William P Hobby Airport to Santa FE Regional HOU → SAF
653 nautical miles (752 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 306°, about 303° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 4 h 57 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 12-knot tailwind), arriving about 1:11 am MDT (07:11 UTC), after sunset at the destination. 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 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
- SIGMET 6W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 34,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 10:55 pm CDT (03:55 UTC). Over the last 99 nm of the route.
as issued
WSUS33 KKCI 120155 MKCW WST 120155 CONVECTIVE SIGMET 6W VALID UNTIL 0355Z CO NM FROM 50SSW DEN-30NNE TBE-50SSW CME-50E SJN-20NE DVC-50SSW DEN AREA TS MOV FROM 23040KT. TOPS TO FL340.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the last 109 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 99 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). 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 HOU.
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 20:00–03:00 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 6 forecast points nearest it (HOU, CLL, ABI, LBB, TCC, ABQ). 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 | 180° at 23 kt | −12 kt | 19 °C | 132 kt | 4 h 57 min | 1:11 am MDT (07:11 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 190° at 22 kt | −10 kt | 17 °C | 130 kt | 5 h 01 min | 1:15 am MDT (07:15 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 200° at 21 kt | −4 kt | 13 °C | 124 kt | 5 h 16 min | 1:30 am MDT (07:30 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 210° at 21 kt | 0 | 10 °C | 120 kt | 5 h 26 min | 1:40 am MDT (07:40 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 220° at 21 kt | +4 kt | 6 °C | 116 kt | 5 h 38 min | 1:52 am MDT (07:52 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 22 kt | +6 kt | 2 °C | 114 kt | 5 h 44 min | 1:58 am MDT (07:58 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 23 kt | +8 kt | -2 °C | 112 kt | 5 h 50 min | 2:04 am MDT (08:04 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 24 kt | +10 kt | -5 °C | 110 kt | 5 h 56 min | 2:10 am MDT (08:10 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 30 kt | +15 kt | -15 °C | 105 kt | 6 h 13 min | 2:27 am MDT (08:27 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 42 kt | +27 kt | -28 °C | 93 kt | 7 h 01 min | 3:15 am MDT (09:15 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 42 kt | +33 kt | -38 °C | 87 kt | 7 h 30 min | 3:44 am MDT (09:44 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 270° at 36 kt | +30 kt | -51 °C | 90 kt | 7 h 15 min | 3:29 am MDT (09:29 UTC) |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 160/18 | 160/14 17° | 180/19 12° | 190/11 8° | 260/12 -4° | 260/14 -13° | 310/26 -30° | 310/30 -40° | 320/21 -52° |
| CLL | used from 49 nm out; 14 nm from the line | 160/18 | 190/18 16° | 200/19 12° | 220/14 7° | 260/18 -5° | 250/20 -13° | 290/29 -29° | 290/31 -40° | 300/22 -53° |
| ABI | used from 198 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 180/26 17° | 220/18 12° | 230/25 8° | 230/28 -5° | 240/29 -14° | 250/35 -28° | 270/37 -39° | 280/37 -51° | |
| LBB | used from 346 nm out; 42 nm from the line | 180/26 20° | 210/21 13° | 230/21 7° | 250/25 -5° | 250/34 -16° | 250/52 -28° | 260/47 -38° | 260/49 -50° | |
| TCC | used from 495 nm out; 43 nm from the line | 200/26 | 200/28 14° | 220/25 7° | 230/28 -7° | 240/41 -19° | 240/62 -28° | 250/61 -37° | 250/49 -49° | |
| ABQ | used from 594 nm out; 58 nm from the line | 200/28 13° | 210/28 5° | 210/44 -7° | 230/46 -20° | 230/80 -28° | 240/74 -35° | 240/58 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU Houston, TX | departure | no report just now | 46 ft | ||||
| TME Houston, TX | 30 nm out, 11 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 165 ft | ||||
| CLL College Station, TX | 79 nm out, 13 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 320 ft | ||||
| GRK Fort Hood (Killeen), TX | 158 nm out, 7 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,015 ft | ||||
| BWD Brownwood, TX | 228 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 1,386 ft | ||||
| ABI Abilene, TX | 277 nm out, 7 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,790 ft | ||||
| SNK Snyder, TX | 346 nm out, 15 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 2,430 ft | ||||
| LBB Lubbock, TX | 416 nm out, 11 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,282 ft | ||||
| PRZ Portales, NM | 495 nm out, 8 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 4,077 ft | ||||
| SXU Santa Rosa, NM | 574 nm out, 3 nm east of the line | no report just now | 4,791 ft | ||||
| SAF Santa Fe, NM | destination | no report just now | 6,348 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 6,348 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SAF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 1:11 am MDT (07:11 UTC)
SAF has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/0543 MCGREGOR, TX 19 nm from the route, 158 nm along the route · security · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at HOU 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC), at SAF 6:33 pm MDT (00:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:58 pm MDT (00:58 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SAF is before sunrise there (7:08 am MDT (13:08 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: William P Hobby Airport, Santa FE Regional.