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AIRMET confusion 
As of March 16, 2010, the Aviation Weather Center
(AWC) along with the FAA officially approved Graphical AIRMETs (G-AIRMETs) for
operational use. The G-AIRMET is a new product (like the one shown on
the right) issued by the forecasters at the AWC. Click here to view a FREE workshop that
explains the new G-AIRMET product display.
Keep in mind that AIRMETs have not been
discontinued. They still will be available in textual form in
the foreseeable future. In an effort to avoid confusion
between the new graphical AIRMET, known as the G-AIRMET, and the
graphical depiction of the traditional textual AIRMET, the AWC was under
an edict from the FAA to remove the graphical representation of the
traditional textual AIRMETs from the Aviation Digital Data Service
(ADDS). This included active AIRMETs displayed on
static images like the one pictured
below. Click here to view a larger
image. This static image  will
only contain active SIGMETs. Given that SIGMETs (other than
convective SIGMETs)
are rare, Many pilots looked at this static "empty" image
and assumed there were no advisories even though it clearly states
at the
top that "AIRMET images replaced by G-AIRMET."
Unfortunately, the AWC did not
appreciate how many
users were linking directly to these static images. As a
result, they will be developing a separate webpage that will allow each
G-AIRMET snapshot to be displayed individually. This new
webpage will be available sometime during the week of March 29, 2010.
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