Narrative:

Center provides convective sigmets on ATC frequency for areas of severe/hazardous WX. Boundaries of these WX areas are often provided to high altitude aircraft based on cities and/or low altitude fixes. This makes it difficult to reference the area in relation to the intended route of flight since neither cities or low altitude VOR's are depicted on high altitude charts. The converse is also true. The fixes used by NOAA/FAA are intermixed west/O regard to being low or high altitude. In a 2-M cockpit, over unfamiliar territory, it is seldom possible to search through low altitude charts. High altitude controllers should be provided with SIGMET text which references only high altitude fixes, and low altitude controllers should broadcast boundaries defined only by low altitude fixes. The information they provide is important, but it must be made more usable. This eliminates guesswork and allows for timely diversion planning if necessary. Callback conversation with reporter revealed the following: reporter amplified his comments re: the difficulty of trying to define areas of bad WX relative to the route of flight when workload in the 2-MAN aircraft is already high, especially in the presence F adverse WX. He said that sometimes reports are given with a combination of low altitude and high altitude fixes, or simply low altitude fixes alone. This is especially cumbersome when pilots are flying in relatively unfamiliar areas where they do not necessarily know the 3 letter idents being references.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: ACR REPORTER COMPLAINS THAT AREAS OF SEVERE WX, AS DESCRIBED IN HIWAAS BROADCASTS OR AS DISSEMINATED BY ARTCC CTLRS, ARE DESCRIBED BY FIXES WHICH DO NOT APPEAR ON HIGH ALT NAVIGATION CHARTS, THEREBY MAKING IT DIFFICULT FOR FLT CREWS TO LOCATE SEVERE WX AREAS AS THEY RELATE TO THEIR ROUTE OF FLT.

Narrative: CENTER PROVIDES CONVECTIVE SIGMETS ON ATC FREQ FOR AREAS OF SEVERE/HAZARDOUS WX. BOUNDARIES OF THESE WX AREAS ARE OFTEN PROVIDED TO HIGH ALT ACFT BASED ON CITIES AND/OR LOW ALT FIXES. THIS MAKES IT DIFFICULT TO REF THE AREA IN RELATION TO THE INTENDED RTE OF FLT SINCE NEITHER CITIES OR LOW ALT VOR'S ARE DEPICTED ON HIGH ALT CHARTS. THE CONVERSE IS ALSO TRUE. THE FIXES USED BY NOAA/FAA ARE INTERMIXED W/O REGARD TO BEING LOW OR HIGH ALT. IN A 2-M COCKPIT, OVER UNFAMILIAR TERRITORY, IT IS SELDOM POSSIBLE TO SEARCH THROUGH LOW ALT CHARTS. HIGH ALT CTLRS SHOULD BE PROVIDED WITH SIGMET TEXT WHICH REFERENCES ONLY HIGH ALT FIXES, AND LOW ALT CTLRS SHOULD BROADCAST BOUNDARIES DEFINED ONLY BY LOW ALT FIXES. THE INFO THEY PROVIDE IS IMPORTANT, BUT IT MUST BE MADE MORE USABLE. THIS ELIMINATES GUESSWORK AND ALLOWS FOR TIMELY DIVERSION PLANNING IF NECESSARY. CALLBACK CONVERSATION WITH RPTR REVEALED THE FOLLOWING: RPTR AMPLIFIED HIS COMMENTS RE: THE DIFFICULTY OF TRYING TO DEFINE AREAS OF BAD WX RELATIVE TO THE RTE OF FLT WHEN WORKLOAD IN THE 2-MAN ACFT IS ALREADY HIGH, ESPECIALLY IN THE PRESENCE F ADVERSE WX. HE SAID THAT SOMETIMES RPTS ARE GIVEN WITH A COMBINATION OF LOW ALT AND HIGH ALT FIXES, OR SIMPLY LOW ALT FIXES ALONE. THIS IS ESPECIALLY CUMBERSOME WHEN PLTS ARE FLYING IN RELATIVELY UNFAMILIAR AREAS WHERE THEY DO NOT NECESSARILY KNOW THE 3 LETTER IDENTS BEING REFERENCES.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2007 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.