FAA installs 150th weather camera

TALKEETNA — Pilots flying in the Talkeetna area got a new tool Friday to improve flight safety when the Federal Aviation Administration turned on its 150th Alaska weather camera.

Aviation cameras are positioned to view sky conditions around airports, air routes and mountain passes to help provide pilots with critical weather information to use in deciding whether it’s safe to fly.

Elsewhere in the Mat-Su Borough there also are FAA cameras available around Chickaloon, Knik, Palmer, Sheep Mountain and Willow.

The FAA plans to install weather cameras at an additional 24 sites in Alaska this year and it aims to have 221 camera sites in place by the end of 2014.

The FAA started the Alaskan Aviation Camera Program in 1999 after determining that pilots operating under Visual Flight Rules would benefit from actual views of current weather conditions.

Camera images are updated every 10 minutes and are disseminated to the public through the FAA’s aviation camera website at avcams.faa.gov.