Flight planning: Northern Colorado Regional FNL / KFNL
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Northern Colorado Regional in Fort Collins/Loveland, Colorado, in plain English: right now VFR: good flying weather, Wind from the south-southeast (150°) at 3 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.
Warnings in force SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area covers this field
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft.
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
- B38M at 21,500 ft, 32 nm west, 10:33 pm MDT (04:33 UTC): light turbulence up to 25,000 ft, remarks: during the descent flati star ZDVWC-13.
as filed, and in English
DEN UA /OV DEN305065/TM 0433/FL215/TP B38M/TB LGT BLO 250/RM DURD FLATI STAR. ZDVWC-13
- Report
- a routine report filed through DEN
- Where
- 65 nm northwest (305°) of DEN
- Time
- 04:33 UTC
- Height
- at 21,500 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Turbulence
- light below 25,000 ft
- Remarks
- during the descent flati star ZDVWC-13
- A320 descending, 42 nm southeast, 9:19 pm MDT (03:19 UTC): no turbulence up to 10,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
DEN UA /OV DEN/TM 0319/FLDURD/TP A320/TB NEG BLO 100
- Report
- a routine report filed through DEN
- Where
- over DEN
- Time
- 03:19 UTC
- Height
- during the descent
- Aircraft
- A320
- Turbulence
- no below 10,000 ft
- E170 at 22,500 ft, 83 nm south, 11:06 pm MDT (05:06 UTC): light to moderate turbulence up to 23,000 ft, remarks: during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13.
as filed, and in English
DEN UA /OV DEN216057/TM 0506/FL225/TP E170/TB CONS LGT OCNL MOD BLO 230/RM DURD TBARR STAR. ZDVWC-13
- Report
- a routine report filed through DEN
- Where
- 57 nm southwest (216°) of DEN
- Time
- 05:06 UTC
- Height
- at 22,500 ft
- Aircraft
- E170
- Turbulence
- continuous light occasional moderate below 23,000 ft
- Remarks
- during the descent tbarr star ZDVWC-13
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 DEN, 39 nm southeast of the field · for use 02:00–09:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 21 knots | 14 °C |
| 12,000 ft | 250° (west) | 44 knots | 6 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 220° (southwest) | 49 knots | -8 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 220° (southwest) | 49 knots | -21 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 54 knots | -30 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 57 knots | -35 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 49 knots | -45 °C |
Based on data from the 12th at 00:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 06:00 UTC for use 02:00 to 09:00 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 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.
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 Northern Colorado Regional, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.