EL Paso International to Chicago Midway International ELP → MDW
1,074 nautical miles (1,236 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 051°, about 043° magnetic at the departure end (variation 8E). At 120 knots that is 6 h 17 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 51-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:18 am CDT (13:18 UTC). 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: 421 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 3W: low-level wind shear (due to air speed loss or gain of 20 knots or more below 2,000 ft above the ground). Over the route from 378 to 875 nm out.
- AIRMET SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, 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 ELP.
Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first
Not fetched just now.
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 eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 10 forecast points nearest it (ELP, ROW, LBB, AMA, GAG, ICT, MKC, COU, BRL, JOT). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 220° at 33 kt | −32 kt | 152 kt | 7 h 04 min | 9:05 am CDT (14:05 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 220° at 30 kt | −30 kt | 19 °C | 150 kt | 7 h 10 min | 9:11 am CDT (14:11 UTC) |
| 7,500 ft | 230° at 25 kt | −25 kt | 15 °C | 145 kt | 7 h 24 min | 9:25 am CDT (14:25 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 240° at 20 kt | −20 kt | 12 °C | 140 kt | 7 h 40 min | 9:41 am CDT (14:41 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | −19 kt | 7 °C | 139 kt | 7 h 44 min | 9:45 am CDT (14:45 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 240° at 20 kt | −20 kt | 3 °C | 140 kt | 7 h 40 min | 9:41 am CDT (14:41 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 240° at 22 kt | −22 kt | -1 °C | 142 kt | 7 h 34 min | 9:35 am CDT (14:35 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 240° at 24 kt | −24 kt | -5 °C | 144 kt | 7 h 28 min | 9:29 am CDT (14:29 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 24 kt | −24 kt | -6 °C | 144 kt | 7 h 28 min | 9:29 am CDT (14:29 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 36 kt | −36 kt | -18 °C | 156 kt | 6 h 53 min | 8:54 am CDT (13:54 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 52 kt | −51 kt | -30 °C | 171 kt | 6 h 17 min | 8:18 am CDT (13:18 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 53 kt | −48 kt | -39 °C | 168 kt | 6 h 24 min | 8:25 am CDT (13:25 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 270° at 53 kt | −44 kt | -50 °C | 164 kt | 6 h 33 min | 8:34 am CDT (13:34 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELP | used from 0 nm out; 25 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° | |
| ROW | used from 50 nm out; 56 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° | |
| LBB | used from 199 nm out; 60 nm from the line | 200/36 18° | 220/19 15° | 240/20 8° | 230/24 -4° | 240/37 -16° | 250/57 -28° | 250/51 -38° | 270/47 -50° | |
| AMA | used from 249 nm out; 41 nm from the line | 210/38 | 230/29 14° | 240/29 7° | 220/27 -5° | 240/37 -18° | 240/66 -28° | 250/59 -37° | 260/47 -49° | |
| GAG | used from 348 nm out; 54 nm from the line | 220/40 19° | 230/28 14° | 240/23 8° | 230/21 -6° | 240/31 -19° | 250/66 -29° | 260/58 -38° | 260/47 -49° | |
| ICT | used from 497 nm out; 45 nm from the line | 200/48 | 230/39 19° | 240/24 14° | 240/20 8° | 240/22 -6° | 250/31 -18° | 250/61 -29° | 260/58 -38° | 270/54 -49° |
| MKC | used from 646 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 220/44 | 250/28 18° | 250/18 13° | 240/12 6° | 280/24 -6° | 240/34 -18° | 260/47 -30° | 260/51 -40° | 270/58 -50° |
| COU | used from 795 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 230/31 | 230/30 15° | 260/16 11° | 270/14 6° | 260/24 -6° | 270/27 -18° | 270/37 -32° | 280/49 -41° | 290/56 -51° |
| BRL | used from 845 nm out; 47 nm from the line | 230/24 | 240/29 15° | 290/16 10° | 280/15 4° | 260/23 -7° | 260/32 -19° | 260/36 -33° | 280/48 -41° | 280/59 -52° |
| JOT | used from 994 nm out; 31 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -52° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ELP El Paso, TX | departure | no report just now | 3,961 ft | ||||
| ROW Roswell, NM | 129 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,671 ft | ||||
| AMA Amarillo, TX | 308 nm out, 18 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,606 ft | ||||
| HHF Canadian, TX | 388 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 2,396 ft | ||||
| AVK Alva, OK | 487 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 1,476 ft | ||||
| BEC Wichita, KS | 577 nm out, 15 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,408 ft | ||||
| OJC Olathe, KS | 706 nm out, 9 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,096 ft | ||||
| HIG Higginsville, MO | 756 nm out, 7 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 840 ft | ||||
| PIA Peoria, IL | 964 nm out, 17 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 660 ft | ||||
| LOT Chicago/Romeoville, IL | 1054 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 679 ft | ||||
| MDW Chicago, IL | destination | no report just now | 619 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 3,961 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MDW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:18 am CDT (13:18 UTC)
MDW has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8722 ALAMOGORDO, NM, Tuesday, October 13, 2026 Local 23 nm from the route, 80 nm along the route · security · starts tomorrow · ZAB
Daylight
Sunset at ELP 6:35 pm MDT (00:35 UTC), at MDW 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:42 pm CDT (23:42 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: EL Paso International, Chicago Midway International.