TAF Timeline Visualization Tool

[flipfloppity]

Hi all,

I've been working on a tool that allows visualizing METAR/TAF data at your departure/destination/alternate airports as a color-coded timeline view. I like seeing the data this way - I'm curious if anyone else finds this useful? You can see what the output looks like in the attached image. Link below:

https://www.wxbriefer.com

In general I'm interested in building a more streamlined one-stop-shop briefing tool that can consolidate WX, NOTAMS, TFRs, and other advisories into a good summary document. I've always found it cumbersome to go through the entire briefing that Foreflight generates, for example - are there any existing tools that already do this?

 

[kortopates]

Check out https://www.ezwxbrief.com/ does this and a whole lot more

[exM20K]

1 hour ago, flipfloppity said:

are there any existing tools that already do this?

Welcome to Mooneyspace, and nice work. It is, though, similar to the “TAF” page in a ForeFlight standard briefing.

I made a feature request to ForeFlight that would depict forecast station weather on the map using a time slider and maybe MOS forecast but heard nothing back.

AWC does a graphical tool for TAF https://aviationweather.gov/gfa/#taf which I don’t use because it feels cumbersome to me, which is, I guess your point.  Several years ago, before Aviation Digital Data Service got absorbed up into AWC, they produced a Java flight path tool, which showed a cross section of altitudes and hazards or conditions along the route. It was useful, but I guess Java is not a thing for websites anymore.

Windy.com does a graphical display of all sorts of model output, including ceiling, icing, CAPE, soundings, etc with time and, where appropriate, altitude sliders.

My brain works better in pictures, but maybe that’s just me.

-dan

 

[Scott Dennstaedt, PhD]

On 3/15/2025 at 6:49 PM, kortopates said:

Check out https://www.ezwxbrief.com/ does this and a whole lot more

Thanks Paul for the shout out!  Most of the heavyweight apps and other websites out there just throw data at you to see what sticks. This makes it very cumbersome for pilots that have a difficult time consuming this weather guidance. I didn't want to take that approach and felt it was necessary to develop at tool that identifies and quantifies personal risk...since that's the ultimate goal when we are doing our briefings. 

Here's a video that shows how I do a preflight planning session.