NCAA CPL Meteorology study guide
NCAA CPL Meteorology · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
NCAA CPL Meteorology is the meteorology subject paper of the Commercial Pilot Licence ground examination set by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. It is written for student pilots working towards a CPL, and for licence holders refreshing knowledge, and it tests whether you can read the atmosphere well enough to make operational decisions - not whether you can recite physics. The NCAA CPL Meteorology study guide has 10 sections and about 3,023 words.
01The atmosphere, temperature, pressure, density, standard atmosphere and altimetry
This domain tests whether you can convert between the atmosphere’s physical variables and the altimeter and aircraft-performance consequences. Expect ISA values, lapse rates, pressure–height relationships, QNH/QFE/QNE and temperature-error corrections.
296 words, about 1 min02Moisture, thermodynamics, stability and instability
This domain tests humidity variables, saturation, latent heating, adiabatic processes and the stability decision. You must compare the environmental lapse rate (ELR) with the dry adiabatic rate (DALR ≈ 9.8°C/km) and the saturated adiabatic rate (SALR ≈ 5–6°C/km).
307 words, about 2 min03Clouds and precipitation
This domain tests cloud classification, formation, microstructure and precipitation type, and the operational meaning of cloud reports. Clouds form when air cools to saturation by ascent, radiative cooling or mixing.
290 words, about 1 min04Wind: global and local circulation, geostrophic and gradient wind, wind shear
This domain tests the forces that set wind direction and speed, the difference between geostrophic and gradient flow, local circulations and the identification of shear. Pressure-gradient force acts from high to low pressure.
315 words, about 2 min05Air masses, fronts and frontal (mid-latitude) depressions
This domain tests air-mass source regions, frontal identification and the life cycle of a mid-latitude wave depression. Air masses are classified by source: polar or tropical, maritime or continental, giving cP, cT, mP and mT.
314 words, about 2 min06Synoptic meteorology and tropical weather systems, including the ITCZ and West African climatology
This domain tests synoptic analysis in the tropics, the ITCZ and ITD, easterly waves, monsoon flow and the West African seasonal cycle. The ITCZ is a belt of convergence, low pressure and deep convection near the thermal equator; its surface position is often analysed as the Intertropical Discontinuity (ITD) between dry Harmattan air to the north and moist monsoon air to the south.
302 words, about 2 min07Hazardous weather: thunderstorms, icing, turbulence and visibility-reducing phenomena
This domain tests recognition and avoidance of convective, icing, turbulence and visibility hazards. A thunderstorm has cumulus, mature and dissipating stages.
273 words, about 1 min08Aeronautical meteorological reports, forecasts and warnings (METAR, SPECI, TAF, trend, SIGMET, AIRMET, GAMET, ICAO abbreviations)
This domain tests decoding and using METAR, SPECI, TAF, trend, SIGMET, AIRMET, GAMET and ICAO abbreviations. A METAR is a routine aerodrome observation; SPECI is a special report when conditions change significantly.
303 words, about 2 min09Meteorological charts and flight documentation (surface and upper-air charts, significant weather charts, station model)
This domain tests interpretation of surface charts, upper-air charts, significant weather charts and station models for flight planning. Surface charts show isobars, fronts, pressure centres and station plots.
302 words, about 2 min10Route and aerodrome climatology relevant to Nigerian/West African operations
This domain tests seasonal and diurnal weather patterns affecting Nigerian and West African routes, aerodromes and alternates. Nigeria has a wet season roughly April–October in the south and a shorter, later wet season in the north; the dry season is dominated by the Harmattan, a dry dusty north-easterly flow from the Sahara.
321 words, about 2 min