Lake Charles Regional to Montrose Regional LCH → MTJ
883 nautical miles (1,016 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 309°, about 306° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3E). At 120 knots that is 7 h 14 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 2-knot tailwind), arriving about 12:12 pm MDT (18:12 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 357 to 476 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 228 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 route from 684 to 764 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 2W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 22,000 ft. Over the last 179 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). 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). Near the route, at the destination end.
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 LCH.
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 8 forecast points nearest it (LCH, CLL, DAL, SPS, AMA, TCC, ALS, GJT). 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 | 210° at 25 kt | −2 kt | 122 kt | 7 h 14 min | 12:12 pm MDT (18:12 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 210° at 23 kt | −1 kt | 17 °C | 121 kt | 7 h 18 min | 12:16 pm MDT (18:16 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 220° at 19 kt | +1 kt | 14 °C | 119 kt | 7 h 25 min | 12:23 pm MDT (18:23 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 20 kt | +5 kt | 9 °C | 115 kt | 7 h 41 min | 12:39 pm MDT (18:39 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 21 kt | +7 kt | 5 °C | 113 kt | 7 h 49 min | 12:47 pm MDT (18:47 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 24 kt | +8 kt | 1 °C | 112 kt | 7 h 53 min | 12:51 pm MDT (18:51 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 28 kt | +10 kt | -4 °C | 110 kt | 8 h 02 min | 1:00 pm MDT (19:00 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 31 kt | +11 kt | -7 °C | 109 kt | 8 h 06 min | 1:04 pm MDT (19:04 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 39 kt | +19 kt | -16 °C | 101 kt | 8 h 45 min | 1:43 pm MDT (19:43 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 250° at 53 kt | +31 kt | -28 °C | 89 kt | 9 h 55 min | 2:53 pm MDT (20:53 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 260° at 48 kt | +35 kt | -37 °C | 85 kt | 10 h 23 min | 3:21 pm MDT (21:21 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 280° at 45 kt | +41 kt | -49 °C | 79 kt | 11 h 11 min | 4:09 pm MDT (22:09 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCH | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 170/21 | 160/23 18° | 170/13 13° | 170/6 8° | 300/12 -7° | 280/16 -14° | 320/27 -30° | 330/23 -41° | 340/38 -51° |
| CLL | used from 99 nm out; 81 nm from the line | 180/24 | 170/21 19° | 180/10 14° | 230/7 8° | 230/16 -6° | 260/20 -13° | 290/23 -29° | 320/21 -39° | 340/35 -51° |
| DAL | used from 149 nm out; 75 nm from the line | 190/30 | 200/28 18° | 220/18 13° | 250/13 8° | 240/24 -6° | 270/20 -14° | 270/35 -29° | 290/34 -39° | 310/41 -51° |
| SPS | used from 298 nm out; 38 nm from the line | 220/35 | 220/31 18° | 230/16 14° | 230/10 8° | 250/18 -5° | 250/32 -16° | 260/51 -28° | 280/46 -38° | 300/50 -50° |
| AMA | used from 446 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 230/32 | 230/28 14° | 230/27 7° | 230/38 -6° | 230/50 -17° | 250/69 -28° | 260/62 -37° | 270/65 -49° | |
| TCC | used from 595 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 240/20 | 230/22 13° | 230/27 6° | 230/40 -7° | 240/55 -18° | 240/74 -27° | 240/68 -37° | 250/64 -49° | |
| ALS | used from 694 nm out; 49 nm from the line | 240/35 3° | 230/54 -9° | 240/66 -19° | 230/85 -26° | 240/87 -34° | 240/70 -47° | |||
| GJT | used from 843 nm out; 66 nm from the line | 220/26 6° | 230/39 0° | 220/55 -13° | 230/60 -23° | 230/78 -31° | 230/80 -35° | 230/74 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LCH Lake Charles, LA | departure | no report just now | 14 ft | ||||
| JAS Jasper, TX | 60 nm out, 10 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 212 ft | ||||
| PSN Palestine, TX | 159 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 422 ft | ||||
| GKY Arlington, TX | 248 nm out, 2 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 628 ft | ||||
| FTW Fort Worth, TX | 268 nm out, 2 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 710 ft | ||||
| SPS Wichita Falls, TX | 357 nm out, 22 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,019 ft | ||||
| AMA Amarillo, TX | 526 nm out, 9 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 3,606 ft | ||||
| DHT Dalhart, TX | 585 nm out, 9 nm north of the line | no report just now | 3,991 ft | ||||
| RTN Raton, NM | 694 nm out, 8 nm south of the line | no report just now | 6,352 ft | ||||
| RCV Del Norte, CO | 794 nm out, 4 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 7,955 ft | ||||
| GUC Gunnison, CO | 843 nm out, 24 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 7,679 ft | ||||
| MTJ Montrose, CO | destination | no report just now | 5,758 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 7,955 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MTJ when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 12:12 pm MDT (18:12 UTC)
MTJ has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 9/2934 DALLAS, TX 18 nm from the route, 248 nm along the route · a VIP movement · ZFW
- 6/8646 Arlington, TX, Thursday, October 15, 2026 through Friday, October 16, 2026 UTC 5 nm from the route, 258 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Thursday 15 October · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at LCH 6:45 pm CDT (23:45 UTC), at MTJ 6:36 pm MDT (00:36 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:03 pm MDT (01:03 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: Lake Charles Regional, Montrose Regional.