A few strong to marginally severe thunderstorms are possible across the Southeast U.S. Friday. A Marginal Risk (Level 1 of 5) outlook has been issued. Strong winds and hail will be the main threats. Elevated to locally critical fire weather conditions will persist across south-central Colorado today due to dry conditions and gusty winds. Read More >
The Houston (ZHU) Center Weather Service Unit (CWSU) is located at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air en-Route Traffic Control Center (ARTCC) in Houston, Texas. Four National Weather Service (NWS) meteorologists staff the office. Our hours of operation are from 5:00 A.M. to 9:00 P.M. daily.
The ZHU ARTCC is one of 21 ARTCC's over contiguous United States and encompasses an area approximately 276,866 square nautical miles extending from the Texas Big Bend area eastward to the Alabama/Florida state line including a large portion of the Gulf of Mexico north of 24 degrees North latitude. Within the Houston Center area, there are 22 FAA control towers, 16 approach control facilities, 3 flight service stations, 87 major airports and 15 military fields. This center handles approximately 2 million aircraft operations a year or about 6000 per day.
Our main responsibility is to provide up to the minute weather information to FAA Supervisors and the ZHU Traffic Management Unit (TMU). The CWSU meteorologists issue two products, the Center Weather Advisory (CWA), which is an aviation weather warning for thunderstorms, severe icing or turbulence, and low IFR ceilings and visibility. The Meteorological Impact Statement (MIS) is a 2-12 hour forecast for weather conditions, which are expected to impact ARTCC operations.
