Towering thunderstorm

4 or 6 or 8 things to think about for summertime flying

A thunderstorm is, by nature, unstable. That relates both to the atmosphere that creates and supports it and to the capricious nature of the storm. They are constantly changing, literally from moment to moment, and where one flight might pass through with a bit of turbulence, one a minute later might encounter a severe wind shear.
G1000 MFD with weather

Weather Geek: rules to fly by

Richard Collins has spent over 20,000 hours up close and personal with weather. In this article, he shares one guiding principle for dealing with weather--what you see and feel is what you get. Based on that, he offers 10 more rules for weather flying.
Occluded front radar image

The Weather Geek: occlusions, a bad time to fly

Occlusions don’t happen too frequently. I guess I might have had to deal with a dozen or so in 57 years of flying. But when one does present itself, you can get a better ride if you know what is going on and make a plan to avoid the worst of it.
Snowstorm damage in New York

The Weather Geek: hello low

Let’s get the geek business out of the way first. If a person who has an abiding interest in weather, especially as it relates to flight operations, is a geek, then I am a weather geek. Highs and lows are what make the weather engine go. Highs aren’t exciting, lows can be full of thrills. I was reminded of this when we had that October snowstorm in the northeast.