The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is expanding its aviation weather camera program, adding dozens of new systems in remote and weather challenged regions like Alaska.
According to the agency, the plan includes 64 new weather camera locations and 60 Visual Weather Observation Systems (VWOS) to be installed by 2028. The goal is to help pilots make better preflight and in-flight decisions by providing up-to-date visual weather information alongside standard forecasts and reports.
Weather cameras have been part of FAA operations for more than two decades, originally developed in Alaska to address the challenges of limited weather reporting across vast, sparsely monitored regions. The system provides near-real-time images—typically updated every 10 minutes—showing conditions at airports, mountain passes, and other key flight routes.
The FAA says the newer VWOS units expand on that concept by pairing 360-degree camera views with automated surface weather sensors similar to traditional observing stations, giving pilots both visual and numerical weather data from a single location.
“Placing weather cameras throughout Alaska has saved a lot of lives, says Adam White, a past president of the Alaska Airmen Association. “The saying a picture is worth a thousand words is definitely true here in Alaska, with the weather camera program.”
The rollout of the additional cameras and observation systems is expected to continue through 2028 as part of the agency’s broader effort to modernize weather information available to pilots operating in challenging environments.
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