The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 4:46 am CDT (09:46 UTC)

William P Hobby Airport to St. Pete-Clearwater International HOU → PIE

670 nautical miles (771 statute miles) east on a straight line, true course 096°, about 093° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 49 min at the quickest height in today's winds (30,000 ft, a 19-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:35 am EDT (14:35 UTC). Right now HOU is VFR, wind from the southeast (130°) at 4 knots; PIE is VFR, wind from the north-northwest (340°) 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: 3 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.

The return flight

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 1E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, mist, fog). Near the route, 197 nm along 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 HOU.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

  • SF30 at 21,000 ft, 19 nm north, 4:35 am CDT (09:35 UTC): light rime icing, -10 °C, remarks: zhu. At the departure end, 19 nm north of the line.
    as filed, and in English
    IAH UA /OV DAS02002/TM 0935/FL210/TP SF30/TA M10/IC LGT RIME/RM ZHU
    Report
    a routine report filed through IAH
    Where
    DAS02002
    Time
    09:35 UTC
    Height
    at 21,000 ft
    Aircraft
    SF30
    Temperature
    −10 °C
    Icing
    light rime
    Remarks
    zhu

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 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 6 forecast points nearest it (HOU, LCH, MSY, MOB, TLH, PIE). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
3,500 ft160° at 3 kt+1 kt119 kt5 h 38 min11:24 am EDT (15:24 UTC)
5,500 ft150° at 2 kt+1 kt119 kt5 h 38 min11:24 am EDT (15:24 UTC)
7,500 ftlight and variable015 °C120 kt5 h 35 min11:21 am EDT (15:21 UTC)
9,500 ft330° at 2 kt−1 kt12 °C121 kt5 h 32 min11:18 am EDT (15:18 UTC)
11,500 ft280° at 3 kt−3 kt8 °C123 kt5 h 27 min11:13 am EDT (15:13 UTC)
13,500 ft290° at 6 kt−6 kt3 °C126 kt5 h 19 min11:05 am EDT (15:05 UTC)
15,500 ft300° at 10 kt−9 kt-1 °C129 kt5 h 12 min10:58 am EDT (14:58 UTC)
17,500 ft300° at 13 kt−12 kt-5 °C132 kt5 h 05 min10:51 am EDT (14:51 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180300° at 14 kt−13 kt-6 °C133 kt5 h 02 min10:48 am EDT (14:48 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240310° at 18 kt−16 kt-16 °C136 kt4 h 56 min10:42 am EDT (14:42 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300320° at 26 kt−19 kt-31 °C139 kt4 h 49 min10:35 am EDT (14:35 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340330° at 27 kt−15 kt-41 °C135 kt4 h 58 min10:44 am EDT (14:44 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390340° at 29 kt−15 kt-52 °C135 kt4 h 58 min10:44 am EDT (14:44 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
HOUused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line180/22180/20 16°170/7 15°L/V 8°220/11 -6°260/15 -13°310/20 -30°320/20 -40°350/32 -51°
LCHused from 49 nm out; 50 nm from the line170/21160/23 18°170/13 13°170/6 8°300/12 -7°280/16 -14°320/27 -30°330/23 -41°340/38 -51°
MSYused from 197 nm out; 64 nm from the line150/9140/8 18°L/V 13°L/V 6°320/15 -5°310/16 -16°320/32 -31°340/35 -40°350/34 -52°
MOBused from 345 nm out; 112 nm from the lineL/VL/V 18°020/8 11°L/V 6°330/12 -5°330/23 -17°330/30 -32°350/39 -41°340/40 -53°
TLHused from 444 nm out; 155 nm from the line340/23350/26 17°350/21 11°300/13 6°320/25 -6°340/35 -16°350/44 -32°360/51 -42°350/33 -52°
PIEused from 542 nm out; 104 nm from the line360/10340/12 18°330/9 13°290/12 8°260/21 -7°280/18 -18°250/20 -33°250/26 -41°250/20 -51°

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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
HOU Houston, TX departure VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,300 feet, overcast at 23,000 feet from the southeast (130°) at 4 knots 10+ mi 23,000 ft 46 ft 3:53 am CDT (08:53 UTC)
GLS Galveston, TX 20 nm out, 21 nm south of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 2,400 feet from the southeast (130°) at 7 knots 10+ mi none 5 ft 12:46 UTC
HUM Houma, LA 237 nm out, 25 nm north of the line, tower VFR calm 7 mi none 8 ft 23:47 UTC
PIE St Petersburg-Clearwater, FL destination VFR from the north-northwest (340°) at 5 knots 10+ mi none 10 ft 4:53 am EDT (08:53 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 46 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At PIE when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:35 am EDT (14:35 UTC)

Wind from the north at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies VFR

The whole forecast for PIE
  • From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the north at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the north at 9 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
  • From Mon 9:00 pm EDT (01:00 UTC): wind from the north at 6 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, clear skies
The forecast for HOU, the departure
  • From Mon 4:00 am CDT (09:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 2,500 feet, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 11 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 3,500 feet, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
  • 30% chance between Mon 11:00 am CDT (16:00 UTC) and 1:00 pm CDT (18:00 UTC): light rain showers
  • From Mon 5:00 pm CDT (22:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 13 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 5,000 feet
  • From Mon 7:00 pm CDT (00:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 5,000 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 HOU 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC), at PIE 7:04 pm EDT (23:04 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:28 pm EDT (23:28 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

Radar now, the southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley
Radar now, the lower Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the Southeast
Radar now, the Southeast · loop National Weather Service
Radar, the whole country
Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service
Surface analysis now
Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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: William P Hobby Airport, St. Pete-Clearwater International.