National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Storm Systems to Impact the Central and Eastern U.S. Through the Weekend

Two storm systems will track through the central and eastern U.S. today through this weekend with areas of gusty winds, rain and heavy snow. Severe thunderstorms and heavy to excessive rainfall is forecast today from the Lower Mississippi River Valley to the Tennessee Valley. Damaging winds, a few tornadoes, and areas of flooding are possible. Read More >

Indianapolis CWSU

Center Weather Service Unit

Our Office

Weather.gov > Indianapolis CWSU > Our Office

CWSU Indianapolis, Indiana

 
Center Weather Service Units (CWSUs) are joint Federal Aviation Administration/National Weather Service weather support units staffed 16 hours each day by NWS personnel to provide meteorological support to 21 Air Traffic Control facilities within the United States.
 
 

Mission:
Our mission is to detect and predict weather conditions hazardous to aviation and disseminate this information to the appropriate positions and Air Traffic Facilities within the center's airspace. Our primary function is to provide meteorological consultation, forecasting and advice regarding weather that may have potential impacts on air traffic operations. This includes providing up to the minute weather information to FAA Supervisors and the ZID Traffic Management Unit (TMU). Some of the products issued by the CWSU are icing, turbulence and thunderstorm forecasts, TAF outlooks, Center Weather Advisories (CWAs) and the Meteorological Impact Statements (MISs). CWSUs also work collaboratively with the Aviation Weather Center in Kansas City. 

  • CWA: Aviation weather warning for thunderstorms, severe icing or turbulence, or low IFR ceilings and visibility.
  • MIS: 2-12 hour forecast for weather conditions, which are expected to impact ARTCC operations or a way to disseminate outage or service backup information.
 
Operations:
The Indianapolis Center Weather Service Unit (ZID CWSU) is located at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Indianapolis, IN. Four National Weather Service meteorologists staff the office, including 3 forecast meteorologists and one meteorologist-in-charge. Our hours of operation are from 5:00 AM to 9:00 PM daily.
 

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