{"id":15874,"date":"2026-06-13T05:38:19","date_gmt":"2026-06-13T00:08:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/?p=15874"},"modified":"2026-07-26T10:59:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-26T05:29:35","slug":"meteorological-charts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/meteorological-charts\/","title":{"rendered":"Meteorological Charts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<h3>Meteorological Charts<\/h3>\n<h3>WAFS Significant Weather Charts<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>WAFS Significant Weather (SIGWX) Charts are issued by the World Area Forecast Centres (WAFC) in London and Washington.<\/li>\n<li>Chart documentation provided for international flights includes:\n<ul>\n<li>Significant Weather (SIGWX) Charts<\/li>\n<li>Wind Forecast Charts<\/li>\n<li>Temperature Forecast Charts<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>SIGWX charts are generated from WAFC forecasts for flight levels between <strong>FL250 and FL630<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Wind and temperature forecast charts are prepared for the <strong>250 hPa<\/strong> pressure level.<\/li>\n<li>Chart documentation for national flights includes:\n<ul>\n<li>National Significant Weather Charts<\/li>\n<li>WAFC Upper Wind and Temperature Charts for:\n<ul>\n<li>600 m (2,000 ft)<\/li>\n<li>1,500 m (5,000 ft)<\/li>\n<li>3,000 m (10,000 ft)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>WAFC Chart Validity and Coverage<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-3.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>High-Level WAFC charts are issued every <strong>6 hours<\/strong> for flight levels <strong>FL250\u2013FL630<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Medium-Level WAFC charts are issued every <strong>6 hours<\/strong> for flight levels <strong>FL100\u2013FL450<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>WAFC charts cover the entire globe and are identified using ICAO area codes.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>WAFC Significant Weather Information<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-4.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p>WAFC Significant Weather (SIGWX) charts include the following information:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Thunderstorms<\/li>\n<li>Embedded Cumulonimbus (CB) and significant clouding<\/li>\n<li>Tropical Cyclones<\/li>\n<li>Moderate and Severe Turbulence<\/li>\n<li>Clear Air Turbulence (CAT)<\/li>\n<li>Moderate and Severe Icing<\/li>\n<li>Widespread Sand and Dust Storms<\/li>\n<li>Frontal Zones and Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)<\/li>\n<li>Significant Tropopause Flight Levels<\/li>\n<li>Jet Streams<\/li>\n<li>Volcanic Ash<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Thunderstorms<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-5.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Embedded CB clouds and thunderstorms are shown using curved lines.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Significant Clouds<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-6.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Medium and high clouds are depicted along with associated aviation hazards.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Tropical Cyclones<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-7.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropical cyclones are shown on the chart along with their names.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Severe Turbulence<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-8.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Areas and flight levels affected by severe turbulence are marked.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Clear Air Turbulence (CAT)<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-9.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>CAT areas and flight levels are indicated along with wind speeds in knots.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Aircraft Icing<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-10.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Moderate and severe icing areas are identified using standard chart symbols.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Convergence Zones<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-11.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Convergence zones such as the <strong>Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ)<\/strong> are marked.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud development is generally expected within convergence zones.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Tropopause Heights<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-12.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropopause heights are shown on the charts.<\/li>\n<li>Jet streams are generally expected near the tropopause.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Jet Streams<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-13.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The presence and location of jet streams are indicated.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Volcanic Ash<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-14.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Areas affected by active volcanic ash from erupting volcanoes are shown.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>National Significant Weather Charts<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-15.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>National Significant Weather (SIGWX) Charts are prepared four times daily at:\n<ul>\n<li>0000 UTC<\/li>\n<li>0600 UTC<\/li>\n<li>1200 UTC<\/li>\n<li>1800 UTC<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Prepared by Meteorological Watch Offices (MWO) for their respective Flight Information Regions (FIR).<\/li>\n<li>Compiled and distributed by MWO Chennai.<\/li>\n<li>SIGWX charts may be valid for <strong>9 hours<\/strong> or <strong>24 hours<\/strong> from the time of issue.<\/li>\n<li>Medium-Level Charts cover <strong>FL100\u2013FL250<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>High-Level Charts cover <strong>FL250\u2013FL630<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Contents of National SIGWX Charts<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Tropical Cyclones with wind speeds greater than 34 knots.<\/li>\n<li>CB clouds associated with:\n<ul>\n<li>Thunderstorms (TS)<\/li>\n<li>Tropical Cyclones (TC)<\/li>\n<li>Line Squalls<\/li>\n<li>Hail<\/li>\n<li>Moderate or Severe Icing<\/li>\n<li>Turbulence<\/li>\n<li>Clear Air Turbulence (CAT)<\/li>\n<li>Marked Mountain Waves<\/li>\n<li>Widespread Sand or Dust Storms<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Freezing Level and Tropopause Height.<\/li>\n<li>Location of volcanic eruptions or radioactive material release.<\/li>\n<li>Jet Streams.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Local Forecast Chart<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-16.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Forecast zones are identified using alphabetic labels.<\/li>\n<li>Weather within each zone is described in plain language.<\/li>\n<li>Frontal boundaries, direction (using arrows), and movement speed (knots) are indicated.<\/li>\n<li>Weather phenomena are represented using meteorological symbols.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Local Forecast \u2013 Weather Information<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-17.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Weather information includes:\n<ul>\n<li>Surface Wind<\/li>\n<li>Visibility<\/li>\n<li>Clouds<\/li>\n<li>0\u00b0C Isotherm<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Information is presented in abbreviated meteorological format.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Weather Codes<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-18.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Weather codes used are similar to those used in METAR reports.<\/strong><\/p>\n<h3>Example \u2013 Surface Winds and Weather<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-19.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<p><strong>Zone A:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Generally no significant weather.<\/li>\n<li>Visibility generally 30 km.<\/li>\n<li>Occasionally reduced to 7 km in rain showers.<\/li>\n<li>Isolated areas with visibility of 4,000 m.<\/li>\n<li>Thunderstorms and hail expected in the western part of the zone from 2100 UTC.<\/li>\n<li>Locally 800 m visibility in moderate snow showers over mountainous areas.<\/li>\n<li>Moderate turbulence with widespread severe turbulence to the north.<\/li>\n<li>Isolated hill fog reducing visibility below 200 m.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Example \u2013 Clouds and Outlook<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-20.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Generally scattered (SCT) or broken (BKN) Cumulus (CU) and Stratocumulus (SC).<\/li>\n<li>Moderate icing and turbulence expected.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud bases between 1,500 and 3,000 ft.<\/li>\n<li>Cloud tops from 7,000 ft to above 10,000 ft.<\/li>\n<li>Isolated CB clouds with bases from 1,500 ft and tops above 10,000 ft after 2100 UTC.<\/li>\n<li>0\u00b0C Isotherm between 4,000 and 5,000 ft (expressed in hundreds of feet).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Outlook until 11th \u2013 0600 UTC:<\/strong> Showers spreading from the southeast to all areas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Prognosis Chart<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-21.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Prognosis charts become effective for 6 hours after the validity period of the main chart.<\/li>\n<li>They show the expected future position of the weather systems depicted on the main chart.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Spot Wind Chart<\/h3>\n<p>  <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/page-show\/aviation-meteorology\/m32-meteorological-charts-22.jpg\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Spot Wind Charts are issued four times daily.<\/li>\n<li>Each chart is valid for 6 hours.<\/li>\n<li>Charts provide:\n<ul>\n<li>Altitude<\/li>\n<li>True Wind Direction<\/li>\n<li>Wind Speed (knots)<\/li>\n<li>Temperature (\u00b0C)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Used for route wind calculations during flight planning.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Meteorological Charts WAFS Significant Weather Charts WAFS Significant Weather (SIGWX) Charts are issued by the World Area Forecast Centres (WAFC) in London and Washington. Chart documentation provided for international flights includes: Significant Weather (SIGWX) Charts Wind Forecast Charts Temperature Forecast Charts SIGWX charts are generated from WAFC forecasts for flight levels between FL250 and FL630. Wind and temperature forecast charts are prepared for the 250 hPa pressure level. Chart documentation for national flights includes: National Significant Weather Charts WAFC Upper Wind and Temperature Charts for: 600 m (2,000 ft) 1,500&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"disable_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[358],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15874","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aviation-meteorology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15874","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15874"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15874\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16706,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15874\/revisions\/16706"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15874"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15874"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ibexaviation.com\/pilot-training\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15874"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}