Aviation Forecast Support for the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games

During the Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, NAV CANADA required detailed aviation forecast products to facilitate the movement of air traffic over the host region. Located on BC's southwest coast, Vancouver is bounded to the east by the rugged Coast Mountains, which rise from the sea to peaks of 6,000 to 8,000 feet and interact in complex ways with migratory weather systems. The “Sea to Sky” flight corridor is a valley roughly 55 miles long and 5 miles wide (from “peak to peak”). It starts at sea level near Vancouver and winds northward toward Whistler, gaining over 2,100 feet of elevation. The narrowness of the valley and its dramatic elevation gain pose numerous forecast challenges for meteorologists.

CMAC-W (the Canadian Meteorological Aviation Weather Centre West, in Edmonton, Alberta) has a long history of developing and delivering graphical and text route forecasts for the Canadian West Coast, and responded to the need of NAV CANADA by developing a specialized graphical area forecast for the Sea to Sky corridor, as well as special TAFs (terminal aerodrome forecasts) for the Squamish and Pemberton airports and for the Whistler helipad. These forecast products were issued in support of the Games from January 4 through April 2, 2010.

The project implementation plan was developed by a team of CMAC-W forecasters in early April, 2009. It outlined how NAV CANADA's needs for aviation forecast support for the 2010 Games would be met. The project had four phases: product development, tool development, staff and outreach training, and forecast product delivery. The implementation plan was ISO compliant with respect to product standards and staff performance management.

This poster describes each of the four phases of the process that led to the successful delivery of aviation forecast support for the Vancouver Games.