Image to right: Shown here is the TAMDAR instrument, a sensor that, when attached to commuter aircraft, gathers valuable data on weather conditions at 25,000 feet and below. Image credit: NASA Langley Research Center/Jeff Caplan

The Tropospheric Airborne Meteorological Data Report (TAMDAR) instrument allows aircraft flying below 25,000 feet to detect and report atmospheric conditions. Satellites then send the aircraft’s observations to a ground data center that processes and distributes up-to-date weather information to forecasters, pilots, and other aviation personnel.

In January 2005, NASA selected Mesaba Airlines in Minneapolis as its industry partner for a critical in-flight testing period. During the 12-month Great Lakes Fleet Experiment, the commuter airline's 63 regional SAAB 340 aircraft jets were fitted with TAMDAR. With 400 flights per day, the fleet provided an average 25,000 observations per day.

Project leaders reported that initial results show that TAMDAR delivered a 10 to 20 percent improvement in the error rate on temperature forecasts. Team members from the National Weather Service reported that TAMDAR proved useful in forecasting severe thunderstorms, dense fog, precipitation types of winter storms, and low-level wind shear. During summer months, TAMDAR was best used to determine if and when thunderstorms might develop. During winter months, TAMDAR helped determine whether a storm would bring sleet, freezing rain or snow.

TAMDAR Team
NASA Langley Research Center, AirDat, FAA, NOAA, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory, Meteorological Service of Canada, UK MET Office, Meteorological Network of Europe