Which aviation product is used for departure and en route operations weather forecasting?

The Terminal Aerodrome Forecast, or TAF, is specifically designed to provide weather forecasts for the area around an airport, which helps pilots during departure and en route operations. TAFs are typically issued for a 24 to 30-hour period and contain detailed information about expected weather conditions such as wind direction, visibility, significant weather phenomena, cloud cover, and forecasts for various flight altitudes.

Pilots rely on TAFs to make informed decisions about departure times, flight routing, and potential weather-related in-flight adjustments. The specificity of TAFs to terminal areas makes them essential for ensuring safe and efficient operations during the critical phases of flight that include takeoff and navigation through the en route segment.

While other products like METARs provide actual weather observations at specific airfields and can be useful for real-time weather updates, they do not offer forecasts for future conditions. AIRMETs provide information on potentially hazardous weather that may affect the safety of flight, but they are not tailored to individual departures and en route forecasting like TAFs. Pilot Weather Reports are also useful but are based on pilot observations and do not provide forecasted weather data. Thus, none of these alternatives serve the same forecasting purpose as TAFs for departure