Taylor County to George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport MDZ → IAH
938 nautical miles (1,080 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 196°, about 196° magnetic at the departure end (variation 0E). At 120 knots that is 7 h 41 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 2-knot tailwind), arriving about 8:26 am CDT (13:26 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 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 first 419 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 MDZ.
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 9 forecast points nearest it (LSE, DBQ, BRL, COU, SGF, FSM, SHV, CLL, HOU). 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 | 230° at 25 kt | +22 kt | 98 kt | 9 h 34 min | 10:19 am CDT (15:19 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 230° at 23 kt | +18 kt | 16 °C | 102 kt | 9 h 12 min | 9:57 am CDT (14:57 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 17 kt | +11 kt | 12 °C | 109 kt | 8 h 36 min | 9:21 am CDT (14:21 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 250° at 15 kt | +9 kt | 9 °C | 111 kt | 8 h 27 min | 9:12 am CDT (14:12 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 250° at 15 kt | +8 kt | 6 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 22 min | 9:07 am CDT (14:07 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 260° at 16 kt | +8 kt | 1 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 22 min | 9:07 am CDT (14:07 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 260° at 18 kt | +8 kt | -3 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 22 min | 9:07 am CDT (14:07 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 260° at 19 kt | +8 kt | -6 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 22 min | 9:07 am CDT (14:07 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 24 kt | +11 kt | -17 °C | 109 kt | 8 h 36 min | 9:21 am CDT (14:21 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 270° at 35 kt | +7 kt | -31 °C | 113 kt | 8 h 18 min | 9:03 am CDT (14:03 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 280° at 41 kt | +3 kt | -41 °C | 117 kt | 8 h 01 min | 8:46 am CDT (13:46 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 47 kt | −2 kt | -52 °C | 122 kt | 7 h 41 min | 8:26 am CDT (13:26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LSE | used from 0 nm out; 60 nm from the line | 230/40 | 240/24 17° | 240/13 10° | 250/13 6° | 280/22 -9° | 250/28 -21° | 250/41 -34° | 260/42 -44° | 270/62 -53° |
| DBQ | used from 100 nm out; 46 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° |
| BRL | used from 200 nm out; 51 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° |
| COU | used from 299 nm out; 65 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° |
| SGF | used from 449 nm out; 20 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° |
| FSM | used from 549 nm out; 49 nm from the line | 210/27 | 250/23 16° | 250/20 13° | 240/17 8° | 250/18 -6° | 260/31 -16° | 280/42 -30° | 280/44 -40° | 290/38 -51° |
| SHV | used from 699 nm out; 66 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° |
| CLL | used from 848 nm out; 73 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° |
| HOU | used from 898 nm out; 40 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° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MDZ Medford, WI | departure | no report just now | 1,478 ft | ||||
| CMY Sparta, WI | 70 nm out, 2 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 839 ft | ||||
| PDC Prairie du Chien, WI | 130 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 660 ft | ||||
| CID Cedar Rapids, IA | 200 nm out, 7 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 869 ft | ||||
| MBY Moberly, MO | 349 nm out, 2 nm south of the line | no report just now | 866 ft | ||||
| COU Columbia, MO | 389 nm out, 20 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 889 ft | ||||
| BBG Branson, MO | 529 nm out, 10 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,302 ft | ||||
| TXK Texarkana, AR | 719 nm out, 18 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 389 ft | ||||
| GGG Longview, TX | 789 nm out, 3 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 365 ft | ||||
| CXO Houston, TX | 918 nm out, 9 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 244 ft | ||||
| IAH Houston, TX | destination | no report just now | 95 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,478 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At IAH when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 8:26 am CDT (13:26 UTC)
IAH has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/7634 CENTRALIA, MO, Monday, October 12, 2026 UTC 18 nm from the route, 369 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
Daylight
Sunset at MDZ 6:21 pm CDT (23:21 UTC), at IAH 6:54 pm CDT (23:54 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:18 pm CDT (00:18 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: Taylor County, George Bush Intcntl/Houston Airport.