The first aviation weather data was provided to civil aviation on March 20, 1924, when Aero, the predecessor of Finnair, started operating from Katajanokka in Helsinki to Tallinn. According to the 100-year-old weather report from FMI, the weather was “variable with occasional snowfall and clear spells. Northerly and north-easterly winds in the north, variable winds in the south.” Today, FMI provides all official aviation weather services for civil and military aviation in Finnish airspace.
“Aviation weather services help aviation operators plan their activities better and operate as safely and efficiently as possible in all weather conditions. Aviation weather services are part of air navigation services. Without weather services, aviation operations would stop,” said Riikka Pusa, head of aviation and defense at the Finnish Meteorological Institute.
Global aviation weather services
Each Finnish airport is equipped with FMI’s aviation weather observation systems, which provide accurate information on the prevailing weather conditions at the airport. Around 100 experts participate in the production of aviation weather services at FMI – in addition to aviation weather meteorologists, the production of services requires observation, IT and research expertise, for example.
The Finnish Meteorological Institute carries out international cooperation in the field of aviation weather, both in Europe and globally. Finnish aviation weather expertise is also used in international research and development projects, and it is exported around the world as part of FMI’s development cooperation projects.
“FMI is one of the global pioneers in its field. In Finland, we are part of the aviation family together with airports, air navigation, airlines and other aviation operators. We all have an important role to ensure smooth operations”, Riikka Pusa said.
100 years of aviation weather information
The aviation weather department of the Central Meteorological Institute, the predecessor of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, was established in Malmi, Helsinki on December 16, 1936. The first meteorologist in Malmi was Aili Nurminen (MS), who became Finland’s first chief aviation meteorologist two years later.
In the first decades, aviation weather products were mainly hand-made charts. Pilots were briefed for flights at the airport’s weather service, also known as “Meteo”.
Finland joined the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 1949. International cooperation has contributed to the current shape of the services – for example, aviation weather observations (METARs) and aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) have remained the basically same for more than half a century.
In the 1980s, FMI developed the first graphic workstation for weather forecasters. In 1997, a tool called TAF Editor was created for aviation weather forecasting to help aviation meteorologists.
On June 1, 2012, aviation observation services were transferred from Finavia to FMI, which is responsible for producing and developing aviation weather observation, forecasting and warning services in the Finnish Flight Information Region.
In related news, the Finnish Meteorological Institute recently begun collaborating with the Finnish Food Authority to develop a system that enables more precise monitoring and analysis of agricultural land conditions, crop potential and fertilizer needs. Click here to read the full story.
