Weather products available via the Flight Information Service Broadcast (FIS-B), or ADS-B weather, are:
- Radar (Regional and CONUS)
- METARs
- TAFs
- AIRMETs, SIGMETs, Graphical SIGMETs
- Center Weather Advisories
- PIREPs
- Cloud Tops
- Icing
- Lightning
- Turbulence
- Winds Aloft
- Temperature Aloft
Weather products available to a user depend on the tower tier category being received. ADS-B weather is continuously transmitted by ground-based towers categorized into four altitude tiers:
- Surface
- Low
- Medium
- High
Each tier offers different products, and ADS-B receivers can pick up data from multiple towers simultaneously. What is displayed in ForeFlight is a combination of all received towers.
Most towers in the U.S. are low-altitude, offering limited information. High-altitude towers offer the most data, including METARs for major airports (Class B & C), but not smaller Class D airports.
The table below outlines the ADS-B weather products available by tower type.
Product |
Surface Radios |
Low Altitude Tier |
Medium Altitude Tier |
High Altitude Tier |
||||||
CONUS NEXRAD | Not Provided | Entire CONUS | ||||||||
Regional Radar | 150 NM Look Ahead Range | 200 NM Look Ahead Range | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||||
METAR |
100 NM Look Ahead Range | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | 375 NM Look Ahead Range | CONUS: | CONUS Class B & C Airport METARs and 500 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||
Outside of CONUS: | 500 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||||||
TAF |
100 NM Look Ahead Range | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | 375 NM Look Ahead Range | CONUS: | CONUS Class B & C Airport Airport TAFs and 500 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||
Outside of CONUS: | 500 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||||||
AIRMET & SIGMET | 100 NM Look Ahead Range | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | 375 NM Look Ahead Range | 500 NM Look Ahead Range | ||||||
Graphical SIGMET | Not Provided | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | 375 NM Look Ahead Range | 500 NM Look Ahead Range | ||||||
CWA | ||||||||||
PIREP and SUA/SAA | ||||||||||
NOTAMs D, FDC, TFR | 100 NM Look Ahead Range | |||||||||
Cloud Tops | Not Provided | 150 NM Look Ahead Range | 200 NM Look Ahead Range | 250 NM Look Ahead Range | ||||||
Icing | ||||||||||
Lightning | ||||||||||
Turbulence | ||||||||||
Winds & Temperatures Aloft | 500 NM Look Ahead Range | 750 NM Look Ahead Range | 1000 NM Look Ahead Range |
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