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How Pilots Navigate Weather

2 min read

The short answer

Pilots plan around the weather long before takeoff and watch it all the way with onboard radar and live updates. They steer around storms, and planes are built to handle lightning safely. If conditions aren't right, pilots can always wait or divert.

Weather Is Never a Surprise

Pilots don't fly into storms and hope for the best. They have layers of information — and the authority — to steer clear of bad weather.

Before the Flight

Before every flight, pilots get a detailed weather briefing for the whole route. It includes:

  • Official warnings about strong turbulence, ice, volcanic ash and tropical storms
  • Reports from pilots who have just flown the same route
  • Turbulence forecast maps, made by weather computer models
  • Wind forecasts for every height along the way

Radar in the Nose

Every airliner has a weather radar in its nose. It scans up to 300 miles ahead and shows storms on a colour-coded screen. Green means light rain, yellow moderate, red heavy and magenta extreme. Pilots steer around the red and magenta areas.

Modern radar can also spot turbulence inside rain clouds, and warn of sudden wind changes near airports.

Live Updates

During the flight, pilots get weather updates from their airline and from air traffic control. If the weather at the destination gets worse, they can land somewhere else. They always carry extra fuel for this.

Lightning

On average, each airliner is struck by lightning about once a year. It sounds alarming, but it's a non-event. The electricity travels along the plane's outer skin and leaves at the tail or wingtips, bypassing the cabin and all the important systems. Passengers usually feel nothing. Afterwards, the plane is inspected and any small marks are repaired.

Hurricane and Typhoon Season

Airliners don't fly through hurricanes or typhoons. Forecasters track these storms for days, so airlines plan well ahead. Airports in a storm's path close before it arrives, and flights are moved or cancelled. In the air, FAA guidance tells pilots to keep at least 20 miles from strong storm cells on their radar.

So if you're flying in storm season, the usual effect is a delay or a change of plan, not a rougher flight.

"Your Flight May Be Affected by Weather"

Before a trip, your airline might email to say bad weather is forecast, and offer to move your flight for free. This is a booking offer, not a safety warning. It lets people change plans early, so busy days run more smoothly.

Safety decisions are made separately, on the day, by your pilots and the airline. A flight only leaves when the weather is within safe limits.

The Pilots Decide

If the weather isn't acceptable, pilots can delay, divert or return to the departure airport. It's both their right and their responsibility. No airline schedule overrides this.

Sources

Keep reading

Understanding Turbulence

What turbulence actually is, why it happens, and why it's uncomfortable but not dangerous.

How Pilots Are Trained

The years of training and regular testing that make airline pilots some of the most qualified professionals anywhere.

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