Weather Diversion
intermediateUS phraseologyYour destination has gone below minimums. State your intentions early, request a diversion "due weather", read back the new routing and altitude, and get the altimeter for the alternate. FAA phraseology (AIM chapter 4).
Briefing
You are Cessna N734GP en route in IMC, working Cleveland Center. Your destination has just reported weather below your personal minimums. You have Mansfield (KMFD) as an alternate with better conditions. Divert early and cleanly — decide, tell ATC, then read back what they give you.
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- Exchange 1
Advise Cleveland Center of your intentions: request a diversion to Mansfield due to weather.
💡 State intentions early and in standard form: "request diversion to Mansfield due weather" gives the controller the where and the why in one call. A weather diversion is a normal request, not a "Mayday".
- Exchange 2
ATC: “Cessna Seven Three Four Golf Papa, roger, cleared direct Mansfield, descend and maintain four thousand.”
Read back the new routing and the altitude. The level is a mandatory readback item.
💡 Read back both the routing and the assigned altitude — the level is mandatory. Dropping the altitude on a re-route in IMC is exactly how a level bust happens.
- Exchange 3
Ask Center for the latest weather and altimeter setting for Mansfield.
💡 Ask specifically for what you need — the latest weather and the altimeter for the alternate — so you can plan the approach and set the subscale correctly before you get there.
- Exchange 4
ATC: “Cessna Four Golf Papa, Mansfield altimeter three zero one two, landing runway one four.”
Read back the altimeter setting and the landing runway. The altimeter and runway are mandatory readback items.
💡 The altimeter setting is a mandatory readback (in the US spoken as inches, e.g. "three zero one two" for 30.12). Reading the runway back too confirms you are set up for the correct landing direction at the alternate.
Background reading
- GuideMSFS 2024 Live Weather: How It Works, Why It's Wrong & How to Fix It
How MSFS 2024 live weather really works, why it mismatches reality, and a step-by-step fix when it stops working — PC, Xbox and PS5.
- GuideATC Phraseology for Flight Simmers: What to Say and When to Say It
Word-for-word ATC radio scripts for every phase of flight, clearance to landing — for VATSIM, MSFS default ATC and AI addons. Read them off the screen.
- GuideYour First VATSIM Flight: From Setup to Landing Without Panic
Your first VATSIM flight, step by step: client setup, connecting, essential radio phraseology, what ATC expects, and how to recover from mistakes.