Flight planning: Philadelphia International PHL / KPHL
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Philadelphia International in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in plain English: right now IFR: instrument conditions, Wind from the northeast (040°) at 9 knots, gusting to 17. 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
- SIGMET 2E: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 31,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 10:55 pm EDT (02:55 UTC).
as issued
WSUS31 KKCI 120055 MKCE WST 120055 CONVECTIVE SIGMET 2E VALID UNTIL 0255Z CT NY NJ PA DE MD AND NJ NY CT CSTL WTRS FROM 30NE SAX-30SSW HTO-30ESE EMI-50WSW HAR-30NE SAX AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 22020KT. TOPS TO FL310.
- 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
- A321 climbing, 0 nm northwest, 8:20 pm EDT (00:20 UTC): light chop turbulence, sandstorm.
as filed, and in English
PHL UA /OV E NE PHL/TM 0020/FLDURC/TP A321/WV LOSS 15KT AT 015 /TB LGT CHOP
- Report
- a routine report filed through PHL
- Where
- east northeast phl
- Time
- 00:20 UTC
- Height
- during the climb
- Aircraft
- A321
- Wind
- loss 15 knots at at 1,500 ft
- Turbulence
- light chop
- A319 at 10,000 ft, 10 nm north, 7:01 pm EDT (23:01 UTC): no turbulence, vmc, 8 °C, wind 230° at 30 knots.
as filed, and in English
PHL UA /OV 10 N PHL/TM 2301/FL100/TP A319/SK VMC/TA 8/WV 23030KT/TB SMOOTH
- Report
- a routine report filed through PHL
- Where
- 10 north phl
- Time
- 23:01 UTC
- Height
- at 10,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A319
- Sky
- visual conditions
- Temperature
- 8 °C
- Wind
- from 230° at 30 knots
- Turbulence
- smooth
- PC24 at 900 ft, 14 nm northeast, 7:25 pm EDT (23:25 UTC): remarks: reported bases 900 ft during the descent RY6.
as filed, and in English
PNE UA /OV PNE240002/TM 2325/FL009/TP PC24/RM RPTD BASES 009 DURD RY6
- Report
- a routine report filed through PNE
- Where
- 2 nm southwest (240°) of PNE
- Time
- 23:25 UTC
- Height
- at 900 ft
- Aircraft
- PC24
- Remarks
- reported bases 900 ft during the descent RY6
- B189 descending, 14 nm northeast, 6:57 pm EDT (22:57 UTC): overcast above 800 ft.
as filed, and in English
PNE UA /OV PNE240002/TM 2257/FLDURD/TP B189/SK OVC008
- Report
- a routine report filed through PNE
- Where
- 2 nm southwest (240°) of PNE
- Time
- 22:57 UTC
- Height
- during the descent
- Aircraft
- B189
- Sky
- overcast from 800 ft
- GLF5 at 600 ft, 15 nm northeast, 9:40 pm EDT (01:40 UTC): overcast above 600 ft, remarks: during the descent RY06 pne.
as filed, and in English
PNE UA /OV PNE240001/TM 0140/FL006/TP GLF5/SK OVC006/RM DURD RY06 PNE
- Report
- a routine report filed through PNE
- Where
- 1 nm southwest (240°) of PNE
- Time
- 01:40 UTC
- Height
- at 600 ft
- Aircraft
- GLF5
- Sky
- overcast from 600 ft
- Remarks
- during the descent RY06 pne
- B738 at 400 ft, 20 nm southwest, 9:35 pm EDT (01:35 UTC): remarks: landing RNAV01 saw the approach lights at 600FT, runway at 400FT.
as filed, and in English
ILG UA /OV KILG/TM 0135/FL004/TP B738/RM LANDING RNAV01 SAW THE APPROACH LIGHTS AT 600FT, RWY AT 400FT
- Report
- a routine report filed through ILG
- Where
- over KILG
- Time
- 01:35 UTC
- Height
- at 400 ft
- Aircraft
- B738
- Remarks
- landing RNAV01 saw the approach lights at 600FT, runway at 400FT
- E75L at 20,000 ft, 21 nm southwest, 8:41 pm EDT (00:41 UTC): moderate turbulence above 20,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
ILG UA /OV DQO/TM 0041/FL200/TP E75L/TB MOD 200
- Report
- a routine report filed through ILG
- Where
- over DQO
- Time
- 00:41 UTC
- Height
- at 20,000 ft
- Aircraft
- E75L
- Turbulence
- moderate at 20,000 ft
- A21N at 18,000 ft, 26 nm northwest, 8:38 pm EDT (00:38 UTC): moderate clear-air turbulence.
as filed, and in English
PTW UA /OV PTW/TM 0038/FL180/TP A21N/TB MOD CAT
- Report
- a routine report filed through PTW
- Where
- over PTW
- Time
- 00:38 UTC
- Height
- at 18,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A21N
- Turbulence
- moderate clear-air turbulence
- E75S at 9,000 ft, 40 nm northeast, 9:22 pm EDT (01:22 UTC): light rime icing above 9,000 ft.
as filed, and in English
LGA UA /OV RBV/TM 0122/FL090/TP E75S/IC LGT RIME 090
- Report
- a routine report filed through LGA
- Where
- over RBV
- Time
- 01:22 UTC
- Height
- at 9,000 ft
- Aircraft
- E75S
- Icing
- light rime at 9,000 ft
- B38M at 2,300 ft, 40 nm southeast, 9:11 pm EDT (01:11 UTC): remarks: tops 2,300 ft during the descent.
as filed, and in English
ACY UA /OV ACY/TM 0111/FL023/TP B38M/SK TOPS 023/RM TOPS 023 DURD
- Report
- a routine report filed through ACY
- Where
- over ACY
- Time
- 01:11 UTC
- Height
- at 2,300 ft
- Aircraft
- B38M
- Sky
- tops 2,300 ft
- Remarks
- tops 2,300 ft during the descent
- A21N at 20,000 ft, 40 nm southeast, 8:28 pm EDT (00:28 UTC): light rime icing, -10 °C.
as filed, and in English
ACY UA /OV ACY/TM 0028/FL200/TP A21N/TA M10/IC LGT RIME
- Report
- a routine report filed through ACY
- Where
- over ACY
- Time
- 00:28 UTC
- Height
- at 20,000 ft
- Aircraft
- A21N
- Temperature
- −10 °C
- Icing
- light rime
- BCS3 at 1,800 ft, 40 nm southeast, 8:00 pm EDT (00:00 UTC): remarks: tops 1,800 ft during the climb.
as filed, and in English
ACY UA /OV ACY/TM 0000/FL018/TP BCS3/RM TOPS 018 DURC
- Report
- a routine report filed through ACY
- Where
- over ACY
- Time
- 00:00 UTC
- Height
- at 1,800 ft
- Aircraft
- BCS3
- Remarks
- tops 1,800 ft during the climb
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 ACY, 39 nm southeast of the field · for use 20:00–03:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 15 knots | |
| 6,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 22 knots | 15 °C |
| 9,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 31 knots | 11 °C |
| 12,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 27 knots | 6 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 40 knots | -7 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 51 knots | -17 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 71 knots | -31 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 81 knots | -41 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 86 knots | -53 °C |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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 Philadelphia International, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.
