Long range weather information display system and method

A method of displaying weather data relating to weather for an aircraft, the method comprising:

• providing a radar signal via a radar antenna of an avionic weather radar system;
• receiving weather radar returns associated with the radar signal;
• receiving onboard weather data derived from the radar returns of the weather radar system of the aircraft;
• receiving external weather data from an external source, the external source being remote from the aircraft via an electronic communications unit;
• and
• providing a vertical weather profile of the weather on an electronic display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the electronic display provides a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft, a second portion associated with a second range, and a third portion associated with a third range farthest from the aircraft, the second range being between the first range and the third range, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein third images of the weather in the third range are provided on the third portion in response to the external weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the onboard weather data and the external weather data, wherein a blending process determines whether adjacent weather cells exist in the external weather data and the onboard weather data, and if not superimposes weather images from the external weather data and the onboard weather data to provide the second images in the second portion and if not the blending process blends the adjacent weather cells together by:
• a) determining the maximum altitudes for each reflectivity level in the adjacent cells, b) connecting points of the maximum altitudes of each reflectivity levels, and c) filling a required color to represent a desired reflectivity level to blend the adjacent weather cells for the second weather images in the second portion.

An avionic weather warning system, comprising:

• an electronic display;
• an electronic processor configured to:
• provide a three-dimensional weather profile of weather near an aircraft in response to onboard weather data from radar returns of a weather radar system of the aircraft and external weather data from an external source;
• and
• provide a two dimensional vertical weather profile on the electronic display in response to the onboard weather data from the radar returns of the weather radar system of the aircraft and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the electronic display provides a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft and a second portion associated with a second range farthest from the aircraft, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the external weather data, wherein a third range between the first range and the second range is associated with a third portion of the electronic display, wherein third images for the third portion are provided by determining if a first weather cell in the third range in the onboard weather data is within a distance of a second weather cell in the third range in the external weather data, and if so, filling between display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell in response to altitude values and reflectivity values of the first weather cell and the second weather cell.

One or more computer-readable non-transitory storage media having instructions stored thereon, the instructions being executable by one or more processors to execute a method on an aircraft comprising:

• receiving onboard weather data derived from radar returns of a weather radar system of the aircraft;
• receiving external weather data from an external source, the external source being remote from the aircraft;
• and
• providing a vertical weather profile of the weather on a display based on the onboard weather data and the external weather data from the external source, wherein the display includes a first portion associated with a first range closest to the aircraft and a second portion associated with a second range farthest from the aircraft, wherein first images of the weather in the first range are provided on the first portion in response to the onboard weather data, wherein second images of the weather in the second range are provided on the second portion in response to the external weather data, wherein a third range between the first range and the second range is associated with a third portion, wherein third images for the third portion are provided on the display by determining if a first weather cell in the third range in the onboard weather data is within a distance of a second weather cell in the third range in the external weather data, and if so, filling between display representations of the first weather cell and the second weather cell in response to altitude values and reflectivity values of the first weather cell and the second weather cell.