MVAAC
Montreal Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre
 Canadian Meterological Centre
2121 North Service Road
Trans-Canada Highway
Dorval, Quebec, Canada
H9P 1J3

Montreal VAAC OVERVIEW

The Montreal Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre (VAAC) is one of nine VAACs located around the world that have been establishedwithin the framework of the International Airways Volcano Watch (IAVW). The VAAC is a component of the Meteorological Service of Canada and is located at the Canadian MeteorologicalCentre. VAAC duties are performed by meteorologists, in addition to the routine weather monitoring, analysis and forecasting activities undertaken by CMC.

The IAVW was established by the International Civil Aviation Organisation(ICAO) and the World Meteorological Organisation(WMO)in response to the recognition of the hazard volcanic ash clouds pose to aircraft and human safety, and sets out arrangements between volcanological, aeronautical and meteorological organisations to facilitate the provision of warnings to aircraft on the presence of ash in the atmosphere.

The Montreal VAAC monitors satellite imagery for volcanic ash clouds 24 hours a day, and also receives reports of volcanic activity from volcanological agencies and aircraft operating in the area. When volcanic ash is detected or reported,the Montreal VAAC runs trajectory forecasts and issues a Volcanic Ash Advisory. This message contains information on the current distribution of ash and its forecast movement during the following 18 hours. These Advisories are designed to be used by the appropriate Meteorological Watch Office as guidance when preparing Volcanic Ash SIGMETs - the official aviation warning. The Volcanic Ash Advisories are also disseminated directly to the aviation community to allow them to begin re-routing aircraft as soon as possible. The latest Volcanic Ash Advisories can also be found on the Montreal VAAC web page.

The areas of responsibility for the Montreal and other VAAC' s may be found here.