AOPA’s Tom Horne receives weather-education award

Horne was chosen for his “outstanding efforts” educating general aviation pilots about weather hazards and promoting aviation safety.

The organization announced the selection October 13 during its virtual fall meeting, when it also named Roy Rasmussen, a senior scientist and research leader of the National Center for Atmospheric Research, the 2020 recipient of its Weather Award for his liquid water equivalent research to help aviators better understand aircraft icing and winter weather conditions.

Horne’s award was acknowledged by AOPA Senior Vice President of Media, Communications, and Outreach Tom Haines, who noted that Horne “has educated millions of pilots” through his “Wx Watch” column and other writings in AOPA Pilot and in AOPA’s other media channels over more than 30 years as an aviation journalist.

As the author of Flying America’s Weather: A Pilot’s Tour of Our Nation’s Weather Regions, Horne “literally wrote the book on aviation weather,” Haines said.

Friends and Partners in Aviation Weather’s mission is “to increase understanding of the impact of weather on current and emerging aviation operations, identify, discuss and provide support to problem areas that need further development of accurate and timely weather guidance, and facilitate the integration of weather into the operational decision-making process” to create “the safest, most efficient and reliable aviation operations possible.”