Graphical Tropical Cyclone SIGMET

Traditionally, SIGMET information issued by a meteorological watch office regarding the occurrence or forecast of en-route hazardous weather phenomena was only available in abbreviated plain text language. Starting from August 2005, tropical cyclone SIGMET in graphical form for the Hong Kong Control Area, whenever issued, has been made available on AMIDS in addition to the plain-text version. The format of the graphical tropical cyclone SIGMET, formulated by Hong Kong, is being processed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to be adopted as a worldwide standard. In time, it is expected that the graphical SIGMET would eventually be uplinked to the aircraft to enhance the situational awareness of pilots of weather hazards during flight.

Graphical tropical cyclone SIGMET for Severe Tropical Storm Sanvu on 13 August 2005