ARFOR (Area Forecast)

An ARFOR (Area Forecast) is a forecast issued by the Bureau of Meteorology describing expected weather conditions — wind, visibility, cloud, icing, and turbulence — over a defined geographic area of Australian airspace, typically valid for a set period such as 12 hours. It is the primary planning tool for the en-route portion of a flight, as distinct from a TAF, which covers only a specific aerodrome.

ARFORs are broken into forecast areas that tile the Australian continent, and a cross-country flight that crosses more than one forecast area requires the pilot to obtain and interpret each relevant ARFOR. Content is presented using standard coded abbreviations for cloud, weather phenomena, and freezing level, similar in spirit to a TAF's coding but covering a much larger area.

Under CASR requirements, a pilot must obtain a current weather briefing — typically including the relevant ARFOR, TAF, and any SIGMETs — before a flight, and interpreting an ARFOR correctly is a core competency tested in CASA meteorology exams.