Aviation Weather

full text of the classic FAA guide

IN CLOSING

If one were to summarize general weather conditions and flight precautions over Alaska, northern Canada, and the Arctic, he would say:

Interior areas generally have good flying weather, but coastal areas and Arctic slopes often are plagued by low ceiling, poor visibility, and icing.
“Whiteout” conditions over ice and snow covered areas often cause pilot disorientation.
Flying conditions are usually worse in mountain passes than at reporting stations along the route.
Routes through the mountains are subject to strong turbulence, especially in and near passes.
Beware of a false mountain pass that may lead to a dead-end.
Thundershowers sometimes occur in the interior during May through August. They are usually circumnavigable and generally move from northeast to southwest.
Always file a flight plan. Stay on regularly traversed routes, and if downed, stay with your plane.
If lost during summer, fly down-drainage, that is, downstream. Most airports are located near rivers, and chances are you can reach a landing strip by flying downstream. If forced down, you will be close to water on which a rescue plane can land. In summer, the tundra is usually too soggy for landing.
Weather stations are few and far between. Adverse weather between stations may go undetected unless reported by a pilot in flight. A report confirming good weather between stations is also just as important. Help yourself and your fellow pilot by reporting weather en route.

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