Aviation meteorology

Contrails (; short for "condensation trails") or vapour trails are line-shaped clouds produced by aircraft engine exhaust or changes in air pressure, typically at aircraft cruising altitudes several kilometres/miles above the Earth's surface. They are composed primarily of water, in the form of ice crystals. The combination of water vapor in aircraft engine exhaust and the low ambient temperatures at high altitudes cause the trails' formation.

thumb|Example of a thermal column between the ground and a cumulus

thumb|upright|A METAR processing and transmitting unit installed at Pittsburgh-Butler Regional Airport, [[Pennsylvania, U.S.]]

atmospheric model

one set of regulations governing all aspects of civil aviation aircraft operations

set of regulations under which a pilot operates an aircraft in clear weather conditions

thumb|right|Laser ceilometer A ceilometer is a device that uses a laser or other light source to determine the height of a cloud ceiling or cloud base. Ceilometers can also be used to measure the aerosol concentration within the atmosphere. A ceilometer that uses laser light is a type of atmospheric lidar (light detection and ranging) instrument.

small‐scale current of rising air

distance over which a pilot of an aircraft on the centreline of the runway can see the runway surface markings

format for reporting aviation weather forecast information

thumb|Shannon Volmet received on 5505 kHz at 2000 UTC on 31 March 2013 in the United Kingdom|UK.

fundamental data used for weather forecasts

aviation flight category

height measured with respect to the underlying ground surface

aviation flight category

qualification to fly aircraft under IFR regulations

thumb|A map from the U.S. National Weather Service showing active SIGMETs

expert group providing information on atmospheric volcanic ash clouds hazardous for airplanes

QFF is an Aeronautical Code Q code. It is the MSL pressure derived from local meteorological station conditions in accordance with meteorological practice. This is the altimeter setting that is intended to produce correct altitude indication (i.e., no error) on an altimeter at the actual sea level elevation, while QNH is intended to have no error at the station elevation (or, especially when applied within a region with a relatively small range of surface elevations, at the altitudes close to the surface elevation within the region).

Firsthand aeronautical condition report

thumb|Graphical AIRMET showing turbulence high (TurbHi), turbulence low (TurbLo), surface wind (sfcWind), and low-level wind shear (LLWS) over the coterminous United States

Type of meteorological illustration

automated sensor suites

set of aviation regulations under which a pilot may operate an aircraft