Weather is a major cause of aircraft accidents and incidents and the single largest contributor to air traffic system delays. The Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Aviation Weather Research Program (AWRP), through improvements in the knowledge of current weather conditions and reliable forecasts, is striving to improve aviation safety and efficiency. The FAA's AWRP conducts applied research on weather hazards that specifically impact aviation. The weather research areas that have the greatest positive impact on air traffic safety and efficiency include: in-flight icing, ground deicing, turbulence, convective weather, oceanic weather, and ceiling and visibility. Within the past year, forecast products for in-flight icing and turbulence were approved for operational use, and an in-flight icing diagnostic product for Alaska was approved for experimental use.

The paper will describe how the products developed by the AWRP's weather research areas contribute to improved weather forecasts, and how these forecasts benefit the aviation industry.