William P Hobby Airport to Marquette Sawyer Regional HOU → SAW
1,069 nautical miles (1,230 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 018°, about 015° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 7 h 32 min at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 22-knot tailwind), arriving about 9:48 am EDT (13:48 UTC). Right now HOU is VFR, wind from the southeast (130°) at 6 knots; SAW is VFR, wind from the east-northeast (060°) at 3 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: 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 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 919 to 979 nm out.
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
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 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 9 forecast points nearest it (HOU, SHV, LIT, SGF, COU, STL, BRL, DBQ, GRB). 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 | 230° at 25 kt | −22 kt | 142 kt | 7 h 32 min | 9:48 am EDT (13:48 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 230° at 22 kt | −19 kt | 139 kt | 7 h 41 min | 9:57 am EDT (13:57 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | −14 kt | 13 °C | 134 kt | 7 h 59 min | 10:15 am EDT (14:15 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 250° at 16 kt | −10 kt | 10 °C | 130 kt | 8 h 13 min | 10:29 am EDT (14:29 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 250° at 15 kt | −9 kt | 7 °C | 129 kt | 8 h 17 min | 10:33 am EDT (14:33 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 260° at 16 kt | −9 kt | 3 °C | 129 kt | 8 h 17 min | 10:33 am EDT (14:33 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 260° at 17 kt | −8 kt | -1 °C | 128 kt | 8 h 21 min | 10:37 am EDT (14:37 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 260° at 18 kt | −8 kt | -5 °C | 128 kt | 8 h 21 min | 10:37 am EDT (14:37 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 19 kt | −8 kt | -6 °C | 128 kt | 8 h 21 min | 10:37 am EDT (14:37 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 270° at 23 kt | −9 kt | -17 °C | 129 kt | 8 h 17 min | 10:33 am EDT (14:33 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 280° at 34 kt | −4 kt | -32 °C | 124 kt | 8 h 37 min | 10:53 am EDT (14:53 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 42 kt | −1 kt | -42 °C | 121 kt | 8 h 50 min | 11:06 am EDT (15:06 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 50 kt | +1 kt | -52 °C | 119 kt | 8 h 59 min | 11:15 am EDT (15:15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOU | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 160/22 | 150/27 19° | 180/16 14° | 250/7 9° | 270/10 -5° | 270/16 -13° | 310/23 -29° | 310/26 -40° | 330/20 -52° |
| SHV | used from 100 nm out; 61 nm from the line | 200/18 | 230/24 18° | 230/24 12° | 240/14 8° | 260/12 -4° | 240/11 -15° | 300/31 -29° | 300/32 -40° | 300/36 -52° |
| LIT | used from 250 nm out; 80 nm from the line | 220/21 | 230/17 16° | 250/24 12° | 260/15 7° | 260/13 -5° | 280/25 -16° | 290/35 -30° | 300/42 -40° | 300/40 -52° |
| SGF | used from 399 nm out; 67 nm from the line | 230/33 | 230/28 15° | 250/20 13° | 240/18 7° | 250/20 -6° | 250/24 -17° | 280/42 -31° | 280/49 -40° | 290/46 -51° |
| COU | used from 499 nm out; 57 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° |
| STL | used from 599 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 250/24 | 250/24 16° | 260/23 9° | 270/16 6° | 260/25 -6° | 270/29 -19° | 290/34 -33° | 290/48 -41° | 290/54 -51° |
| BRL | used from 649 nm out; 37 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° |
| DBQ | used from 749 nm out; 49 nm from the line | 230/33 | 250/30 16° | 280/15 9° | 260/15 5° | 260/21 -7° | 260/24 -20° | 250/37 -33° | 270/42 -43° | 280/63 -52° |
| GRB | used from 849 nm out; 81 nm from the line | 250/36 | 270/23 16° | 270/14 9° | 240/18 4° | 280/26 -9° | 280/29 -20° | 290/42 -36° | 290/51 -45° | 290/72 -55° |
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 | VFR Sky: a few clouds at 3,000 feet, a broken layer at 22,000 feet | from the southeast (130°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | 22,000 ft | 46 ft | 12:53 am CDT (05:53 UTC) |
| IAH Houston, TX | 20 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower | VFR Sky: a broken layer at 20,000 feet | from the east-southeast (110°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | 20,000 ft | 95 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| SHV Shreveport, LA | 180 nm out, 18 nm east of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (210°) at 7 knots | 10+ mi | none | 257 ft | 05:56 UTC |
| TXK Texarkana, AR | 240 nm out, 10 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 8 knots | 10+ mi | none | 389 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| FLP Flippin, AR | 419 nm out, 2 nm north of the line | VFR | calm | 10+ mi | none | 719 ft | 05:56 UTC |
| TBN Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 509 nm out, 9 nm northwest of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (190°) at 4 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,159 ft | 05:55 UTC |
| VIH Rolla/Vichy, MO | 539 nm out, 1 nm southwest of the line | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 6 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,147 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| GBG Galesburg, IL | 719 nm out, 2 nm west of the line | VFR | from the south (170°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 764 ft | 05:55 UTC |
| MLI Moline, IL | 749 nm out, 16 nm west of the line, tower | VFR | from the south (190°) at 9 knots | 10+ mi | none | 589 ft | 05:52 UTC |
| MSN Madison, WI | 859 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line, tower | VFR | from the south-southwest (200°) at 9 knots | 10+ mi | none | 886 ft | 05:53 UTC |
| OCQ Oconto, WI | 979 nm out, 14 nm southeast of the line | VFR | from the south-southwest (210°) at 5 knots | 10+ mi | none | 604 ft | 05:55 UTC |
| SAW Marquette, MI | destination | VFR | from the east-northeast (060°) at 3 knots | 10+ mi | none | 1,204 ft | 1:58 am EDT (05:58 UTC) |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,204 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SAW when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:48 am EDT (13:48 UTC)
Wind from the north-northeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 400 feet low IFR
The whole forecast for SAW
- From Mon 2:00 am EDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the west at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 25,000 feet
- From Mon 6:00 am EDT (10:00 UTC): wind from the north at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 1,200 feet
- From Mon 8:00 am EDT (12:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 400 feet
- From Mon 10:00 am EDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a broken layer at 500 feet
- From Mon 12:00 pm EDT (16:00 UTC): wind from the northeast at 8 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 400 feet
- From Mon 10:00 pm EDT (02:00 UTC): wind from the north-northeast at 8 knots, visibility 3 miles, light rain showers, a broken layer at 400 feet
The forecast for HOU, the departure
- From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the southeast at 7 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
- 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
- 6/8771 NW NEGAUNEE, MI, Saturday, October 10, 2026 through Thursday, October 15, 2026 UTC 12 nm from the route, at the destination end · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · until 15 October · ZMP
Daylight
Sunset at HOU 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC), at SAW 7:08 pm EDT (23:08 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:39 pm EDT (23:39 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, Marquette Sawyer Regional.