Every flight I go on I check Turbli before I do it to check out how much turbulence there will be (nervous flyer). Almost every single time I have checked it, it ends up being absurdly accurate. Then today when I was on a flight the pilot said that for the next 4 minutes there will be severe turbulence but after it should be smooth sailing. I looked at the clock and he was exactly right. How did he know? What instruments show this and how do they work?
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Take a look at the Aviation Weather Center website run by NOAA. Specifically:
[AIRMETs](https://aviationweather.gov/gairmet) (AIRman’s METeorological Information) which outline areas of weather that may be hazardous to pilots, including high and low level turbulence. The turbulence AIRMETs will have an altitude and severity associated with them.
[PIREPs](https://aviationweather.gov/airep) (Pilot Reports) which include reports made to ATC by pilots for various weather observations including turbulence which includes where the report was, when it was made, and how severe it was.
By looking at the AIRMET forecast for your flight you can see if you’re going to fly into one of the turbulence areas and be ready for it. If you look at the PIREPs you can see if other planes that have gone through that air before you have encountered turbulence.
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