Which tool provides pilots with information about significant weather phenomena that may affect safety?

• A. SIGMET
• B. METAR
• C. TAF
• D. PIREP

Answer: (A)

SIGMETs provide pilots with information about significant weather phenomena that may affect safety in flight. These advisories are issued specifically to alert crews to hazards like severe icing not related to convective activity, severe turbulence, dust storms, sandstorms, and volcanic ash clouds. They are designed for en-route awareness and help pilots make routing and operational decisions to avoid or mitigate dangerous conditions.

METARs and TAFs, by contrast, describe current or expected weather at airports or in the vicinity, not en-route hazards across a region. PIREPs are pilot-observed reports of weather conditions, which are useful for situational awareness but do not systematically communicate widespread, significant in-flight hazards the way a SIGMET does. So for information about significant weather phenomena that may affect safety, SIGMET is the appropriate tool.