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NOUS41 KWBC 151835 AAA
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PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT 26-16 UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HEADQUARTERS SILVER SPRING MD
235 PM EDT WED APR 15 2026
TO: SUBSCRIBERS:
-NOAA WEATHER WIRE SERVICE
-EMERGENCY MANAGERS WEATHER INFORMATION NETWORK
-NOAAPORT
OTHER NWS PARTNERS AND NWS EMPLOYEES
FROM: KEVIN STONE, TEAM LEAD
AVIATION WEATHER SERVICES
SUBJECT: UPDATED: SOLICITING COMMENTS ON TRANSITION OF REFERENCE
POINTS IN AVIATION WEATHER PRODUCTS THROUGH MAY 15, 2026
UPDATED TO EXTEND THE COMMENT PERIOD AND CLARIFY THE PROPOSED
CHANGE INCLUDES ALASKA.
THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE (NWS) IS SOLICITING COMMENTS
THROUGH MAY 15, 2026 ON THE PROPOSED TRANSITION OF PLOTTING
REFERENCE POINTS FROM VERY HIGH FREQUENCY OMNIDIRECTIONAL RANGE
(VOR) TO THREE-LETTER FAA AIRPORT IDENTIFIERS ON AVIATION
WEATHER PRODUCTS.
THE FOLLOWING NWS PRODUCTS WILL BE AFFECTED BY THE PROPOSED
CHANGE: SIGMET, AIRMET, CENTER WEATHER ADVISORY, METEOROLOGICAL
IMPACT STATEMENT. THIS PROPOSAL WOULD AFFECT NWS PRODUCTS OVER
THE CONTIGUOUS UNITED STATES (CONUS) AND ALASKA.
THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) IS TRANSITIONING THE
NATIONAL AIRSPACE SYSTEM (NAS) TO PERFORMANCE BASED NAVIGATION
(PBN).AS A RESULT, VOR INFRASTRUCTURE IS BEING REPURPOSED TO
PROVIDE A CONVENTIONAL BACKUP NAVIGATION SERVICE DURING
POTENTIAL GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) OUTAGES. THIS BACKUP
INFRASTRUCTURE IS KNOWN AS THE VOR MINIMUM OPERATIONAL NETWORK
(MON).
CURRENTLY, MANY NWS AVIATION WEATHER PRODUCTS USE VORS AS
REFERENCE POINTS TO IDENTIFY HAZARDOUS WEATHER AREAS. DUE TO
THE VOR MON TRANSITION, THE NUMBER OF REFERENCE POINTS IS BEING
REDUCED, IMPACTING THE ABILITY TO ADEQUATELY DESCRIBE THE HAZARD
AREAS.FUTURE PRODUCTS WILL USE THREE-LETTER AIRPORT
IDENTIFIERS AS REFERENCE POINTS FOR DEPICTING HAZARDOUS WEATHER
AREAS.
SIGMET CURRENT EXAMPLE USING VOR REFERENCE POINTS:
WSUS32 KKCI 221455
MKCE WST 221455
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 20E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
ME MA NH CSTL WTRS
FROM 140SE BGR-100ESE ACK-50SE ACK-110ESE ENE-140SE BGR
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22045KT. TOPS TO FL290.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 21E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
ME MA NH RI CT AND ME MA NH CSTL WTRS
FROM 60N ENE-30SSW BGR-40SE BOS-30SE BDL-60N ENE
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 21045KT. TOPS TO FL280.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 22E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
VT NY
FROM 50N MPV-40S MPV-50N ALB-40E MSS-50N MPV
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 20045KT. TOPS TO FL260.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 23E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
MA NY
FROM 60N ALB-20ESE ALB-20SW ALBB-40ENE SYR-60N ALB
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22045KT. TOPS TO FL260.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 24E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
NY PA LE
FROM 20SE BUF-20N ERI
LINE EMBD TS 30 NM WIDE MOV FROM 26025KT. TOPS TO FL240.
OUTLOOK VALID 221655-222055
AREA 1...FROM 40NW MLT-60WSW YSJ-190SSE ACK-190SSE
HTO-ACK-ALB-MSS-90S YQB-40NW MLT
WST ISSUANCES POSS. REFER TO MOST RECENT ACUS01 KWNS FROM STORM
PREDICTION CENTER FOR SYNOPSIS AND METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS.
AREA 2...FROM 50SE SSM-60NE ASP-30NE ECK-30ESE DXO-MSS-30SE
SYR-60WSW HNK-EWX-50NNW APE-60NNE FWA-40ENE MKG-50SE SSM
WST ISSUANCES POSS. REFER TO MOST RECENT ACUS01 KWNS FROM STORM
PREDICTION CENTER FOR SYNOPSIS AND METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS.
SIGMET NEW EXAMPLE USING AIRPORT CODE REFERENCE POINTS:
WSUS32 KKCI 221455
MKCE WST 221455
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 20E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
ME MA NH CSTL WTRS
FROM 120S EPM-100ESE ACK-50SE ACK-100SE PWM-120S EPM
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22045KT. TOPS TO FL290.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 21E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
ME MA NH RI CT AND ME MA NH CSTL WTRS
FROM 30ESE BML-30SSW BGR-40SE BOS-30SE BDL-30ESE BML
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 21045KT. TOPS TO FL280.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 22E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
VT NY
FROM 40NE BTV-50WNW CON-50N ALB-40NW BTV-40NE BTV
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 20045KT. TOPS TO FL260.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 23E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
MA NY
FROM 60SW BTV-20ESE ALB 20SW-ALB-40ENE SYR-60SW BTV
AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22045KT. TOPS TO FL260.
CONVECTIVE SIGMET 24E
VALID UNTIL 1655Z
NY PA LE
FROM 20ESE BQR-20NNW ERI
LINE EMBD TS 30 NM WIDE MOV FROM 26025KT. TOPS TO FL240.
OUTLOOK VALID 221655-222055
AREA 1...FROM 40NW MLT-60WSW YSJ-190SE ACK-190SSE
HTO-ACK-ALB-MSS-90S YQB-40NW MLT
WST ISSUANCES POSS. REFER TO MOST RECENT ACUS01 KWNS FROM STORM
PREDICTION CENTER FOR SYNOPSIS AND METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS.
AREA 2...FROM 50SE ANJ-60NE OSC-40NNE PHN-30ESE DTW-MSS-OIC-50NW
AVP-PJC-50SE TOL-50WNW TOL-50W MBS-50SE ANJ
WST ISSUANCES POSS. REFER TO MOST RECENT ACUS01 KWNS FROM STORM
PREDICTION CENTER FOR SYNOPSIS AND METEOROLOGICAL DETAILS.
PLEASE DIRECT COMMENTS ON THIS CHANGE TO:
JONATHAN LEFFLER
CHIEF, AVIATION OPERATIONS BRANCH
AVIATION WEATHER CENTER
KANSAS CITY, MO 64153
PHONE: 816-584-7239
EMAIL: JONATHAN.LEFFLER@NOAA.GOV
NWS SERVICE CHANGE NOTICES ARE ONLINE AT:
HTTPS://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/NOTIFICATION/
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