Weather affects everything we do as pilots, and it’s no secret that we need to have the best weather information available to aid in safe flying. The Internet age affords us previously unimagined abilities to get up-to-the minute weather information. We can easily – and cheaply – access this data at the airport or in our cockpits thanks to mobile technology. I’ve compiled a list of weather resources I’ve found that are free, or very inexpensive. Pilots can access most of these resources in-flight, when necessary, with the obvious caveat of adequate cell coverage for any given area. And since nearly all CRUFC members receive Skywriter digitally, using the links to these weather information sources below will be effortless.

Nav Canada’s Aviation Weather Website: https://flightplanning.navcanada.ca

This is a fantastic source of aviation weather that includes METARs and TAFs, graphical forecast maps, upper winds data, PIREPs, current wind and visibility info at select airports, and even weather cameras. The number of cameras is growing and many, like the ones at Springbank and Lethbridge, include METAR information.

CRUFC members flying in the Calgary area are fortunate that Calgary’s terminal area forecast is issued every three hours. Smaller centers away from Calgary only enjoy forecasts every six hours. The site offers the METAR/TAF data in both coded form and in plain language. There are also online tutorials that explain the site’s operation and how to read the information so I won’t elaborate on that aspect here. Take the time to get to know this site; it’s well worth it.

There’s another link on the AWWS that may surprise you. It’s the one for US aviation weather or ADDS. It actually offers some weather data for Canada, specifically maps of winds and weather systems up to 48 hours ahead. Nav Canada only forecasts that information to a maximum of 12 hours ahead for weather systems, and 24 hours for upper winds.

Environment Canada Public Weather http://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.html

This is the weather site for the general public. Users can select specific towns or cities, and the forecasts extend 7 days ahead. The current weather information is updated hourly and provides data in metric units unless you choose Imperial. I really like the radar and satellite links that this site presents, and the links to them are available from any location’s forecast page. Jet stream data is also available, but only for the next day, not the current one. If you need jet stream info do a search for “today’s jet stream”.

Environment Canada’s site also provides links to more complex weather maps. I once found these useful for longer range flight planning, but the format changed a couple of years ago and now I find other weather resources are more easily accessible and readable. However, this site does have a lot of good, useful information and it’s well worth exploring to see how it can help you.

Unisys Weather Maps weather.unisys.com/nam Unisys

A large data processing and data management company. One of the services they offer online is a weather application. Go to the link above and click on the map. Youcan then click through chronologically to see surface level pressure and precipitation forecasts up to 60 hours ahead for the US and southern Canada. There’s even a link that let’s you play an animated loop of the conditions over the forecast period.

I find this site is very useful when looking at how much precipitation we can expect, and by examining the pressure gradients, what the winds might do. It takes a little bit of interpretation to read it properly, but that skill is easily acquired with a bit of practise reading the site’s legend. The site updates each morning and evening Calgary time.

511 Alberta http://511.alberta.ca/
This is actually a highway information site. The Alberta Motor Association established a series of highway cameras throughout the province in the late 2000s and the Government of Alberta eventually took over the cameras and website.

This is one of the most useful weather websites I’ve found for flying. It’s one of the rare instances where one can actually ‘look out the window’ at what the weather is doing wherever these cameras are situated. The cameras update every ten minutes, or so. They show the sky and the cloud cover and most of the locations have a weather station that provides temperature, wind speed and direction, and humidity. The cameras either offer only one direction, or three views spread through roughly 180 degrees.

Some of the cameras are located in Calgary and were established by the City of Calgary but appear to be used by 511 Alberta. There are some cameras on this site that are broken and have been for quite a while, no doubt a result of budget restrictions.

BC Highway Cameras http://images.drivebc.ca/bchighwaycam/
This is British Columbia’s answer to Alberta’s highway camera system. When you go to this page you’ll see a series of tabs in the middle of the page. The one that CRUFC members will most likely be interested in is the SIR tab, meaning Southern Interior Region.

Once you’ve selected the tab you want, a series of small photos appear showing the highway conditions at numerous locations throughout BC. Clicking on one of the photos enlarges the image, and provides a description of its location. A map also appears showing the camera’s location, direction of view, and other cameras nearby. Each one refreshes at two minute intervals.

The sky and cloud conditions are visible in a lot of these shots, but not in all of them, so be sure to interpret them carefully. I’ve used these cameras in the past to great effect and I’m glad they exist to help out with mountain flying.

General Webcams
There are a number of other general webcams around Calgary and southern Alberta, too. Here are some that I’ve found.

Shaw Communications http://webcams.shawtv.com/athomecams/cam1.jpg
This camera sits on Shaw’s building atop Cemetery Hill. It faces north and usually gives a good picture of the weather over Calgary.

Brewster Travel http://www.brewster.ca/
Brewster is a bus and travel company specializing in the Canadian Rockies. They have webcams at popular tourist spots in the Rocks, my favourite being the one situated atop Sulphur Mountain. When it works, which is most of the time, it shows two views – east and west – of the Bow Valley from Banff. It’s a terrific look at what the weather is doing there at any given time.

Just click on the link above and select the webcams link at the bottom of the page for the Sulphur Mountain and others.

Sunshine Village http://www.skibanff.com/conditions/cams/
This ski resort west of Banff has some cameras that may be useful for glimpsing the weather in the mountains.

Weather Apps for Mobile Devices
There are dozens and dozens of apps for aviation weather for all types of mobile operating systems. They run the gamut of pricing from free to quite pricey. Check them out and see which is for you.

AeroWeather by Sparkling Apps. Available for Android and iPhone.

AeroWeather is the only av weather app I have on my phone now. I tried some that were free and they didn’t seem to be as reliable or as comprehensive as this one. One of the features I like best is how you can build a group of airports, name the group, and simply click on it to get METARs and TAFs at all those locations. Thus, if you’re flying a specific route, you can build a group that covers the route and check those stations when you want to. It saves having to punch in a separate station each time for its weather info. I also appreciate that it offers decoded information, similar to what the AWWS offers. AeroWeather only costs about four bucks and it’s worth it to me.

XM Satellite Weather http://www.xmwxweather.com/aviation/

XM Weather is the only service on our list that is not cheap, though for some it may be well worth it. XM offers hourly and, in some cases, up-to-the-minute weather data via satellite link through your GPS receiver, multi-function display, or mobile device. Prices start at $54.99 US for Canada, up to $99.99 US for the pro service. Canadian subscribers can access the usual METAR & TAF data, as well as satellite and radar imagery, PIREPS, SIGMETS, AIRMETS, upper winds, some mapping products and more.

Pilots I know who use XM absolutely love it because of the depth of information they can access. Having said that, pilots can now access most of that same data for free with mobile devices if they can hook to a cell tower.

Legalities

One last thing to note is that as far as I understand using a cell phone or cell connection in the air in a small airplane is illegal in Canada and the US. However, I’ve never seen or heard of any sky cops hauling someone away for using a cell phone from their plane. If you know more about this subject, please send a letter to our editor, Norm, to share your knowledge.

Weather forecasts in southern Alberta are notoriously inaccurate. I often wonder how so many people can earn so much money and still be so wrong so often.

But these links can help you become a better weather detective so that you don’t need to rely on just one weather source. I encourage you to use them to investigate the weather for your flying, especially when you’re going to cover some distance. As your knowledge grows so will your confidence and your ability to accurately read and forecast the weather. And how can that be anything but safer?