Joe Foss Field to Northern Colorado Regional FSD → FNL
414 nautical miles (476 statute miles) southwest on a straight line, true course 246°, about 241° magnetic at the departure end (variation 5E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 21 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 25-knot headwind), arriving about 8:06 am MDT (14:06 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: 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 TANGO 2W: 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 10 to 236 nm out.
- 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 route from 69 to 246 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) from 34,000 ft to 43,000 ft. Over the last 49 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 22,000 ft. Over the last 20 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 1W: 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 last 10 nm of the 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 FSD.
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 08:00–15:00 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 (FSD, ONL, BFF, DEN). 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 | 260° at 27 kt | +25 kt | 22 °C | 95 kt | 4 h 21 min | 8:06 am MDT (14:06 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 260° at 28 kt | +27 kt | 21 °C | 93 kt | 4 h 27 min | 8:12 am MDT (14:12 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 250° at 29 kt | +28 kt | 15 °C | 92 kt | 4 h 30 min | 8:15 am MDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 240° at 28 kt | +27 kt | 10 °C | 93 kt | 4 h 27 min | 8:12 am MDT (14:12 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 27 kt | +26 kt | 5 °C | 94 kt | 4 h 24 min | 8:09 am MDT (14:09 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 29 kt | +28 kt | 0 °C | 92 kt | 4 h 30 min | 8:15 am MDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 220° at 31 kt | +30 kt | -6 °C | 90 kt | 4 h 36 min | 8:21 am MDT (14:21 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 220° at 33 kt | +31 kt | -10 °C | 89 kt | 4 h 39 min | 8:24 am MDT (14:24 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 220° at 40 kt | +36 kt | -22 °C | 84 kt | 4 h 56 min | 8:41 am MDT (14:41 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 240° at 50 kt | +50 kt | -32 °C | 70 kt | 5 h 55 min | 9:40 am MDT (15:40 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 240° at 57 kt | +57 kt | -36 °C | 63 kt | 6 h 34 min | 10:19 am MDT (16:19 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 250° at 58 kt | +58 kt | -46 °C | 62 kt | 6 h 41 min | 10:26 am MDT (16:26 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSD | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 210/20 | 230/23 21° | 220/25 14° | 230/30 5° | 230/26 -9° | 240/30 -21° | 270/33 -36° | 260/47 -37° | 270/58 -47° |
| ONL | used from 49 nm out; 40 nm from the line | 250/31 22° | 230/27 16° | 220/25 8° | 230/25 -9° | 220/29 -22° | 250/42 -33° | 250/48 -36° | 250/52 -46° | |
| BFF | used from 197 nm out; 104 nm from the line | 280/28 | 260/39 11° | 240/34 5° | 210/38 -11° | 210/52 -22° | 230/61 -31° | 230/61 -36° | 240/56 -45° | |
| DEN | used from 345 nm out; 62 nm from the line | 270/24 11° | 230/13 5° | 230/48 -8° | 230/46 -20° | 230/63 -30° | 240/78 -36° | 240/78 -48° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FSD Sioux Falls, SD | departure | no report just now | 1,430 ft | ||||
| YKN Yankton, SD | 39 nm out, 25 nm south of the line | no report just now | 1,305 ft | ||||
| AGZ Wagner, SD | 79 nm out, 4 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 1,477 ft | ||||
| ONL O'Neill, NE | 108 nm out, 25 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,033 ft | ||||
| RBE Bassett, NE | 138 nm out, 2 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,349 ft | ||||
| TIF Thedford, NE | 197 nm out, 15 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 2,925 ft | ||||
| OKS Oshkosh, NE | 276 nm out, 10 nm south of the line | no report just now | 3,394 ft | ||||
| SNY Sidney, NE | 315 nm out, 11 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 4,314 ft | ||||
| IBM Kimball, NE | 335 nm out, 10 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 4,925 ft | ||||
| FNL Fort Collins/Loveland, CO | destination | no report just now | 5,020 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 5,020 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At FNL when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:06 am MDT (14:06 UTC)
FNL has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
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 FSD 6:49 pm CDT (23:49 UTC), at FNL 6:23 pm MDT (00:23 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:50 pm MDT (00:50 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: Joe Foss Field, Northern Colorado Regional.