CHIEF WARRANT OFFICER 2 DAN CLAPP              
3-1 Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Combat Aviation Brigade            
Fort Riley, Kansas

Don’t shop around for weather. We’ve all heard it. I took it to heart, but recently I learned the importance of backing up my legal weather brief with outside sources.

My company was deemed the Crashworthy External Fuel System (CEFS) company in the battalion, and we had started mounting the wings and tanks for training purposes. No one was using the CEFS to extend the range of a flight beyond our standard unfitted capability, and this was beginning to bother one of our senior pilots. He had planned a few long-haul flights that got canceled at the last minute due to weather. His goal was to fly from Fort Riley, Kansas (KFRI), to Sioux Falls, South Dakota (KFSD), at the very edge of our “local” flying area. I, being a very green pilot in command, decided I would gladly take the long flight to help accrue PC hours. 

On the day of our flight, we received the official weather brief from our Air Force briefers. There wasn’t a single red flag (or amber, for that matter). It was all green across the board — albeit a little chilly in South Dakota. I didn’t even think to consult other weather sources. If the official forecast is questionable, obviously I’ll confirm with an outside source. However, when it’s forecasted to be clear skies for the duration of the mission, I like to assume the weather briefers can at least get that right. Of course, we all know what it means to assume. 

Fast forward a few hours and we’re about 20 minutes south of KFSD. We had been tuning up Automated Surface Observing Systems (ASOS) and Automated Terminal Information Services (ATIS) for airports along our route of flight. Everything seemed to be as forecasted. Then, as we are approaching our destination, I saw a wall of clouds forming in the distance. This was a serious wall of clouds. We were now in range to tune up KFSD’s ATIS. No ceiling, light winds. I thought my eyes were fooling me. Those storm clouds must be farther away than they appeared. Wrong! 

We landed, closed out our flight plan, and headed inside to pay for fuel and call for a weather update. I checked the radar on my phone. A snowstorm was fast approaching. I remember my PI saying, “I guess this is why nobody ever flies to South Dakota.” By the time I got on the phone with Fort Riley weather, it was starting to get dark outside, and sunset wasn’t for another hour. I began to catastrophize. 

I wondered how much a hotel stay for five people was going to cost in Sioux Falls. But weather said we were good to go — legal visual flight rules (VFR) conditions all the way back to Riley if we could get off the ground before the storm was upon us. They were predicting 200-foot ceilings moving in with and behind the storm. I deliberated with the entire crew and called my mission briefer. This was my first major decision as a PC. Did I cancel our return flight right then and risk being socked in by the low ceilings behind the storm? Or did we try to beat out the storm? 

I decided not to cancel just yet. I knew if we did the storm would slow down, giving us plenty of time to take off and we would have squandered it. We would proceed as if we were going to take off immediately after refueling was complete. We wouldn’t rush or push the VFR envelope; but we weren’t simply going to wait either. 

My PI called to file the flight plan while our crew chiefs and I went back out to the helicopter. About half way there, I felt the first snowflake. We could see the clouds descending on the airfield. In another minute, it was like a blizzard. Snow was blowing sideways, and we could barely see the hangars on the other side of the runway. Getting ready to fly quickly became tying down blades and throwing on all the covers. At least we didn’t waste a chance at getting out. With freezing hands and faces, we buttoned up the bird and hurried back to the shelter of the FBO.

This seemed as good a time as any to grab the keys to the courtesy car and head into Sioux Falls for dinner. We wouldn’t be going anywhere anytime soon — at least not if the cloud cover was anything near what we had just been briefed in our weather update. As we pulled out of the airport, five grown men crammed into a Ford Fiesta, we began to see sunlight from behind the storm clouds. In a matter of 30 minutes, the weather went from cloudless skies to a dark winter squall and was now beginning to clear up again. 

By the time we made it to our dinner locale downtown, we could see every star in the sky. So much for those forecasted 200-foot ceilings coming in behind the front. After dinner, our return flight was uneventful and straight forward. Luckily, we avoided any dangerous situations. Unfortunately, we also seemed to avoid any accurate weather briefs that day.

Don’t shop around for a legal weather brief. Army Regulation 95-1 tells us weather information will be obtained from a U.S. military weather source. But there’s nothing that says we can’t double-check that — even if you’re briefed clear, blue and 22. With all of the resources out there like Foreflight, 1-800-WX-BRIEF, Accuweather, etc., literally at our fingertips, there’s no reason to not do it.