Flight planning: Sidney-Richland Regional SDY / KSDY
What a pilot looks at before a flight from or to Sidney-Richland Regional in Sidney, Montana, in plain English: right now marginal VFR: flyable but watch the ceiling and visibility, Wind from the northeast (040°) at 9 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 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist).
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 36,000 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
- PA24 at 6,000 ft, 73 nm northeast, 6:48 pm MDT (00:48 UTC): light rime icing from 5,000 ft to 6,000 ft, 2 °C.
as filed, and in English
XWA UA /OV XWA060040/TM 0048/FL060/TP PA24/TA 02/IC LGT RIME 060-050
- Report
- a routine report filed through XWA
- Where
- 40 nm northeast (060°) of XWA
- Time
- 00:48 UTC
- Height
- at 6,000 ft
- Aircraft
- PA24
- Temperature
- 2 °C
- Icing
- light rime from 6,000 ft to 5,000 ft
- CRJ2 at 2,900 ft, 77 nm southeast, 6:05 pm MDT (00:05 UTC): a routine report with nothing remarked on.
as filed, and in English
DIK UA /OV DIK/TM 0005/FL029/TP CRJ2/SK BASE029
- Report
- a routine report filed through DIK
- Where
- over DIK
- Time
- 00:05 UTC
- Height
- at 2,900 ft
- Aircraft
- CRJ2
- Sky
- BASE029
- B789 at 35,000 ft, 88 nm east, 7:57 pm MDT (01:57 UTC): light turbulence.
as filed, and in English
DIK UA /OV DIK040030/TM 0157/FL350/TP B789/TB CONS LGT/ OCNL MOD CHOP/ NEG 370
- Report
- a routine report filed through DIK
- Where
- 30 nm northeast (040°) of DIK
- Time
- 01:57 UTC
- Height
- at 35,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B789
- Turbulence
- continuous light occasional moderate chop no at 37,000 ft
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 GGW, 102 nm west of the field · for use 02:00–09:00 UTC
| Height | Wind from | Speed | Temperature |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6,000 ft | 110° (east) | 23 knots | 0 °C |
| 9,000 ft | 130° (southeast) | 20 knots | -2 °C |
| 12,000 ft | 170° (south) | 24 knots | -3 °C |
| 18,000 ft | 230° (southwest) | 44 knots | -11 °C |
| 24,000 ft | 220° (southwest) | 51 knots | -21 °C |
| 30,000 ft | 210° (southwest) | 52 knots | -39 °C |
| 34,000 ft | 220° (southwest) | 64 knots | -44 °C |
| 39,000 ft | 240° (southwest) | 85 knots | -48 °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 Sidney-Richland Regional, where the current observation and the forecast for the field are.