Flight planning: Bowman Field LOU / KLOU
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Bowman Field in Louisville, Kentucky, in plain English: right now IFR: instrument conditions, Wind from the northwest (310°) at 7 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 SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist).
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
- PA46 at 0 ft, 0 nm east, 1:04 pm EDT (17:04 UTC): a routine report.
as filed
SDF UA /OV LOU/TM 1704/FLDURC/TP PA46/SK B038
- PA46 at 1,000 ft, 0 nm east, 1:00 pm EDT (17:00 UTC): a routine report.
as filed
LOU UA /OV LOU/TM 1700/FL010/TP PA46/RM B009 DURC
- COL4 at 0 ft, 0 nm east, 10:53 am EDT (14:53 UTC): a broken layer above 900 ft.
as filed
LOU UA /OV LOU/TM 1453/FLDURC/TP COL4/SK BKN009
- B752 at 0 ft, 5 nm southwest, 12:03 pm EDT (16:03 UTC): a routine report.
as filed
SDF UA /OV SDF/TM 1603/FLDURC/TP B752/SK B009 T040
- B763 at 0 ft, 5 nm southwest, 11:25 am EDT (15:25 UTC): a routine report.
as filed
SDF UA /OV SDF/TM 1525/FLDURD/TP B763/SK B012
- A306 at 0 ft, 5 nm southwest, 10:59 am EDT (14:59 UTC): no turbulence.
as filed
SDF UA /OV SDF/TM 1459/FLDURD/TP A306/TB SMOOTH
- GL5T at 0 ft, 50 nm east, 12:15 pm EDT (16:15 UTC): overcast from 40,000 ft to 3,200 ft.
as filed
LEX UA /OV LEX225002/TM 1615/FLDURD/TP GL5T/SK OVC 004 TOPS 032
- E55P at 0 ft, 54 nm east, 11:50 am EDT (15:50 UTC): a routine report.
as filed
LEX UA /OV LEX045005/TM 1550/FLDURC/TP E55P/SK TOPS 034
- PC12 at 20,000 ft, 56 nm east, 11:56 am EDT (15:56 UTC): no turbulence.
as filed
LEX UA /OV HYK360020/TM 1556/FL200/TP PC12/TB NEG
- B753 at 33,000 ft, 60 nm southwest, 1:05 pm EDT (17:05 UTC): no turbulence.
as filed
BWG UA /OV BWG360030/TM 1705/FL330/TP B753/TB NEG
- C25B at 45,000 ft, 65 nm northeast, 12:49 pm EDT (16:49 UTC): no turbulence.
as filed
CVG UA /OV CVG/TM 1649/FL450/TP C25B/TB NEG
- CRJ9 at 0 ft, 65 nm northeast, 12:36 pm EDT (16:36 UTC): overcast from 500 ft to 3,500 ft.
as filed
CVG UA /OV CVG/TM 1636/FLDURC/TP CRJ9/SK OVC005 TOPS 035
What pilots in the air told air traffic control or Flight Service: turbulence, icing, cloud tops and bases, temperature, wind. An urgent report is one of severe turbulence or icing, or similar.
Winds and temperatures aloft forecast point GSP, 260 nm southeast of the field · for use 14:00–21:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 20 knots | |
| 6,000 ft | 280° (west) | 17 knots | 9 °C |
| 9,000 ft | 260° (west) | 26 knots | 8 °C |
| 12,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 37 knots | 7 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 43 knots | -5 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 220° (southwest) | 56 knots | -17 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 70 knots | -31 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 73 knots | -40 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 67 knots | -50 °C |
Based on data from the 11th at 12:00 UTC; valid on the 11th 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 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 Bowman Field, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.