Flight planning: Ennis Big Sky Airport EKS / KEKS
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Ennis Big Sky Airport in Ennis, Montana, in plain English: right now low IFR: very low ceiling or visibility, Wind from the northwest (310°) at 5 knots. The warnings, reports and winds below come from the government's aviation weather service and the restrictions from the FAA, refreshed every few minutes. For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools.
the observation and the forecast as issued, and in English
METAR KEKS 121915Z AUTO 31005KT 3/4SM -SN BR VV005 M02/M03 A3004 RMK AO2
- METAR
- a routine hourly observation
- KEKS
- the station, KEKS
- 121915Z
- observed 1:15 pm MDT (19:15 UTC)
- AUTO
- fully automated report, nobody checked it
- 31005KT
- wind from the northwest at 5 knots
- 3/4SM
- visibility ¾ mile
- -SN
- light snow
- BR
- mist
- VV005
- sky obscured at 500 feet
- M02/M03
- temperature -2 °C (28 °F), dew point -3 °C (27 °F)
- A3004
- altimeter setting 30.04 inches of mercury
- RMK
- remarks follow
- AO2
- automated station with a precipitation sensor
TAF KEKS 121724Z 1218/1318 VRB06KT 1SM -SNRA SCT003 OVC010 TEMPO 1218/1219 VRB06KT 3/4SM -SN OVC003 FM122000 VRB06KT P6SM OVC015 FM130100 VRB06KT 6SM BR BKN005 FM131200 VRB03KT 5SM BR OVC008
- TAF
- a terminal aerodrome forecast: the weather expected at the airport, usually for the next 24 or 30 hours
- KEKS
- the station, KEKS
- 121724Z
- issued 11:24 am MDT (17:24 UTC)
- 1218/1318 VRB06KT 1SM -SNRA SCT003 OVC010
- valid from Mon 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC) to Tue 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 1 mile, light snow rain, scattered clouds at 300 feet, overcast at 1,000 feet
- TEMPO 1218/1219 VRB06KT 3/4SM -SN OVC003
- at times from Mon 12:00 pm MDT (18:00 UTC) to Mon 1:00 pm MDT (19:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility ¾ mile, light snow, overcast at 300 feet
- FM122000 VRB06KT P6SM OVC015
- from Mon 2:00 pm MDT (20:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 1,500 feet
- FM130100 VRB06KT 6SM BR BKN005
- from Mon 7:00 pm MDT (01:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 6 miles, mist, a broken layer at 500 feet
- FM131200 VRB03KT 5SM BR OVC008
- from Tue 6:00 am MDT (12:00 UTC): wind light and variable, visibility 5 miles, mist, overcast at 800 feet
Warnings in force SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area covers this field
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist).
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist).
Turbulence No turbulence warning in force over this field. No pilot has reported turbulence within 100 nautical miles in the last three hours. The government's turbulence forecast map ↗
Icing No icing warning in force over this field. 1 pilot report of icing within 100 nautical miles in the last three hours: light rime icing, at 15,000 ft, 90 nm southeast, 10:42 am MDT (16:42 UTC). The freezing level is below 9,000 ft, the lowest forecast height, so any cloud could carry ice. The government's icing forecast map ↗
A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft (thunderstorms, severe turbulence or icing, volcanic ash); an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments (moderate turbulence or icing, low cloud, strong surface wind, mountains hidden in cloud). An area is counted when it covers this field's position.
Pilot reports within 100 nautical miles, last three hours, nearest first
- E175 at 5,000 ft, 37 nm northeast, 12:57 pm MDT (18:57 UTC): no icing, remarks: bases 5,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
BZN UA /OV BZN/TM 1857/FL050/TP E175/IC NEG/RM BASES 050
- Report
- a routine report filed through BZN
- Where
- over BZN
- Time
- 18:57 UTC
- Height
- at 5,000 ft
- Aircraft
- E175
- Icing
- none
- Remarks
- bases 5,000 ft
- B737 at 5,000 ft, 37 nm northeast, 12:37 pm MDT (18:37 UTC): remarks: very minimal if any icing during the descent.
as filed, and in English
BZN UA /OV BZN/TM 1837/FL050/TP B737/RM VERY MINIMAL IF ANY ICING DURD
- Report
- a routine report filed through BZN
- Where
- over BZN
- Time
- 18:37 UTC
- Height
- at 5,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B737
- Remarks
- very minimal if any icing during the descent
- E75L at 5,000 ft, 37 nm northeast, 12:05 pm MDT (18:05 UTC): overcast above 5,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
BZN UA /OV BZN/TM 1805/FL050/TP E75L/SK OVC050
- Report
- a routine report filed through BZN
- Where
- over BZN
- Time
- 18:05 UTC
- Height
- at 5,000 ft
- Aircraft
- E75L
- Sky
- overcast from 5,000 ft
- B738 at 5,000 ft, 37 nm northeast, 11:20 am MDT (17:20 UTC): overcast above 5,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
BZN UA /OV BZN/TM 1720/FL050/TP B738/SK OVC050
- Report
- a routine report filed through BZN
- Where
- over BZN
- Time
- 17:20 UTC
- Height
- at 5,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B738
- Sky
- overcast from 5,000 ft
- S22T at 15,000 ft, 90 nm southeast, 10:42 am MDT (16:42 UTC): light rime icing, -9 °C.
as filed, and in English
JAC UA /OV DNW010035/TM 1642/FL150/TP S22T/TA M9/IC LGT RIME /ZLC
- Report
- a routine report filed through JAC
- Where
- 35 nm north (010°) of DNW
- Time
- 16:42 UTC
- Height
- at 15,000 ft
- Aircraft
- S22T
- Temperature
- −9 °C
- Icing
- light rime zlc
What pilots in the air told air traffic control or Flight Service: turbulence, icing, cloud tops and bases, temperature, wind, and whatever they remarked on (wind shear on final, a smooth ride). An urgent report is one of severe turbulence or icing, wind shear, or similar. Open "as filed, and in English" for the coded report and its translation line by line.
Winds and temperatures aloft forecast point DLN, 38 nm west of the field · for use 14:00–21:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,000 ft | light and variable | -3 °C | |
| 12,000 ft | 170° (south) | 16 knots | -6 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 180° (south) | 21 knots | -18 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 190° (south) | 27 knots | -30 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 63 knots | -33 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 62 knots | -36 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 51 knots | -42 °C |
Based on data from the 12th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 18:00 UTC for use 14:00 to 21:00 UTC; temperatures above 24,000 ft are below zero. Heights are above sea level; the lowest rows are left out where the ground is already that high.
Temporary flight restrictions within 50 nautical miles, from the FAA's list
No temporary flight restriction within 50 nautical miles right now.
Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (a closed runway, lights out, a crane) are not shown here: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time, and the application for the FAA's data feed is in hand.
Radar and forecast charts government pictures, the latest each time the page loads
The radar pictures come from the National Weather Service (the nearest radar, then the region); the aviation forecast charts from the Aviation Weather Center's Graphical Forecasts for Aviation (clouds and visibility; surface wind, weather and thunderstorms with the AIRMET boxes); the surface analysis and the 12- and 24-hour forecast charts from the Weather Prediction Center. They are public-domain government images shown as they are published. The turbulence and icing forecasts are drawn live on the Aviation Weather Center's site: turbulence ↗ · icing ↗.
Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, and the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Back to Ennis Big Sky Airport, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.