An automated thunderstorm alert service for airport operations

Thunderstorms and associated weather have a range of impacts on operations at airports which include disruption to ground operations. Lightning in particular presents a hazard to ground staff and procedures have been developed to ensure safe operations. This includes the provision of alerts by the Bureau of Meteorology when thunderstorms and associated lightning is likely in the vicinity of designated airports. In the past the thunderstorm alerts were prepared manually and their effectiveness was limited because they tended to be conservative and did not provide real-time information on the short-term variations that can occur during periods of thunderstorms. In order to provide better real-time information about thunderstorms and associated lightning in the vicinity of major airports an Automated Thunderstorm Alert Service (ATSAS) has been developed. The systems that support ATSAS take radar information from a Nowcast Applications Server and lightning data and automatically generate end-user graphical products that show the location and movement of thunderstorm cells and the presence of lightning near the airport. The products are updated frequently and can be easily understood by airline personnel.