flight planning - tropical storms & hurricanes

[max payload]

All,
Can anyone point me to a resource where I can find industry-accepted practices reference airline flight planning (around) tropical storms?
Appreciate it- Max.

[ralle72]

well the practice in our company is that the dispatcher has a close eye on it .
if you use an automated flight planning system i bet you that the route will be optimised with the best wind component, i.e. directly through the hurricane/cyclone

[sandokan]

Hi Max,

I hardly doubt that theres is something like a standard for this.
Generally the thing is avoid these.
But in close terms in practice i.e. how far to avoid,on which side to pass for planning purposes is a company thing.
Tropical storms are not a easy thing to predict.
But there are certain sources like the NOAA Hurricane Center,AccuWaether Hurricane Center or the atlantic tropical weather center which gives you predictions on the movment direction,rainfall,windgusts an so on.
Judgement and Interpretation of this is a Dispatcher/Pilots own thing.
Everybody judges different.
But to sensitize your staff about the pontential danger of Tropical Storms should be in your Companies hands.

greetz
AJ

[max payload]

Thanks, AJ.
Indeed, projected storm path, intensity, etc. all play a role.
I was just wondering if there was a generally accepted way of looking at these things, like "route storm radius + 100 miles left or right from path".
Plodding on- Max

[kellmark]

Typically we would skirt around a storm using its effect for a tailwind. If it is rotating counterclockwise in the Northern hemisphere take that into account. Skirt it enough to avoid severe weather but use it for a "slingshot" effect. On one side of the storm go one way with a tailwind, and when you come back in the opposite direction go the other way around, to get the tailwind on the other side. Kind of like a spinning top. Obviously you would keep the forward motion in mind, and keep monitoring it, but it normally works very well. Also note that depending on direction, etc certain quarters of the storm are more severe than others, as forward motion combines with cyclonic wind. The back side is usually more severe.

Also, watch for airport closures,not just before but after the storm passes as well, if there is serious damage. It can screw up both your destination and your alternate.

I live in Florida, so we are used to them a lot here.