A New Generation of the Aviation Forecast Verification System

"Annual average of forecasting accuracy shall comply with the requirement based on ICAO recommendations and desirable accuracy of forecasts." This is not simply a motto but one of the quality objectives of the Observatory in the provision of meteorological forecast services for international air navigation. For gauging forecasting accuracy, the Observatory has been using an objective verification system to evaluate the accuracy of the terminal aerodrome forecasts (TAFs) issued by the Airport Meteorological Office for the Hong Kong International Airport.

Transition from 24-hour TAF to 30-hour TAF with changes in code format scheduled for November 2008 was a trigger to review the Observatory's Aviation Forecast Verification System. After a thorough review, the opportunity was taken to build a new system with enhanced portability and user-friendliness to facilitate its wider use. After a quarter-long testing, the new Aviation Forecast Verification System was rolled out on 5 November 2008 to replace the old system.