Pilot Weather Wisdom
Most pilots know only the façade of weather – very few seek its depth
Captain D
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Archived thunderstorm video
This site has been neglected. I upgraded it about a year ago to accommodate videos. Here is my first one.
Aviation Weather Podcast
I recently did a podcast with Andrew at Flying Smarter. He is a well informed aviation enthusiast and was a pleasure to talk to. At first, I was not proud of my performance, but after listening to it, the conversation turned out okay. (He must be super good at editing as well) LOL. I chime in at time 6:25.
Caribbean Flying and the Bermuda High
Anyone heading south? I’m heading to Punta Cana early this week for a 24 hour layover (third time this month) but not before I fly to Calgary and back. Just came across Pre-Covid videos as well as my pre-COVID enRoute articles. Seems enRoute is stuck in virtual land and hasn’t made it back the airplanes. Pity. The Bermuda High sits just…
Flirting with the Trop (tropopause)
This article recently appeared in Sporty’s Air facts section. It actually received a few comments. There are a two typos on their site but that’s show biz. Here’s the direct link Sporty’s Diagram found in Doug’s co-authored book: Pilot Weather: From Solo to the Airlines. It hints at an isothermal layer at the tropopause but does not depict a potential inversion.…
Head on with the Terminator
While approaching Toronto from the west, we witnessed the terminator, where night meets day…aka the twilight zone. Also deemed the grey line, this moving line is a perk pilots at altitude get to see. We were at flight level 390 (39,000 feet). There is another terminator associated with aviation, which some label a hard-nosed check pilot/airman. They are out there, and…
Darn it Damrey
On a recent Tokyo flight, the weather charts depicted a tropical storm cutting across our route. This prompted a somewhat rare call to flight dispatch querying our routing. My opening line, “Couldn’t you get us a little closer to the storm?” ensued in silence. I quickly retorted with “kidding,” and we quickly got into discussing our options. Damrey was forecast to…
Perpetual Peddling
“Are you captain Doug?” asked the B777 first officer while in Tokyo’s Narita Airport. He then queried whether I had a copy of my Canadian weather book. You never know when a book sale will transpire. “Always bring copies of your book” suggested my publisher. That I do.
Bestowed Bronze
The Independent Publisher (IPPY) awarded This Is Your Captain Speaking a bronze for the transportation (Auto/Aviation/Railroad) category. They wanted a pic with my medal so I told my student first officer that he had to take a pic to pass line indoctrination. My book still hasn’t made it to airport bookstores so maybe this will help.
The Antagonistic Aleutian Low
I’m presently on a cruise with Anchorage as the starting point. According to the locals, it has been a dismal summer weatherize. Looks like the Aleutian low-pressure system is trying to hang on. My two weather books describe it as a semi-permanent, subpolar area of low pressure located in the Gulf of Alaska near the Aleutian Islands. The area generates storms (cyclogenesis), and they…
Peddling on Canada Day
I got invited at the last minute to book sign at Threshold Aviation (CYYZ) on Canada Day. I sold 8 copies of This is Your Captain Speaking and one Canadian Aviation Weather over a period of 4 hours. Not super great, but at least they were giving away free ice cream. Happy Canada Day!
This Is Your Captain Speaking scores bronze
The 2023 Independent Publisher Book Awards bestowed a bronze standing for Captain D’s book in the transportation category. Hopefully, this will generate sales, but more importantly give it exposure to finally get in airport bookstores, where it belongs! After all, how much can the travelling public tolerate countless editions from Danielle Steel et al? It’s weird airport bookstores have little aviation…
The peddling and promoting pilot
Recently Avworld held a grand reopening of their aviation store when they moved next door and took over the infamous airport strip club. I was invited to sign books, but unfortunately the owners didn’t advertise the fact. I did sell 14 books and talked to great people over the course of six hours. There is also a new coffee shop there…
Pseudo Harvard Meteorology
If anyone wants to get their name on a Harvard certificate, take this online backyard meteorology course. It was at a grade-nine level, but Harvard produced some very informative videos put on by Professor Huth. The course is free, but there is a $60 USD fee if you want the certificate. It will be the closest I get to Harvard.
Wedding Weather Fears
Everyone planning a wedding hopes (prays) for fair weather, especially if the venue is outdoors. Luckily my middle daughter’s wedding two weeks ago was inside, but the glitch, it was perched 54 stories into Toronto’s skyline. (Yup, Dad helped with the price tag that came with this pricey vantage point). The two-week forecast foreshadowed rain for April 22nd. Later, the ten-day…
Lights, camera, action (It’s tough work)
I am trying to make a movie clip for an online ground school company using my weather book as a source. My son told me to use CapCut, which was painful, and it’s given me new respect for these online posters. It sure takes time! Yes there are booboos.
‘Brush with fate” makes the cut with Sporty’s
Here’s the link: They have a neat audio feature too. My credentials has one typo.
Allied weathermen duked it out days before D-Day
Toronto’s Royal Alexandria Theatre (a short walk from my condo) hosted a weather-themed play, Pressure. The allied forces led by General Eisenhower wanted to pounce on France’s Normandy beaches on June 5th, 1944. But British meteorologist, James Stagg, convinced the Allies to delay the attack by one day. Stagg knew the North Atlantic weather patterns and fully understood the impact of…
Flirting with Fate
Most aspiring pilots face the daunting task of building flight time required for those golden airline careers. Usually, this entails pilots paying their dues at small bottom-feeder companies whose reputations can sometimes be dubious and whose procedures may raise eyebrows. Like most pilots pining for that illustrious flying job, I decided to leave my cushy federal posting as a meteorologist and…
AQP4PP (Advanced Qualification Program for Private Pilots)
JETPRO is pleased to announce a training program for pilots owning and operating sophisticated aircraft who lack the benefit of an airline-like Advanced Qualification Program (AQP). It deals with pilots that may have overreached when buying an airplane, labeled Pilot Overreach Syndrome. Similar to when I purchased a lengthy sailboat and just learned to sail. The three-day ground school is for…
Happy National Weather Person Day!
I was just informed February 5th honors the weatherman (weather person). Who knew? Funny, I signed up for a free “backyard meteorology” course from Harvard University today. Why is a certified meteorologist taking such a simplified course? Not sure. Very few ever admit to when the weatherman is right, so happy weather person day, everybody. I became a certified meteorologist from…
Podcast with Sporty’s
A few weeks ago I chatted with John Zimmerman, who runs a huge pilot shop/training center in Ohio. Here is the intro: As a former meteorologist and a 25,000-hour airline captain, Doug Morris loves to talk about weather—but he’s worried most other pilots don’t share his love. He talks about the most misunderstood weather concept, whether forecasts are getting better, and…
Wind was the Essential — How the Weatherman Instigated Flight
After a recent talk, I received a copy of David McCullough’s well-researched book, The Wright Brothers. Most pilots think they know the Kitty Hawk story, but I learned I didn’t. Wilbur and Orville Wright determined early in their multitude of experiments that wind was a must. Wilbur (oldest of the two) wrote to the United States Weather Bureau in Washington…
Link to Carleton University low-visibility talk
I just received a link to my recent talk in Ottawa regarding the B787, low visibility, and aviation in general. During the talk, I was told not to move around too much. I obviously didn’t heed this advice and moved about too much. Plus, I wish they had superimposed the questions asked onto the video. One has to guess what is…
The weather Grinch that stole Christmas
What a storm! When teaching weather, I frequently take the Socratic approach by asking questions. The most profound question I ask…if the surface winds are from the east, which way is the low-pressure system moving? Most of the time, I either get silence or the wrong answer. I must admit it is a loaded question, a sort of, which came first,…
CASI (CDN Aeronautics & Space Institute) Talk
November 23 saw Captain D give a presentation at Carleton University (Ottawa) for CASI. It was nice to hang around bright, upbeat people. I was very impressed with Carleton and the engineering department. Someone needs to set up an affiliated flight school/program. For decades, the ILS (Instrument Landing System) has guided pilots to safe landings in low visibility. Captain Doug Morris…
Southbound? Caribbean Flying
Airline schedules will be redirecting their flights southward as the days get shorter. You may be planning an adventuresome Caribbean cross-country flight, flying a biz jet or airliner to a sunny destination, or heading there on vacay. Flying within the Horse latitudes At around 30° north and south of the equator semi-permanent high pressure systems form due to subsidence —sinking air.…
Greece: Meteorology’s Origin
The first page of both my weather books mentions Aristotle’s discourse (Meteorologica) written in 340 B.C. I am recently back from a Greek Island and Turkish cruise with a few days spent in Athens, Greece. Everyone wants to head the Acropolis (I did that too), but I learned about Aristotle’s Lyceum. (I had to look up the definition…a literary institution, lecture…
Every wind has its weather
17th-century English philosopher Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Every wind has its weather.” The contiguous US and the southern portion of Canada sit in latitudes where the winds prevail from the west (at the surface and aloft). But this vast geographic area is also conducive to the birth of low pressure systems. At the onset of learning weather, a pilot knows winds…
Are weather vanes oriented true or magnetic?
On a recent LAX layover, my F/O stood me up so I walked to Manhattan Beach where there is a pier with a small aquarium at the end. On its roof is a weather vane which triggered a thought…are weather vanes oriented to true or magnetic north? Did the builder wait until sunrise or sunset to figure a true heading or…
Aviation Weather Blog
About Me Hi, I am Captain D. I fly for an airline with a maple leaf emblazoned on its fuselage. My forte is weather and wrote two weather books for pilots. I have another readying for the printers. Have any aviation weather stories? Subscribe to My Blog Get new content delivered directly to your inbox.
Wall Street Journal article
Captain D was interviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Bad Atmosphere As a captain for Air Canada, pilot Captain Doug Morris has gotten plenty of practice this summer (politely) delivering bad news to passengers. Very often the blame is assigned to the weather. “Mother Nature can throw a lot of curveballs. She can challenge us,” said Mr. Morris, who is also a…
Weather dodging outside the realm of ATC
They begin to “paint” on the weather radar and rear their ugly, ominous heads. Thunderstorms are on the horizon while flying in a remote area — perhaps over the Pacific or the Atlantic Ocean or maybe cruising the thunderstorm-infested Brazil’s Amazon jungle. VHF radios are out of range, and HF (High Frequency) is nothing but unreadable static. Your company promised CPDLC…
Sucker Holes
A non-aviator asked me what’s a sucker hole. Pilots learn not to fly through a hole (sucker hole) or near a thunderstorm, because it may fill in and get nasty. It’s a meteorological temptation. Having said that, I will take a “hole” over a wall of nasty clouds anytime. Holes can get a pilot out of a predicament sometimes, but other times,…
Australian Aviation podcast
I recently did a podcast with a large aviation firm, Australian Aviation. Plus they wrote a great article boosting my new book. I think both went well.
Audiobook for This Is Your Captain Speaking is out
If you want to listen to a crusty 60 year old captain for over seven hours then click on the following pic. It took four days in the studio downtown Toronto to get it right. Justin Bieber, Nelly Furtado and Chris Hadfield also recorded there.
This Is Your Captain Speaking
Book #4 has arrived. Captain Doug Morris has been writing for his airline’s in-flight magazine for 24 years and answered a gamut of questions. This sequel to his bestselling book, From the Flight Deck: Plane Talk andSky Science, explains everything you wanted to know about airline travel, such as: Do airliners have keys? What do aircrew get up to on layovers?…
Captain D (60 in 60 at 60)
July 7th saw me enter the realm of the 6th decade. When am I going to retire? In about two years. I have a book to promote this coming spring (2022). My tennis partner filmed me, but the first take was photo bombed by a maintenance guy that felt it necessary to sweep the court. I actually did 120 pushups. True…
Psych 101—flying with weather fear
While editing my draft for Pilot Weather Wisdom and paralleling (no, not plagiarizing) what famous Robert Buck states in his iconic book, Weather Flying, I should talk about pilot weather psychology Years ago, when looking toward the sky, I read an article in an aviation magazine about an airline pilot that developed a fear of flying. I thought, how…
Book #5 (Pilot Weather Wisdom)
This future book hit its first wave of turbulence. FYI, Book #4 has been put on hold until next spring. “This is Your Captain Speaking: Stories from the Cockpit has entered a long holding pattern due to COVID. I wrote about 260 pages for book #5, thinking it could do with some tweaking but overall I thought it was almost ready…
Interview with Skywing World
There is a new virtual aviation book store in Toronto. These two young guys are keen for business. Yes, they are selling my book and I recently had a debut interview with Gabe, Skywing’s partner.
Canadian Aviation Weather edition #3 has landed
Finally, the books arrived. I think the “nip and tuck” worked out well. However, I only printed 100 copies and I am nearly out. Don’t fret, another 200 are coming in 2 to 3 weeks. I think, I hope, I believe.
Canadian Aviation Weather gets a facelift
CAW #3 will be available at the end of February. I hope. Due to miscommunication, printers breaking down and planets not lining up things were delayed about a month and a half. The new “nip and tuck” version will be full colour, have an extra chapter on altimetry, errors and typos fixed with a new cover. Plus an eBook version will…
A little weather Quiz
I found this weather quiz I wrote about a year ago. Advanced Meteorology Quiz Global Weather: The area ten to fifteen degrees north and south of the equator associated with rising air, convection, and low pressure systems is: Horse latitudes Bermuda high pressure ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) Tropic of Cancer 2. Jet Streams: A jet stream is located in…
Europe’s Volcanic Ash Fiasco
Studying at Purdue University for a Masters. Lots of papers. Here is one on the eruption of Iceland’s volcano in 2010 that brought European airspace to its knees. Abstract Iceland’s eruption of Eyjafjallajökull (pronounced “A-ya-fyat-la-yœk-utl”) in April and May of 2010 spewed volcanic ash high into an eastward-moving jet stream, paralyzing Europe’s airspace located directly downwind. The eruption released 750…
Canadian/American METARs vis-à-vis
Nearly 90% of Canadians live within 100 miles of the American border so there is a good chance a pilot will head south of the border or visit Alaska. We know weather has no political boundaries, but you’ll find METARs have inherent differences when comparing observations vis-à-vis (face to face). ***Sadly, NAV CANADA’s archaic website (AWWS) only provides Canadian weather. A…
Website for Pilot Weather gets a facelift
Everything succumbs to the test of time and that includes websites. The creator of the original website did an okay job. Rumour has it, he flies airplanes for a living. Come over for a visit and enjoy the nips and tucks. Our new site! Still the same address just a new facade.
Every Wind has its Weather
17th century English philosopher, Sir Francis Bacon wrote, “Every wind has its weather,” but singer Bob Dylan averred, “You don’t need a weatherman to know where the wind blows.” Fair enough. Contiguous USA and the southern portion of Canada sit in latitudes where the winds prevail from the west. That’s at the surface and aloft. But this huge spread of latitude…
Dew points and pilots
Dew point is the temperature at which condensation starts at a constant pressure. (Make sure you include “at a constant pressure” when answering your exam question on dew point). Dew point is found on METARs immediately after the ambient temperature. Pilots should always be looking at temperature/dew point spreads. Knowing the temperature and dew point temperature will provide you with important…
Podcast with Ryan at Cardinal Aviation
Did a 30 minute podcast interview with Ryan Van Haren co-founder/owner of Cardinal Aviation located on Canada’s West coast.
Dubious, devious, deluding highs
Pilots learn to watch out for ominous low pressure systems and troughs and generally welcome highs and ridges. Highs and ridges induce pleasantness, sunny outlooks, fair weather, harmony, a sense of well-being. “Feel high in a high and low in a low.” (Just made that up). But high pressure systems can be massive in area, and because of it, succumb to…
Have you hugged your weatherman?
We are taught to be skeptical of the weatherman. After all, you received 10 inches of snow instead of the 8 inches they promised. They predicted cloud bases to be 3,000 feet, but they started at 2,500 feet. Maybe unlimited visibility was assured, but haze reduced visibility to six miles. How could they be so wrong? We are all well entrenched…
Are you on your weather game?
When flying in a two-pilot flight deck you can tell whether your partner is on their game. No, I am not referring to competence – that’s another story, but whether they are having a good day. You see it with the best of pilots. But this downfall occurs in most facets of life. I also see it when playing hockey, either…
Pilot Weather Wisdom book
While sitting home under the siege of COVID-19, it was time to finish book#5, PILOT WEATHER WISDOM. By posting excerpts of the book for feedback, I hope to enhance things from your suggestions and experiences. Do you know your scales? Nope, not talking about music. Weather is categorized based on scales. Some refer to it as scales of motion. Weather is…
First of many…I hope.
Hello and welcome to Pilot Weather Wisdom. There are tons of aviation weather books but they dwell in theory, including my two. Not many take you to another realm of pondering weather and imparting wisdom. There exists one iconic book, Weather Flying by Robert Buck. I am presently writing a sequel to his. This will be my fifth book. I hope…
May 2020 Debut
In the midst of COVID-19 there emerged a blog, Pilot Weather Wisdom. Follow me and I’ll follow you…
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About Captain D
Captain D flies for an airline with a maple leaf emblazoned on its tail. He is a certified meteorologist, author of four books, writes for his company’s in-flight magazine and teaches weather. Need books? Click here
Hello and welcome to Pilot Weather Wisdom
Captain D is a bi-aviator. Yup, I talk both Boeing and Airbus. I know both Canadian and American weather and its infrastructure. Yes, there is a difference. I parley in English and pilot french. Do you see the cumulus granite?
Want to learn more about aviation meteorology?
This book zooms in on Canadian weather for pilots but addresses American differences and weather abroad. You are not going to find a better weather book in Canada for pilots. If you do, let me know.
Pilot Weather consists of 400 colour pages. It was co-authored with Scott Dennstaedt and carries a lot of American weight. Both Scott and I strongly believe it is the new gold standard.
Flight from Within
With age comes wisdom
With wisdom comes knowledge
Knowledge breeds words
Words open doors
Doors open to freedom
Freedom brings flight from within
Captain D…
Pilot Weather Wisdom 
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