LAMP – Another Acronym To Remember

InFO 17006, Use of the Localized Aviation Model-Output-Statistics (MOS) Program (LAMP), Weather Product.

The FAA doesn't even keep you in suspense. They give it away in the short title they give to their InFO products. Don't worry, there won't be a quiz at the end and it is not likely you will ever have to repeat Localized Aviation Model-Output-Statistics (MOS) Program. The important thing is to know what it is and how it may help you.

Basically the LAMP uses raw data and creates a forecast of what may happen based on statistics. This automated information is updated hourly. The advantage is that it may give insight and a helpful overall sense of the weather and trends, even at airports that are unattended full time.

A great example is that well-known place – Belmar, NJ (KBLM). You have an early morning flight scheduled into Belmar. The area weather forecast allows you to go, but it would be nice to have site-specific information. Check out the items you can see about Belmar:

If you know there might be morning fog, you can select only the temperature, dewpoint, ceiling, and visibility boxes. You will get graphs for each item, similar to the temperature graph below:

Note the temperature is in Fahrenheit. This is the NOAA website and is not aviation-specific.

They also have maps. Here is one that shows the likelihood of convective activity. This is NOT a radar product. It does not show precipitation intensity, only the likelihood of convective activity.

There is a wealth of information, and you may even find a few favorite areas that help your overall weather awareness for a flight.

Check out the LAMP pages for more information.