Narrative:

At the time I released [the flight]; cmh had a VFR forecast and an alternate was not required. However; the filed route penetrated several wsi turbulence plots; so I planned additional fuel for possible turbulence deviations from the filed profile. Later that afternoon a line of thunderstorms developed along a cold front stretching from south of sdf up over day to lake erie just west of cle. As [the flight] began their descent over ind; I contacted the pilot via radio to update them on the line of thunderstorms ahead. I also added an alternate of day; which was emerging out the backside of the line and was rapidly improving. I advised the pilot that based on the current track and speed of the thunderstorms; it would be at least one hour or more before the line would impact cmh. I told him that if he could find a break in the line; cmh is clear on the east side of the line. I also gave the pilot the weather and fuel burn to ind as a possible second option. I then sent a recap of our radio conversation and amendment via ACARS.the aircraft descended to FL080 and turned north heading up the backside of line toward lake erie. It was also around this time that fusion lost the asdi (aircraft solution display to industry) information for [the flight] and was showing it as a hollowed icon on my screen on the west side of the heading north. None of my other flights were hollowed (or ghosting). I tried switching servers but it did not help. My relief showed up around this time and I told him to pull up a chair as I'm not ready to turnover the desk. I explained what was happening. At one point the hollowed aircraft icon showed over cmh and I was expecting to see an 'on ground' time appear in swift and ACARS any minute. However; after a while the asdi connection must have been re-established and the icon jumped back to the west side of the line but further north. I sent a howgozit message to check the fuel and the aircraft had 7.2 onboard. A few minutes later I sent an ACARS message to the pilot suggesting if it does not look good; their alternate day is south and dtw is to the north (the aircraft was now about equal distance away from both airports). I did not get any reply. Approximately 5 minutes later I sent another message via ACARS and asked the pilot does he want to change his alternate or destination? Again; I did not receive a reply. I checked the fuel again and the aircraft had 6.7 onboard.I decided I would change the destination to dtw; but the aircraft turned east just northwest of cle. I then made another fuel check and the aircraft had 6.2 onboard.I now considered changing destination to cle; but the aircraft was on the east side of the line of thunderstorms and had a clear route south to cmh. Additionally; the line was still an hour or more away from impacting cmh. I did another fuel check and the aircraft now had 5.6 onboard. Fusion showed the aircraft's current position to be approximately 90nm and 18 minutes from touchdown at cmh. I did a rough calculation in my head and concluded that the aircraft would land at or above the 3.5 far fuel on the release; so I turned the desk over to the relieving dispatcher.a few minutes later the pilot sent an ACARS message stating they were 'going to cmh.' the aircraft was now descending from FL080 just southwest of cle.once I got home; I called the dispatcher who relieved me and asked about the arrival fuel into cmh. He said the aircraft made a routine landing in cmh and landed with 2.8 onboard. The dispatcher had not talked to the pilot and did not know if the pilot declared a fuel emergency.in the absence of communication with the pilot; I was considering diverting [the flight] to it's alternate of day or changing it's destination to dtw by contacting cleveland center or airnc. However; once the aircraft turned east and went around the north end of the line of thunderstorms I was confident it would land safely at cmh. However; in retrospect iregret not contacting the pilot through ATC or airnc and at least ascertaining his intentions and discussing my alternative options. Additionally; when the pilot notified dispatch that he was 'going to cmh' I or the relieving dispatcher should have requested the pilots estimated arrival fuel at cmh. We then could have decided to change the destination to cle or cak and land at or above far. I also regret not working the numbers in the opc to come up with an actual burn instead of doing the calculations in my head. In the future I will make every effort to maintain operational control and reach out to airnc or ATC to help re-establish communication with a pilot to ascertain their intensions and offer alternative options if available.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air Carrier Dispatcher reported that a flight he was working landed in CMH with less than the required fuel reserve due to unforecast weather.

Narrative: At the time I released [the flight]; CMH had a VFR forecast and an Alternate was not required. However; the filed route penetrated several WSI Turbulence Plots; so I planned additional fuel for possible turbulence deviations from the filed profile. Later that afternoon a line of thunderstorms developed along a cold front stretching from south of SDF up over DAY to Lake Erie just west of CLE. As [the flight] began their descent over IND; I contacted the Pilot via radio to update them on the line of thunderstorms ahead. I also added an alternate of DAY; which was emerging out the backside of the line and was rapidly improving. I advised the Pilot that based on the current track and speed of the thunderstorms; it would be at least one hour or more before the line would impact CMH. I told him that if he could find a break in the line; CMH is clear on the east side of the line. I also gave the Pilot the weather and fuel burn to IND as a possible second option. I then sent a recap of our radio conversation and amendment via ACARS.The aircraft descended to FL080 and turned north heading up the backside of line toward Lake Erie. It was also around this time that FUSION lost the ASDI (Aircraft Solution Display to Industry) information for [the flight] and was showing it as a hollowed icon on my screen on the west side of the heading north. None of my other flights were hollowed (or ghosting). I tried switching servers but it did not help. My relief showed up around this time and I told him to pull up a chair as I'm not ready to turnover the desk. I explained what was happening. At one point the hollowed aircraft icon showed over CMH and I was expecting to see an 'On Ground' time appear in SWIFT and ACARS any minute. However; after a while the ASDI connection must have been re-established and the icon jumped back to the west side of the line but further north. I sent a HOWGOZIT message to check the fuel and the aircraft had 7.2 onboard. A few minutes later I sent an ACARS message to the Pilot suggesting if it does not look good; their alternate DAY is south and DTW is to the north (the aircraft was now about equal distance away from both airports). I did not get any reply. Approximately 5 minutes later I sent another message via ACARS and asked the Pilot does he want to change his alternate or destination? Again; I did not receive a reply. I checked the fuel again and the aircraft had 6.7 onboard.I decided I would change the Destination to DTW; but the aircraft turned east just northwest of CLE. I then made another fuel check and the aircraft had 6.2 onboard.I now considered changing destination to CLE; but the aircraft was on the east side of the line of thunderstorms and had a clear route south to CMH. Additionally; the line was still an hour or more away from impacting CMH. I did another fuel check and the aircraft now had 5.6 onboard. Fusion showed the aircraft's current position to be approximately 90nm and 18 minutes from touchdown at CMH. I did a rough calculation in my head and concluded that the aircraft would land at or above the 3.5 FAR FUEL on the release; so I turned the desk over to the relieving Dispatcher.A few minutes later the Pilot sent an ACARS message stating they were 'GOING TO CMH.' The aircraft was now descending from FL080 just southwest of CLE.Once I got home; I called the Dispatcher who relieved me and asked about the arrival fuel into CMH. He said the aircraft made a routine landing in CMH and landed with 2.8 onboard. The Dispatcher had not talked to the Pilot and did not know if the Pilot declared a Fuel Emergency.In the absence of communication with the Pilot; I was considering diverting [the flight] to it's alternate of DAY or changing it's destination to DTW by contacting Cleveland Center or AIRNC. However; once the aircraft turned east and went around the north end of the line of thunderstorms I was confident it would land safely at CMH. However; in retrospect Iregret not contacting the Pilot through ATC or AIRNC and at least ascertaining his intentions and discussing my alternative options. Additionally; when the Pilot notified Dispatch that he was 'GOING TO CMH' I or the relieving Dispatcher should have requested the Pilots estimated arrival fuel at CMH. We then could have decided to change the destination to CLE or CAK and land at or above FAR. I also regret not working the numbers in the OPC to come up with an actual burn instead of doing the calculations in my head. In the future I will make every effort to maintain operational control and reach out to AIRNC or ATC to help re-establish communication with a Pilot to ascertain their intensions and offer alternative options if available.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.