Tonight’s class was more about weather. We covered a little more weather theory and spent the rest of the class talking about all the resources available for obtaining current and forecast weather. The Internet is loaded with different services for getting weather information. Some of it comes from weather reporting facilities at airports.
The ultimate resource, however, is Flight Services. There are a few dozen Flight Service Stations around the country that provide weather briefings to pilots 24/7. Before every flight, I call the Raleigh FSS, listen to some automated information and talk with a briefer. After giving them details on my flight, they tell me what the weather is and is expected to be, along with any NOTAMS or TFRs. Every conversation is recorded so that if something goes wrong, the powers that be will know what information you received.
There’s a lot of information out there, and it can be difficult to figure out what it all means, but it’s an extremely important element to every flight.