Laredo International to Kansas City International LRD → MCI
744 nautical miles (857 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 017°, about 012° magnetic at the departure end (variation 5E). At 120 knots that is 5 h at the quickest height in today's winds (3,500 ft, a 29-knot tailwind), arriving about 3:39 am CDT (08:39 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: 37 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 last 89 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 LRD.
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 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 (LRD, SAT, DAL, OKC, TUL, MKC). 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 | 200° at 29 kt | −29 kt | 149 kt | 5 h | 3:39 am CDT (08:39 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 210° at 23 kt | −22 kt | 142 kt | 5 h 14 min | 3:53 am CDT (08:53 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 220° at 18 kt | −17 kt | 16 °C | 137 kt | 5 h 26 min | 4:05 am CDT (09:05 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 220° at 14 kt | −13 kt | 13 °C | 133 kt | 5 h 36 min | 4:15 am CDT (09:15 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 230° at 12 kt | −11 kt | 9 °C | 131 kt | 5 h 41 min | 4:20 am CDT (09:20 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 240° at 14 kt | −11 kt | 5 °C | 131 kt | 5 h 41 min | 4:20 am CDT (09:20 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 240° at 16 kt | −12 kt | 0 °C | 132 kt | 5 h 38 min | 4:17 am CDT (09:17 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 240° at 18 kt | −13 kt | -5 °C | 133 kt | 5 h 36 min | 4:15 am CDT (09:15 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 240° at 19 kt | −14 kt | -6 °C | 134 kt | 5 h 33 min | 4:12 am CDT (09:12 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 240° at 20 kt | −15 kt | -15 °C | 135 kt | 5 h 31 min | 4:10 am CDT (09:10 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 260° at 30 kt | −12 kt | -29 °C | 132 kt | 5 h 38 min | 4:17 am CDT (09:17 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 270° at 30 kt | −10 kt | -39 °C | 130 kt | 5 h 43 min | 4:22 am CDT (09:22 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 32 kt | +1 kt | -51 °C | 119 kt | 6 h 15 min | 4:54 am CDT (09:54 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRD | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 150/27 | 170/24 17° | 170/20 14° | 180/12 10° | 230/19 -4° | 160/10 -14° | 130/10 -28° | 110/7 -39° | 010/22 -51° |
| SAT | used from 50 nm out; 57 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° |
| DAL | used from 248 nm out; 78 nm from the line | 190/29 | 220/23 17° | 220/17 13° | 250/18 8° | 230/18 -5° | 240/18 -15° | 270/34 -29° | 280/33 -39° | 300/36 -51° |
| OKC | used from 397 nm out; 77 nm from the line | 200/44 | 230/32 18° | 240/13 15° | 240/10 9° | 240/20 -5° | 250/27 -16° | 260/47 -28° | 270/48 -39° | 270/45 -50° |
| TUL | used from 496 nm out; 31 nm from the line | 210/37 | 240/29 17° | 260/15 14° | 260/11 7° | 240/22 -6° | 250/29 -16° | 270/45 -29° | 270/47 -40° | 280/44 -50° |
| MKC | used from 645 nm out; 67 nm from the line | 220/44 | 250/28 18° | 250/18 13° | 240/12 6° | 280/24 -6° | 240/34 -18° | 260/47 -30° | 260/51 -40° | 270/58 -50° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LRD Laredo, TX | departure | no report just now | 508 ft | ||||
| COT Cotulla, TX | 60 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line | no report just now | 474 ft | ||||
| SKF San Antonio, TX | 119 nm out, 11 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 690 ft | ||||
| DZB Horseshoe Bay, TX | 189 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 1,093 ft | ||||
| GRK Fort Hood (Killeen), TX | 228 nm out, 17 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,015 ft | ||||
| AFW Fort Worth, TX | 347 nm out, 6 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 723 ft | ||||
| ADM Ardmore, OK | 427 nm out, 6 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 776 ft | ||||
| ADH Ada, OK | 457 nm out, 2 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 1,015 ft | ||||
| RVS Tulsa, OK | 536 nm out, 10 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 638 ft | ||||
| IDP Independence, KS | 605 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 824 ft | ||||
| IXD Olathe, KS | 715 nm out, 2 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,087 ft | ||||
| MCI Kansas City, MO | destination | no report just now | 1,027 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,093 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MCI when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 3:39 am CDT (08:39 UTC)
MCI has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/8646 Arlington, TX, Thursday, October 15, 2026 through Friday, October 16, 2026 UTC 20 nm from the route, 337 nm along the route · drones kept away from a public gathering · starts Thursday 15 October · ZFW
Daylight
Sunset at LRD 7:12 pm CDT (00:12 UTC), at MCI 6:44 pm CDT (23:44 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:11 pm CDT (00:11 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MCI is before sunrise there (7:25 am CDT (12:25 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: Laredo International, Kansas City International.