George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport to San Diego International IAH → SAN
1,130 nautical miles (1,301 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 284°, about 281° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 9 h 35 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 2-knot headwind), arriving about 9:10 am PDT (16:10 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: 3,376 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: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 35,000 ft to 45,000 ft. Over the last 169 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 IAH.
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 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 10 forecast points nearest it (HOU, CLL, SAT, ABI, INK, ELP, TUS, PHX, BLH, SAN). 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 | 200° at 15 kt | +2 kt | 17 °C | 118 kt | 9 h 35 min | 9:10 am PDT (16:10 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 200° at 17 kt | +3 kt | 14 °C | 117 kt | 9 h 39 min | 9:14 am PDT (16:14 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 200° at 20 kt | +4 kt | 12 °C | 116 kt | 9 h 44 min | 9:19 am PDT (16:19 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 210° at 21 kt | +7 kt | 8 °C | 113 kt | 10 h | 9:35 am PDT (16:35 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 210° at 23 kt | +11 kt | 4 °C | 109 kt | 10 h 22 min | 9:57 am PDT (16:57 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 220° at 28 kt | +14 kt | 0 °C | 106 kt | 10 h 40 min | 10:15 am PDT (17:15 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 220° at 32 kt | +18 kt | -3 °C | 102 kt | 11 h 05 min | 10:40 am PDT (17:40 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 220° at 35 kt | +21 kt | -6 °C | 99 kt | 11 h 25 min | 11:00 am PDT (18:00 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 230° at 44 kt | +29 kt | -16 °C | 91 kt | 12 h 25 min | 12:00 pm PDT (19:00 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 230° at 51 kt | +37 kt | -28 °C | 83 kt | 13 h 37 min | 1:12 pm PDT (20:12 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 240° at 51 kt | +40 kt | -37 °C | 80 kt | 14 h 08 min | 1:43 pm PDT (20:43 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 240° at 44 kt | +37 kt | -49 °C | 83 kt | 13 h 37 min | 1:12 pm PDT (20:12 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; 38 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° |
| CLL | used from 50 nm out; 27 nm from the line | 170/22 | 170/26 18° | 200/15 14° | 240/13 8° | 240/15 -5° | 260/17 -13° | 290/27 -29° | 290/22 -40° | 320/30 -51° |
| SAT | used from 149 nm out; 67 nm from the line | 150/26 | 180/18 19° | 180/18 14° | 200/14 9° | 230/16 -6° | 210/9 -13° | 270/8 -29° | 280/6 -39° | 340/19 -51° |
| ABI | used from 248 nm out; 95 nm from the line | 200/31 17° | 210/21 15° | 240/15 9° | 250/14 -4° | 250/24 -14° | 250/36 -28° | 270/35 -38° | 290/41 -50° | |
| INK | used from 297 nm out; 99 nm from the line | 190/23 20° | 200/18 15° | 230/18 8° | 240/23 -4° | 240/37 -14° | 240/46 -27° | 250/42 -38° | 260/36 -50° | |
| ELP | used from 496 nm out; 58 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° | |
| TUS | used from 694 nm out; 94 nm from the line | 210/13 13° | 200/35 9° | 210/40 5° | 220/50 -7° | 220/59 -18° | 230/79 -26° | 230/84 -35° | 230/84 -48° | |
| PHX | used from 892 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 150/5 | 200/21 12° | 200/27 6° | 200/35 3° | 220/58 -8° | 220/69 -19° | 220/87 -26° | 230/93 -35° | 230/79 -47° |
| BLH | used from 942 nm out; 74 nm from the line | 210/13 | 200/21 11° | 200/22 5° | 210/25 -1° | 210/51 -10° | 220/61 -20° | 220/81 -29° | 220/92 -34° | 220/79 -45° |
| SAN | used from 1041 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 200/11 | 200/23 7° | 210/27 4° | 210/31 -3° | 220/56 -10° | 220/56 -19° | 220/52 -30° | 220/64 -37° | 220/67 -44° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IAH Houston, TX | departure | no report just now | 95 ft | ||||
| TME Houston, TX | 30 nm out, 18 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 165 ft | ||||
| EDC Austin, TX | 119 nm out, 3 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 620 ft | ||||
| SJT San Angelo, TX | 278 nm out, 22 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,918 ft | ||||
| PEQ Pecos, TX | 426 nm out, 6 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 2,613 ft | ||||
| ELP El Paso, TX | 575 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,961 ft | ||||
| LSB Lordsburg, NM | 704 nm out, 13 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 4,287 ft | ||||
| RYN Tucson, AZ | 823 nm out, 13 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 2,418 ft | ||||
| NYL Yuma, AZ | 1001 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 213 ft | ||||
| CXL Calexico, CA | 1041 nm out, 5 nm west of the line | no report just now | 5 ft | ||||
| SAN San Diego, CA | destination | no report just now | 16 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 4,287 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SAN when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:10 am PDT (16:10 UTC)
SAN has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/4240 SAN ANGELO, TX, Sunday, March 8, 2026 through Sunday, November 1, 2026 Local 14 nm from the route, 268 nm along the route · security · until 1 November · ZFW
- 6/2656 Coyote Wells, CA, Saturday, July 4, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027 Local 3 nm from the route, 1031 nm along the route · security · until 2 January · ZLA
- 6/2657 Calexico, CA, Saturday, July 4, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027 Local 3 nm from the route, 1031 nm along the route · security · until 2 January · ZLA
- 6/2652 Coyote Wells, CA, Saturday, July 4, 2026 through Saturday, January 2, 2027 Local 3 nm from the route, 1051 nm along the route · security · until 2 January · ZLA
- 6/4812 El Centro, CA, Wednesday, July 15, 2026 through Tuesday, July 13, 2027 Local 20 nm from the route, 1071 nm along the route · security · until 13 July · ZLA
Daylight
Sunset at IAH 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC), at SAN 6:19 pm PDT (01:19 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:44 pm PDT (01:44 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: George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport, San Diego International.