Weathering the weather at airports

Adverse weather conditions can play havoc with airport operations, limiting or putting a stop to aircraft movements, runway maintenance, de-icing, tower control and even luggage handling. Having accurate meteorological data and forecasts means that airport operators can prepare for the worst in advance. But weather can change in a matter of hours. That is why partners in the PNOWWA project are turning to nowcasting, very short-term (0-3h) probabilistic winter weather forecasts with a 15-minute-time resolution.

Focusing on snow, the partners extrapolated weather movements based on radar echoes and predictability of changes in snowfall intensity caused by underlying terrain (such as mountains and seas). Within these nowcasts, the projects provided information on the probability of a wide range of events, such as runways freezing over or decreased visibility. Over the course of the winter of 2017, the project partners demonstrated their model in Austria and Finland, allowing them to gather airport feedback on the applicability of the model and its scalability to other airports.

The use of probabilistic forecasts in ATM are to support timely operations in surface management and ATM decision making, thereby increasing airport capacity, reducing delays and promoting safety.

These results enable the quantification of the uncertainties related to delays in ground operations due to winter weather situations. When applied to ATM applications, the PNOWWA method enhanced timely operations in surface management and ATM decision making, thereby increasing airport capacity, reducing delays and promoting safety.

Benefits

Increased airport capacity (e.g. fewer delays, better ATM preparedness)
Improved safety
More efficient use of ATM resources