National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Dangerous Surf and Rip Currents for most of the Atlantic Shoreline; Record Heat for the West

Hurricane Erin continues to track northward. Tropical storm force winds, storm surge conditions will increase for the Outer Banks today and portions of coastal Virginia. Life-threatening surf and rip currents along much of the east coast of the U.S. this week. Major to extreme HeatRisk with new record high temperatures are expected for many areas of the western U.S. this week. Read More >

Pilot and Aircraft Reports

An Aircraft Report is a report of actual weather conditions encountered by an aircraft while in flight. There are two types of reports. An AIREP is a routine, often automated report of in-flight weather conditions such as wind and temperature. A PIREP is reported by a pilot to indicate encounters of hazardous weather such as icing or turbulence. Both are transmitted in real-time via radio to a ground station.

PIREPs and AIREPs are encoded differently. AIREP format is more common outside the contiguous U.S. even though there are some AIREPs over the CONUS. The location is specified by latitude and longitude which is better for international routes. PIREPs are preferred over the CONUS where the location is based on distance and direction to a known Nav Aid such as a VOR.

 

Go to PIREPs page at AWC