Aviation Weather

 The Dreaded Thunderstorm

Obtaining a weather brief during the summer months in El Paso, TX is always a difficult task. They will brief you with good weather but always end the conversation with "there's a potential for thunderstorms." Then the question becomes, should I fly? 

There's always the chance that thunderstorms can build pretty rapidly during the period of mid July through mid September. This is due to there being moisture in the upper layer of the sky, and warm, unstable air at the surface, which ultimately rises. Three ingredients are needed for thunderstorms to form: warm, unstable air; moisture; and something that will trigger motion in the atmosphere (like a front). Thunderstorms can be very dangerous for pilots to fly near and as a pilot, you never want to fly through one. Thunderstorms are capable of producing the following: turbulence, hail, lightning, high gusting wind  heavy rain, and thunder. 

Thunderstorms have the potential to destroy aircraft. Luckily, nowadays aircraft are equipped with numerous systems on board that monitor the weather. Also, ATC is always going to let you know of any hazardous weather along your route of flight. 

Just the other day I flew from El Paso, TX to Safford, AZ and got a perfectly legal weather brief. I updated weather prior to taking off from Safford and, surprise, there were thunderstorms along my route of flight. Thankfully I had radar on Foreflight that I was able to monitor to avoid them by at least 20 miles. Now, 20 miles may sound far but it really isn't. I could see them building in the distance and it felt and looked like they were about 5 miles away. We also have a pretty outdated system in our aircraft called stormscope so I was able to monitor where the strikes were to ensure they weren't within 20 miles of my flight path. 

Bottom line, it is very important to know and understand what the weather patterns are for every season to better determine if you should fly or not. 

National Weather Service. (n.d.). Understanding Lightning: Thunderstorm Development. National            Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. https://www.weather.gov/safety/lightning-thunderstorm-             development#:~:text=Moisture%20is%20necessary%20to%20produce,the%20other%20ingredients        %20are%20present.