Cavern City Air Trml Airport to Show Low Regional CNM → SOW
310 nautical miles (357 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 293°, about 283° magnetic at the departure end (variation 10E). At 120 knots that is 2 h 35 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, no wind along the track), arriving about 2:41 am MST (09:41 UTC), after sunset at the destination. Right now CNM is VFR, wind from the south-southeast (150°) at 5 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: 5 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 TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 136 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the last 19 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Near the route, at the destination end.
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 CNM.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
No pilot reports within 50 nautical miles of the line in the last three hours.
Winds aloft along the route, and the time en route the forecast for use 02:00–09:00 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 (ROW, ELP, ABQ, PHX). 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 | 200° at 21 kt | 0 | 120 kt | 2 h 35 min | 2:41 am MST (09:41 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 210° at 22 kt | +1 kt | 11 °C | 119 kt | 2 h 36 min | 2:42 am MST (09:42 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 210° at 24 kt | +5 kt | 11 °C | 115 kt | 2 h 42 min | 2:48 am MST (09:48 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 210° at 27 kt | +5 kt | 9 °C | 115 kt | 2 h 42 min | 2:48 am MST (09:48 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 210° at 31 kt | +6 kt | 4 °C | 114 kt | 2 h 43 min | 2:49 am MST (09:49 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 220° at 35 kt | +9 kt | 0 °C | 111 kt | 2 h 48 min | 2:54 am MST (09:54 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 220° at 40 kt | +13 kt | -5 °C | 107 kt | 2 h 54 min | 3:00 am MST (10:00 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 220° at 43 kt | +15 kt | -8 °C | 105 kt | 2 h 57 min | 3:03 am MST (10:03 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 230° at 61 kt | +28 kt | -17 °C | 92 kt | 3 h 22 min | 3:28 am MST (10:28 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 230° at 71 kt | +38 kt | -26 °C | 82 kt | 3 h 47 min | 3:53 am MST (10:53 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 240° at 70 kt | +45 kt | -36 °C | 75 kt | 4 h 08 min | 4:14 am MST (11:14 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 250° at 55 kt | +38 kt | -48 °C | 82 kt | 3 h 47 min | 3:53 am MST (10:53 UTC) |
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; 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ROW | used from 0 nm out; 49 nm from the line | 190/33 | 210/27 14° | 220/28 6° | 230/36 -6° | 230/56 -15° | 230/63 -27° | 250/59 -37° | 260/57 -49° | |
| ELP | used from 97 nm out; 79 nm from the line | 290/17 | 210/11 13° | 200/18 5° | 220/46 -6° | 230/64 -14° | 230/63 -27° | 240/55 -37° | 240/44 -48° | |
| ABQ | used from 146 nm out; 104 nm from the line | 220/27 11° | 210/35 5° | 220/46 -9° | 230/62 -20° | 240/78 -25° | 240/80 -35° | 240/56 -47° | ||
| PHX | used from 291 nm out; 119 nm from the line | 150/5 | 200/21 12° | 200/27 6° | 200/35 3° | 220/58 -8° | 220/69 -19° | 220/87 -26° | 230/93 -35° | 230/79 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CNM Carlsbad, NM | departure | VFR | from the south-southeast (150°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 3,294 ft | 12:53 am MDT (06:53 UTC) |
| ATS Artesia, NM | 19 nm out, 24 nm north of the line | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 8,500 feet, a few clouds at 11,000 feet | from the south (170°) at 8 knots | 10+ mi | none | 3,544 ft | 06:55 UTC |
| ALM Alamogordo, NM | 97 nm out, 8 nm south of the line | VFR Sky: a broken layer at 8,000 feet, a broken layer at 12,000 feet | from the northeast (040°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | 8,000 ft | 4,199 ft | 06:55 UTC |
| TCS Truth Or Consequences, NM | 165 nm out, 10 nm south of the line | VFR | from the north-northwest (330°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 4,861 ft | 06:53 UTC |
| JTC Springerville, AZ | 272 nm out, 6 nm north of the line | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 18 knots, gusting to 27 | 10+ mi | none | 7,055 ft | 06:55 UTC |
| SOW Show Low, AZ | destination | reported, no category | from the south (190°) at 15 knots, gusting to 20 | 10+ mi | none | 6,415 ft | 11:55 pm MST (06:55 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 7,055 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SOW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 2:41 am MST (09:41 UTC)
SOW has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
The forecast for CNM, the departure
- From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south-southeast at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 25,000 feet
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8722 ALAMOGORDO, NM, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Local on the route, 97 nm along the route · security · starts tomorrow · ZAB
Daylight
Sunset at CNM 6:26 pm MDT (00:26 UTC), at SOW 5:48 pm MST (00:48 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:13 pm MST (01:13 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SOW is before sunrise there (6:22 am MST (13:22 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: Cavern City Air Trml Airport, Show Low Regional.