National Weather Service
Contractions

Forecasters preparing Area Forecast Discussions (AFD) will once-in-a-while use abbreviations and contractions in their discussion. Although, forecasters now try to limit the number of abbreviations and contractions used in AFDs since they are now disseminated to a wider audience. AFDs in the past were almost exclusively used for internal coordination between weather forecast offices before the internet became popular. Below, is a list of common abbreviations and contractions that the weather forecast office in Shreveport and other forecast officies might use from time to time.

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• ADVY - Advisory
• AFTN - Afternoon
• AOA - At or Above
• AOB - At or Below
• ATTM - At This Time
• AVN - The Aviation Model (120-hour numerical model of the atmosphere)

• BECMG - Becoming
• BKN - Broken
• BL - Boundary Layer

• C - Celcius
• CAPE - Convective Available Potential Energy
• CAA - Cold Air Advection
• CB - Cumulonimbus clouds (thunderstorms)
• CHC - Chance
• CI - Cirrus clouds
• CONUS - Contnental U.S.
• COORD - Coordination
• CU - Cumulus clouds
• CWA - County Warning Area
• CWFA - County Warning and Forecast Area

  
  

• DEQ - De Queen, AR
• DVV - Downward Vertical Velocity (sinking air)
  
• DZ - Drizzle

• E - East
• ELD - El Dorado, AR
• ECMWF - The European Center's Medium-range Weather Forecast Model (7-day numerical model)
• ETA - The Eta Model (60-hour numerical model of the atmosphere)

• F - Fahrenheit
• FA - Forecast Area
• FCST - Forecast
• FROPA - Frontal Passage
• FT - Foot or Feet
• FWC - NGM MOS Guidance

• GGG - Longview, TX (airport ASOS)

• IR - Infrared
• ISOLD - Isolated

• KSHV - Refers to either the Shreveport Doppler Radar, ASOS, or Upper Air Sounding
• KT(S) - Knot(s)

• LFQ - Left Front Quandrant
• LI - Lifted Index
• LLJ - Low Level Jet
  
• LFK - Lufkin, TX
  
  

• MAV - AVN MOS Guidance
• MB - Millibar
• MCS - Mesoscale Convective System (smaller or shorter lived than a MCC)
• MCC - Mesoscale Convective Complex
• MEX - MRF MOS
• MLU - Monroe, LA
• MOS - Model Output Statistics
• MRF - The Medium Range Forecast Model (10-day numerical model of the atmosphere)

• N - North
• NE - Northeast
• NERN - Northeastern
• NGM - The Nested Grid Model (48-hour numerical model of the atmosphere)
• NM - Nautical Mile(s)
• NOGAPS - Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (120-hour numerical model)
• NRN - Northern
• NVA - Negative Vorticity Advection
• NW - Northwest
• NWRN - Northwestern
• NWS - National Weather Service

• OBS - Observations
  
• OCH - Nacogdoches, TX
  
• OVC - Overcast

• PCPN - Precipitation
• POP - Probability of Precipitation
• PROG - Forecast
• PVA - Positive Vorticity Advection
• PW - Precipitable Water
• PWAT - Precipitable Water

• QG - Quasigeostrophic
• QPF - Quantitative Precipitation Forecast

• RA - Rain
• RAOB - Radiosonde Observation (Upper Air Observation)
• RH - Relative Humidity
• RRQ - Right Rear Quadrant
• RUC - The Rapid Update Cycle Model (12-hour numerical model of the atmosphere)

• S - South
• SAT - Satellite
• SCT - Scattered
• SE - Southeast
• SERN - Southeastern
• SFC - Surface
• SHRA - Rain Showers
  
• SHV - Shreveport, LA
  
• SRN - Southern
• SW - Southwest
• SWRN - Southwestern
• S/WV - Short Wave

• TCU - Towering Cumulus
• THETAE - Equivalent Potential Temperature
• TSRA - Thunderstorms (with rain)
  
• TXK - Texarkana
  
• TYR - Tyler, TX

• UKMET - The United Kingdom Meteorological Office's Model (72-hour numerical model of the atmosphere)
• UTC - Universal Coordinated Time (same as Greenwich Mean Time)
• UVV - Upward Vertical Velocity (rising air)

• VCNTY - Vicinity
• VIS - Visible
• VORT MAX - Vorticity Maximum

• W - West
• WRN - Western
• WAA - Warm Air Advection
• WFO - Weather Forecast Office
• WV - Water Vapor
• WX - Weather

• XSEC - Cross Section

• ZFP - Zone Forecast Product

• 88D - Doppler Radar