Watertown Regional to North Platte Rgnl/Lee Bird Field ATY → LBF
275 nautical miles (317 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 215°, about 209° magnetic at the departure end (variation 6E). At 120 knots that is 2 h 27 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 8-knot headwind), arriving about 12:29 pm CDT (17:29 UTC). Right now ATY is low IFR, wind from the northeast (040°) at 11 knots; LBF is low IFR, wind from the north-northwest (330°) at 6 knots. For planning, not a briefing: the legal preflight briefing comes from Flight Service (1-800-WX-BRIEF) or the FAA's own tools. Airlines fly this pair: 1 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.
The route the straight line, the warnings crossed, restrictions, pilot reports and the airports along the way · click a mark for its words
Green, blue, red and purple airport dots are the flying conditions reported there now (VFR, marginal VFR, IFR, low IFR); grey means no report. Red areas are SIGMETs, orange areas AIRMETs, hatched red areas temporary flight restrictions. Map tiles: OpenFreeMap, data © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Warnings the route crosses SIGMETs and AIRMETs whose area the line passes through or comes within 25 nm of
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the whole route.
A SIGMET warns of weather hazardous to all aircraft; an AIRMET of weather that matters to small aircraft and to flying without instruments. "From 60 to 180 nm out" is measured along the route from ATY.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
- C25A at 7,500 ft, 4 nm north, 7:31 am CDT (12:31 UTC): no turbulence, no icing, remarks: during the climb. At the departure end, 4 nm north of the line.
as filed, and in English
ATY UA /OV ATY/TM 1231/FL075/TP C25A/SK BASEUNKN/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM DURC
- Report
- a routine report filed through ATY
- Where
- over ATY
- Time
- 12:31 UTC
- Height
- at 7,500 ft
- Aircraft
- C25A
- Sky
- baseunkn
- Turbulence
- none
- Icing
- none
- Remarks
- during the climb
- PC12 at 15,000 ft, 30 nm southeast, 9:52 am CDT (14:52 UTC): no icing, remarks: during the climb. 157 nm along the route, 30 nm southeast of the line.
as filed, and in English
ONL UA /OV ONL/TM 1452/FL150/TP PC12/SK TOP032/IC NEG/RM DURC
- Report
- a routine report filed through ONL
- Where
- over ONL
- Time
- 14:52 UTC
- Height
- at 15,000 ft
- Aircraft
- PC12
- Sky
- TOP032
- Icing
- none
- Remarks
- during the climb
- B738 at 38,000 ft, 5 nm southwest, 8:09 am CDT (13:09 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: ZDVWC-35. At the destination end, 5 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
LBF UA /OV LBF/TM 1309/FL380/TP B738/TB CONS LGT CHOP/RM -ZDVWC-35
- Report
- a routine report filed through LBF
- Where
- over LBF
- Time
- 13:09 UTC
- Height
- at 38,000 ft
- Aircraft
- B738
- Turbulence
- continuous light chop
- Remarks
- ZDVWC-35
- CRJ7 at 36,000 ft, 5 nm southwest, 7:09 am CDT (12:09 UTC): light chop turbulence, remarks: zdvwc. At the destination end, 5 nm southwest of the line.
as filed, and in English
LBF UA /OV LBF/TM 1209/FL360/TP CRJ7/TB LGT CHOP/RM ZDVWC
- Report
- a routine report filed through LBF
- Where
- over LBF
- Time
- 12:09 UTC
- Height
- at 36,000 ft
- Aircraft
- CRJ7
- Turbulence
- light chop
- Remarks
- zdvwc
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 14:00–21:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed
The westbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: even thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 4 forecast points nearest it (ABR, FSD, ONL, GRI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4,500 ft | 270° at 13 kt | +8 kt | 17 °C | 112 kt | 2 h 27 min | 12:29 pm CDT (17:29 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 250° at 15 kt | +12 kt | 16 °C | 108 kt | 2 h 33 min | 12:35 pm CDT (17:35 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 21 kt | +19 kt | 14 °C | 101 kt | 2 h 43 min | 12:45 pm CDT (17:45 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 27 kt | +26 kt | 10 °C | 94 kt | 2 h 56 min | 12:58 pm CDT (17:58 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 32 kt | +32 kt | 6 °C | 88 kt | 3 h 08 min | 1:10 pm CDT (18:10 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 36 kt | +35 kt | 0 °C | 85 kt | 3 h 14 min | 1:16 pm CDT (18:16 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 40 kt | +38 kt | -5 °C | 82 kt | 3 h 21 min | 1:23 pm CDT (18:23 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 43 kt | +41 kt | -9 °C | 79 kt | 3 h 29 min | 1:31 pm CDT (18:31 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 54 kt | +49 kt | -22 °C | 71 kt | 3 h 52 min | 1:54 pm CDT (18:54 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 63 kt | +51 kt | -31 °C | 69 kt | 3 h 59 min | 2:01 pm CDT (19:01 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 250° at 75 kt | +60 kt | -37 °C | 60 kt | 4 h 35 min | 2:37 pm CDT (19:37 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 250° at 68 kt | +54 kt | -46 °C | 66 kt | 4 h 10 min | 2:12 pm CDT (19:12 UTC) |
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; a height is left out when the forecast has no wind for it over most of the line (the ground is higher). Ground speed is the airspeed less the headwind; the time en route is for the straight line and ignores climb, descent and routing around weather.
The forecast points as issued
| Point | From | 3,000 | 6,000 | 9,000 | 12,000 | 18,000 | 24,000 | 30,000 | 34,000 | 39,000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABR | used from 0 nm out; 65 nm from the line | 020/9 | 230/5 12° | 190/14 11° | 200/25 5° | 230/37 -11° | 230/50 -23° | 240/39 -34° | 240/49 -38° | 240/55 -46° |
| FSD | used from 49 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 260/9 | 210/16 18° | 220/27 14° | 230/28 6° | 240/39 -9° | 240/48 -22° | 260/52 -32° | 260/61 -38° | 260/60 -46° |
| ONL | used from 98 nm out; 46 nm from the line | 270/16 17° | 250/25 13° | 230/34 7° | 230/46 -9° | 240/57 -22° | 250/72 -31° | 250/87 -36° | 250/75 -46° | |
| GRI | used from 246 nm out; 102 nm from the line | 270/26 19° | 230/33 13° | 230/39 8° | 230/43 -9° | 240/55 -21° | 250/76 -28° | 260/84 -36° | 260/68 -47° |
The weather now: both ends and the airports along the way public airports with a weather report within 25 nm of the line, one for each stretch
| Airport | Where | Conditions | Wind | Visibility | Ceiling | Elevation | Reported |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATY Watertown, SD | departure | low IFR Sky: overcast at 200 feet Weather: mist | from the northeast (040°) at 11 knots | 1 mi | 200 ft | 1,749 ft | 9:53 am CDT (14:53 UTC) |
| MHE Mitchell, SD | 79 nm out, 8 nm southeast of the line | low IFR Sky: overcast at 200 feet Weather: mist | from the northwest (320°) at 8 knots | 1.25 mi | 200 ft | 1,304 ft | 14:53 UTC |
| AGZ Wagner, SD | 118 nm out, 24 nm southeast of the line | low IFR Sky: overcast at 300 feet | from the northwest (320°) at 8 knots | 8 mi | 300 ft | 1,477 ft | 14:55 UTC |
| RBE Bassett, NE | 177 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 2,349 ft | ||||
| ANW Ainsworth, NE | 187 nm out, 22 nm northwest of the line | low IFR Sky: overcast at 300 feet Weather: mist | from the north (350°) at 10 knots | 2.5 mi | 300 ft | 2,588 ft | 14:55 UTC |
| LBF North Platte, NE | destination | low IFR Sky: overcast at 300 feet | from the north-northwest (330°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | 300 ft | 2,777 ft | 9:53 am CDT (14:53 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 2,777 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At LBF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:29 pm CDT (17:29 UTC)
Wind from the west-northwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet VFR
The whole forecast for LBF
- From Mon 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the west-northwest at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 400 feet
- From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the west-northwest at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 9:00 pm CDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the northeast at 14 knots, gusting to 24, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
- From Tue 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the east-northeast at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 25,000 feet
The forecast for ATY, the departure
- From Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC): wind from the east-northeast at 8 knots, visibility 1 mile, mist, overcast at 200 feet
- At times between Mon 10:00 am CDT (15:00 UTC) and 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): visibility ½ mile, fog
- From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility 1 mile, mist, overcast at 300 feet
- From Mon 2:00 pm CDT (19:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 8 knots, visibility 1½ miles, mist, overcast at 500 feet
- From Mon 3:00 pm CDT (20:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 600 feet
- From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the northwest at 11 knots, gusting to 17, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 700 feet
- From Tue 2:00 am CDT (07:00 UTC): wind from the north-northwest at 10 knots, gusting to 18, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 400 feet
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
No temporary flight restriction on or near this route right now.
Daylight
Sunset at ATY 6:49 pm CDT (23:49 UTC), at LBF 7:05 pm CDT (00:05 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:33 pm CDT (00:33 UTC)).
Each restriction opens the FAA's own page with the exact area, heights and times. Ordinary notices to air missions (closed runways, lights out) are not shown: the FAA's notice search is not open to sites like this one at this time.
Radar and forecast charts for the regions crossed government pictures, the latest each time the page loads
Sources: the Aviation Weather Center's data service (SIGMETs, AIRMETs, graphical AIRMETs, pilot reports, winds and temperatures aloft, observations and terminal forecasts), the National Weather Service radar, the Weather Prediction Center's charts, the FAA's temporary flight restriction list and shapes, and the FAA's airport file for the positions, elevations and magnetic variation. Fetched when the page is viewed and kept a few minutes. Each leg is the straight line between its two airports; airways, terrain and airspace are not considered. The airports in detail: Watertown Regional, North Platte Rgnl/Lee Bird Field.