AutoTAF—The design, development and implementation of an automated tool for the production of Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts

Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts (TAFs), defined by World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) standards, are short strings that provide localised forecast information to the airline industry worldwide. TAFs are produced at regular times every day for each Aerodrome, as well as on special request. Various forecasters at separate Australian Bureau of Meteorology (ABoM) locations produce TAFs by looking at guidance models, current observations and other available data sources. This division of labour can lead to inconsistencies in the TAFs produced between individual forecasters and locations due to differing availability of information and work practices. The task of preparing TAFs is also time consuming and repetitive.

Automation of TAF production strives to reduce the time and effort involved, whilst also increasing consistency and accuracy of the final product. AutoTAF (Automatic generation of Terminal Aerodrome Forecasts) is a collaborative project between RMIT University and ABoM, focusing on the need for more streamlined production of weather forecast products, in particular that of TAFs. AutoTAF suggests a TAF to the forecaster based on configurable data sources (eg Model Output Forecast, MOF), user modifiable data processing rules, and selectable output formats. The use of rules allows the system to encapsulate the knowledge of the forecasters. To achieve a suitable flexibility of data sources, output formats and data processing methods a modular design approach was taken, allowing any section to be easily added or replaced.

This paper will describe the design, development and implementation of the system, as well as the ideas and processes involved therein.