Clear Skies for Takeoff: Ceiling and Visibility Climatology of Alaska

Aviation is of high importance in Alaska, as many remote communities rely on light aircraft flying between small airports for transportation and supplies. Alaska experiences uniquely complicated atmospheric conditions due to several factors including diverse topography, dramatic seasonal variations, and position between two global circulation cells. These conditions can be associated with low ceilings and poor visibility, which are potentially hazardous, particularly for pilots who are not certified to fly relying solely on instruments. Despite this, the aviation climatology of these airports in Alaska is under researched.

This presentation will demonstrate an analysis of data provided by Meteorological Aerodrome Reports (METAR) to better characterize the occurrence of low ceiling and poor visibility conditions from 146 weather stations in Alaska between January 1, 2013 and December 31, 2023, prepared as a Parquet dataset. This presentation will highlight the airports that experienced these conditions most frequently. In addition, this presentation will compare the occurrence of these conditions to weather patterns throughout the meteorological seasons during this time period.