Commercial Fixed Wing
Air Traffic Control Fully Certified
Air Traffic Control Time Certified In Pos 1 (yrs) 3
Communication Breakdown
ATC Issue All Types; Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy; Inflight Event / Encounter Weather / Turbulence
Air Traffic Control Issued New Clearance; Air Traffic Control Separated Traffic; General Flight Cancelled / Delayed
Procedure; Human Factors; Company Policy; Weather
Low ceilings and fog were forecasted all day at SEA. In the evening; Traffic Management Unit (TMU) initiated metering twice without any advanced notice. There was a lot of confusion between TMU; management; and adjacent Sectors (01/31). TMU put out a notice that metering was going to begin at XA:00. At XA:00 there was no meter list displayed on the scope so I called TMU. They seemed overwhelmed and confused. They ultimately said that we were not going to meter however this message was not relayed to the supervisor or anyone else. Controllers from Sector 01/31 said to send aircraft in that approach was taking aircraft even though the RVRs were low they said aircraft were getting in. The supervisor came by and said that we needed to be holding these aircraft according to TMU. Then TMU put out a message that we were going to metering with speeds and to expect 30 minute delays. There was no advanced notice of this.The biggest problem is the lack of communication. TMU; management and the controllers are all being given different information and no one is communicating with each other. Pilots had no idea what to expect because they were given information that turned out to be false. Multiple aircraft were diverting due to fuel concerns and a lack of solid information. We need to do a better job of effectively communicating so we can give the pilots the most up to date and accurate information so they know what to expect and can make good decisions when it comes to whether they need to divert or not. A lot of this rests with TMU knowing what the forecasted weather is going to be and having a plan to implement when the time comes.
ATC Center Controller reported traffic management initiatives during a known weather event were late and insufficient to help manage the traffic flows to the airport.