[willglynn]

This was TAMDAR data, which is a self-contained instrument package intended specifically for meteorological observations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TAMDAR

Observations definitely fell off a cliff as commercial air travel slowed to a crawl. In terms of impact, though… it turned out not to be a big deal.

> Aircraft reports suffered a 75% decline in numbers from mid-March to mid-April 2020; in May the number started increasing again. Despite the loss of data there is no clear signal in the forecast skill—partly because the skill shows considerable variability on daily, seasonal, and interannual timescales (Figures 3 and 4). …

> …

> Overall, we can find no evidence that the decrease in aircraft observations has handicapped numerical forecasts of extreme weather to an extent large enough to incur significant economic impact.

https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/202...

[MrGilbert]

Ah, nice - I learned something new today and ultimately can put that "funfact" to rest.^^

Thanks!

[jimbobthrowawy]

Glad to hear something's being done with the data from the weather radar most commercial jets have. The thought occurred to me about halfway through reading the blogpost.

I hope that data's available publicly, though likely not as publicly as ADSB broadcasts.