Service Name

WAFC (World Area Forecast Centres) information services

Service Abstract

The purpose of the World Area Forecast System (WAFS) is to provide the worldwide aviation community with operational meteorological forecasts and information about meteorological phenomena required for flight planning and safe, economic, and efficient air navigation. Designated by ICAO, the WAFS comprises two Provider States, these being the United Kingdom Meteorological Office (UKMO) and the United States National Weather Service (US NWS). The WAFS Provider States each operate a World Area Forecast Centre (WAFC) known as WAFC London and WAFC Washington.

The next generation of World Area Forecast System (WAFS) data sets will be available as SWIM services from Nov 2024. Improved data coupled with the transition away from a six hourly push data paradigm to a more tailored service-enabled "data on demand" approach will allow new approaches which support improvements to flight planning and flight following - providing additional value for airlines.

Common Service Definition

Since there is only one WAFC provider for the European region, there are no plans at present to publish a SWIM definition, however this may be added at a later date should ICAO provide one.

Service Implementation Status

The service from WAFC London is currently under development. A beta version is expected to be announced for testing purposes in late 2023, with the operational version released by Nov 2024. The SWIM service(s) will be published on the registry.

Service Information

The WAFCs information services will provide:

- global gridded forecasts of upper winds, upper-air temperatures and humidity, flight level and temperature of tropopause, and direction, speed and flight level of maximum wind with the following properaties:

• horizontal resolution of 0.25° (improved from 1.25° currently)

• 1000ft vertical intervals

Open

• Time steps of

Open

- global WAFC SIGWX data sets will be produced

• for 3 hourly intervals between T+6 and T+48

• Valid from FL100 to FL600

and contain:

• tropical cyclone

• severe squall lines;

• moderate or severe turbulence (in cloud or clear-air);

• moderate or severe icing;

• widespread sandstorm/duststorm;

• cumulonimbus clouds associated with thunderstorms and with the above (only MOD or FRQ CB)

• flight level of tropopause

• jet streams

• tropopause height as contours

• information on the location of volcanic eruptions

• information on the location of a release of radioactive materials

Provision Architecture

User States wishing to utilize WAFS data require the following components:

1. Visualisation software

2. PC/server on which to run the visualisation software

User States need to determine from which of the SADIS or WIFS Providers they should obtain their data (WAFC London or WAFC Washington respectively). The Regional Air Navigation Plan will give guidance on which of the two providers should be used in what circumstance. Each WAFC operates as a back-up to the other in the event of disruption to service.

Service Provision

Service Provider Organization and Origination

For European operations, the provider of these services is WAFC London. However, it should be noted that WAFC Washington will act as a back-up in the event of service disruption.

This service content is largely driven by ICAO’s Global Air Navigation Plan (GANP) and the Aviation System Block Upgrades (ASBU) ensuring that the developments are structured and align to agreed operational objectives.

Service Consumption

Service Consumer Organization

The WAFC services are designed to be used for the purpose of flight planning. The primary user will therefore be airline operators (or their flight planning provider), both for the planning and route selection, and also for inflight updates as appropriate.

Other stakeholders which undertake trajectory calculating or planning activities such as air traffic providers and network manager will also be users of this information.

Consumer Usage

Flight planning

Trajectory calculations

Trajectory deviations

Time based flow management