An overview of the National Weather Service (NWS) verification for Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) using Stats on Demand

An overview of the National Weather Service (NWS) verification for Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) using Stats on Demand.

The NWS has revised the way it looks and evaluates the TAF. Since users must plan their flight by the lowest forecast conditions, either prevailing or temporary, the verification scheme was changed to account for both. The program, called Stats on Demand (SOD), verifies wind, weather, sky condition and visibility. Flexibility in the SOD allows the Headquarters element to obtain stats for the 590+ TAFs across the United States, or the individual forecaster to look at their own stats in near real-time for just one TAF. This is a brief overview of the current program and future needs.