FAA Instrument Rating Airplane (IRA)Weather and Weather ServicesMedium
A pilot is planning a cross-country flight over a large portion of the western United States and wants to know if widespread moderate icing is forecast, without needing severe icing conditions. Which weather product should the pilot check?
- ACenter Weather Advisory
- BAIRMET Zulu
- CArea Forecast Discussion
- DConvective SIGMET
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: B. AIRMET Zulu
AIRMET Zulu is issued for moderate icing and forecast freezing levels affecting a wide area, and is intended for conditions that are hazardous but not severe enough to warrant a SIGMET. Since the pilot is concerned with widespread moderate icing rather than severe icing, AIRMET Zulu is the appropriate product.
Why the other options are wrong
- A. Center Weather Advisories are short-fused, localized supplements for a specific ARTCC, not general widespread forecasts.
- C. An Area Forecast Discussion is a narrative product for meteorologists and does not replace AIRMET/SIGMET products.
- D. Convective SIGMETs address thunderstorm-related hazards, not general icing.
AIRMET Zulu
AIRMET Zulu is issued for moderate icing and forecast freezing levels covering a wide area, intended for hazards significant to all aircraft but below SIGMET severity thresholds.
- AIRMET Sierra = IFR conditions and mountain obscuration
- AIRMET Tango = turbulence, strong surface winds, low-level wind shear
- AIRMET Zulu = moderate icing and freezing levels
- SIGMETs are issued for more severe/hazardous conditions than AIRMETs
Memory trick: Sierra=Sky, Tango=Turbulence, Zulu=freeZing