Expert Opinion
AIN Blog: Weathering the Hype
Weather was not my best subject in flight school, though I readily accepted its importance for pilots.
North Sea weather isn’t always stormy, but it’s usually windy. (Photo by think4photop/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)
North Sea weather isn’t always stormy, but it’s usually windy. (Photo by think4photop/FreeDigitalPhotos.net)

Weather was not my best subject in flight school, though I readily accepted its importance for pilots. On the FAA written exam for my ATP, six of the eight questions I got wrong were about weather.

The questions I found particularly confusing concerned forecasts for cities along a planned route of flight–say St. Louis to Indianapolis to Columbus to Pittsburgh, with a few other cities’ forecasts thrown in. “Given these forecasts,” the question might read, “you can expect: a) a cold front to pass through Chicago at 2230Z; b) a warm air mass to stagnate over Virginia for the next 36 hours; c) clear skies over the North Slope of Alaska; d) the threat of tornadoes in Alabama between 0630Z and 0915Z; e) all of the above.”