'll ask Dan about those advancements and what to expect in the coming years.
On the schedule for the remainder of this year, we will be interviewing some other industry experts to include Gary Reeves of PilotSafety.org in November, John Zimmerman of Sportys in early December, and Max Trescott of Aviation News Talk, Mark Robidoux of PilotWorkshops.com and Julie Boatman of FLYING magazine early next year.
> How to watch <
The program will be hosted live on EZWxBrief's YouTube channel. If you cannot attend live, the episodes are recorded and will become available on the same channel shortly after the live broadcast ends. You can also find them in the Who's Who in Aviation & Weather playlist. The exact date and time for future episodes will be announced through this blog and will appear on the EZWxBrief YouTube community page.
>Register now for an upcoming free webinar
Join Dr. Scott Dennstaedt and Gary Reeves of PilotSafety.org for a free webinar on Wednesday, October 4, 2023 at 8 pm EDT. This webinar provides Wings credit.
Please register at the link below for Top 5 Weather Mistakes That Good IFR Pilots & Instructors Make:
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. If you cannot attend live, you will receive a link to a free recording the following day.
>The Daily EZ Weather Brief has been discontinued
Due to continued loss of viewership over the last year, The Daily EZ Weather Brief has been discontinued permanently. We sincerely apologize to those YouTube subscribers that watched the program regularly. We will continue to put out videos from time to time, so stay tuned for those in the coming months.
>Convective SIGMET boundaries
Notice below there are four convective SIGMETs shown on the map in the EZWxBrief progressive web app. However, take notice of the two larger convective SIGMETs in the center. Seems odd, but why didn't the forecaster make one big convective SIGMET since they are literally side by side? What is the reason for the separation. Well, turns out there could be several reasons for splitting this into two separate SIGMET areas.
Tjhe first reason is that the convective characteristics of both areas could be different. In other words, the maximum tops could be different or perhaps the speed and direction of movement could also be different. To understand this better, let's look at the text for both SIGMETs. Notice the last line of the text that they are issued as an "AREA TS MOV FROM 27015KT. TOPS TO FL450." Essentially, these two characteristics are identical.
With that ruled out, what could be the reason to split these into two areas? The most likely reason has nothing to do with meteorology, but with how these convective SIGMETs are issued. On any given shift, a single forecaster at the Aviation Weather Center is responsible for issuing all of the convective SIGMETs across the U.S. and coastal waters. As shown below, the U.S. is split into three sections that include the East, Central and West. When issued, each convective SIGMET is given a unique identifier that ends with a E, C or W depending on where it is located. For example, a convective SIGMET with an identifier of 34C is the 34th convective SIGMET issued for the central region since 0000Z for that day.
So if we go back to the text of each SIGMET, you will notice that the one furthest to the left (west) has an identifier of 20W and the one further to the right (east) has an identifier of 34C. And the point where they overlap between the two identifiers is essentially the dividing line between the West and Central region, respectively.
This is often the case with convective outlook boundaries as well. These outlooks are issued by the same forecaster that issues the convective SIGMETs. Notice below that two convective outlook areas butt right up against each other. Why not just issue a large outlook area? Given that this is the boundary between the Central and East regions, the outlook is divided into two distinct areas.
Most pilots are weatherwise, but some are otherwise™
Dr. Scott Dennstaedt
Weather Systems Engineer
Founder, EZWxBrief™
CFI & former NWS meteorologist
