In March, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issued Public Information Statement 25-16 in which they announced their proposal to terminate Terminal Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) at Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport (KBAF). To some, this wording implied that TAFs would no longer be available; however, the change is less of a "termination" and more of a "transfer" of responsibilities.

Per Service Change Notice 25-78, effective 1700 UTC December 16, 2025, responsibility for TAFs will transfer from the National Weather Service (NWS) to the United States Air Force (USAF). A test of the transfer was conducted last week and additional testing will continue through the transfer date. This notice outlines the variety of changes and provides examples, a summary of which is provided below for quick review.

• TAFs will continue to be issued 24/7 at 1200, 2000, and 0400 UTC, each valid for 30 hours.
• NWS uses From (FM) meaning happening at the provided time, USAF uses Becoming (BECMG) meaning gradual over period of time.
• NWS forecasts 24 hours, USAF forecasts 30 hours.
• NWS publishes 20-40 minutes before the top of the hour, USAF issues a full hour before it is valid.
• NWS forecast office is Boston-Norton, USAF forecast office is Omaha, NE.
• USAF forecasts Lowest Altimeter group (QNH) during initial and each BECMG change group.
• USAF includes turbulence forecasts below 10,000 feet.
• USAF includes icing forecasts below 10,000 feet.
• USAF includes forecast maximum (TX) and minimum (TN) temperatures.

Below are two examples that highlight the differences in content and formatting.

Below is an example of the NWS TAF format:

TAF KBAF 201122Z 2012/2112 15011G20KT 4SM -SHRA BR OVC010 WS020/17050KT
TEMPO 2012/2015 15015G30KT 2SM +SHRA OVC008
FM201600 18008G18KT P6SM BKN035
FM202300 24008KT P6SM BKN050

The same TAF using the USAF format:

TAF KBAF 201122Z 2012/2118 15011G20KT 4SM -SHRA BR OVC010 WS020/17050KT QNH2992INS
TEMPO 2012/2015 15015G30KT 2SM +SHRA OVC008 510006
BECMG 2015/2016 18008G18KT 7SM BKN035 640504 QNH2995INS
BECMG 2022/2023 24008KT 7SM BKN050 QNH2999INS TX25/2320Z TN09/1120Z