Airmet differences between duat.com and aviationweather.gov

[jollyroger]

Has anyone else noticed that the information you get from duat.com "Interactive Overlays" doesn't match and has fewer displays of airmets/sigmets than aviationweather.gov.

Does anyone know why that is, Isn't duat supposed to be an offical source? Is it just difference in valid times that's displayed? Which one am I supposed to trust?

 

[Joe B]

NWS made changes in the text format of Airmets and Sigmets about six months ago so that they could be interpreted by software automatically and graphically displayed. It's no small surprise that the software on their own website kept in synch with the change.

I'm speculating, but I'm willing to bet that the DUAT(s) providers have not incorporated the format changes into their graphical displays. DUAT and DUATs ceased all software development on their systems as their contracts were set to expire in October. They've been granted a 6- or 9-month extension by the FAA because of the LockMart mess, but I'd be amazed if they were spending development money on it without any long-term prospects. The text of the Airmets and Sigments on these two systems should still be accurate, though.

Regards,
Joe