Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA) -- updated tool becoming operational

AggieMike88

AggieMike88

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The original "I don't know it all" of aviation.
From a blog post created by Scott Dennstaedt, ForeFlight's Aviation Weather Scientist and all around nice guy,

Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA) will become operational in April (link)

Effective April 13, 2017, the experimental Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (GFA) produced by the NWS Aviation Weather Center (AWC) will transition to operational status. As you may have heard, the GFA was created in response to a formal request by the FAA to discontinue production of the textual Area Forecasts (FA). According to the NWS headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, "the requirements for the underlying meteorological information in the FA have not changed. The FAA recognizes that, given modern advances within the NWS, the legacy text FA is no longer the best source of en route flight planning weather information."

The new graphical forecasts are designed to provide meteorological information equivalent to the textual FA. The GFA product includes observations and forecasts for the continental United States that provide data critical for aviation safety. The data is overlaid on high-resolution base maps that you can test drive here. This means that all of the forecasts will terminate at the U.S. border. FAs for Hawaii, Alaska, the Caribbean, and the Gulf of Mexico will not be affected at this time.

For the time being, the legacy FA will continue to be generated in parallel with the GFA. The GFA is automated whereas the legacy FA is issued by forecasters at the AWC. At some point in the future, forecasters at the AWC will discontinue issuing this textual forecast. And don't be surprised if the two forecasts contradict one another – let's look at an example:​

For the remainder of the story, visit the blog post: https://blog.foreflight.com/2017/03/16/graphical-forecasts-for-aviation-gfa-operational-in-april/

To view the new product, visit http://www.aviationweather.gov/gfa. I've been playing with it for a bit and it is a very nice addition to available weather products.
 
So, from an IFR perspective, I've been told that for those airports not having a TAF, the area forecast determines whether or not you need an alternate, correct? Which was causing me some grief, 'cause deciphering that thing was not easy. This is nice.
 
This new tool provides a major improvement in utility... The different things you need to know (CIG, VIZ, ICE, 'Mets, Winds, and more) in one space, and the ability to slide the timeline forward and back to see how things are changing.

I am a liking it!!!
 
Been using this for a bit. I like it, too. Nice to be able to see both ceilings and top forecasts along the way.
 
Very nice. I've been using that site for the metar report for a while now. Hadn't seen that page yet. Thanks.
 
I've been using this for a while. The predictions of cloud bases and ceilings have been pretty accurate and those are the major improvement over the text reports previously used. There were no projections of ceilings or tops in the old text version. The sliding time bar also lets you see trends pretty easily and that is very useful. I'm glad this was developed before the NWS and NOAA budgets are cut as proposed in the administration's budget.
 
Pretty useful tool. I saw a preview of it at Oshkosh '16 at the NWS booth. Glad to see it finally going operational.
 
Is there a 'play' button or looping available, or is it one image at a time - maybe I am missing it.
 
This is neat. I'll have to see about grabbing this programmatically. I made this website (http://bgmweather.com/) for cursory planning and I import the text discussion. This would be nice to have as well.
 
I wonder if Foreflight will pick up any of the GFA. If not, the ADDS site is pretty easy to use and is fast, except on my IPAD. Probably due for a new IPAD.
 
If you read the blog post, the very end...

"We are busy at ForeFlight trying to determine how to best incorporate these forecasts from the GFA once they become available. So stay tuned."
 
Mistake Not... said:
So, from an IFR perspective, I've been told that for those airports not having a TAF, the area forecast determines whether or not you need an alternate, correct?
Click to expand...

One thing the new graphical forecast has in common with the area forecast -- it's all oriented around states.

With the old AF you had to know where your airport is, compared to the state lines. And it's still that way with the graphical presentation -- outlines of the states are shown in the maps, but locations of small airports are not. It's too bad that you can't turn on a layer that shows airports with their identifiers.
 
AggieMike88 said:
If you read the blog post, the very end...

"We are busy at ForeFlight trying to determine how to best incorporate these forecasts from the GFA once they become available. So stay tuned."
Click to expand...

I wonder how this is coming. They will have to come up with something before the FA's are sunsetted in October. I predict an Oshkosh announcement.
 
NoHeat said:
It's too bad that you can't turn on a layer that shows airports with their identifiers.
Click to expand...
You can. Click on settings above the map. There is an option to do so.
 
Something doesn't seem right with the clouds. The forecast an hour from now is showing sky clear across the state whereas the current bases are around 1500 in the gainesville area from the tropical storm.

2ykcj6e.png
 
Do you people all have a really low bar or something? Although this is an improvement over the textual product, it's a complete joke compared to what could (and on some private sites is) be done. A 2D graphic that looks like it was drawn in crayon, and everyone is excited.

Personally, I find it rather embarrassing that this is the best our National Weather Service could come up with.
 
FAA released any guidance on if we can use the GFA for official alternate planning ???

FA is the only product with cloud levels outside of TAF areas.
 
I use Windy.com. Over the last couple years, it has grown to surpass just about any aviation weather product I have seen. (IMO) But imagine being able to change angles like in Google Earth, and see the wind layers and cloud cover forecasts, see how the mountains and ridges are effecting the winds aloft, etc... Not sure it would be a lot of help, but even the 2D format used by Windy is a far sight better than the GFA being offered by the NOAA, is you get an immediate understanding of the wind patterns in any area, or along any route, rather than having to decode individual wind barbs.
 
Rykymus said:
Do you people all have a really low bar or something? Although this is an improvement over the textual product, it's a complete joke compared to what could (and on some private sites is) be done. A 2D graphic that looks like it was drawn in crayon, and everyone is excited.

Personally, I find it rather embarrassing that this is the best our National Weather Service could come up with.
Click to expand...
These were my thoughts as well. This applet thing they're using has been around since 2007. It used to run on Java before they transitioned over to something else.

To be clear, do you really have to click 7 boxes (CIG/VIS, clouds, PCPN/WX, TS, Winds, Turb, and Ice) to get the same information you could get in the old area forecast? My area forecast for today reads:
Code: 
N CNTRL TX
SCT120-140 SCT-BKN CI. 00Z SCT CI. OTLK...VFR.
That's a two-second read over clicking and sliding around in an applet.
 
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