General Mitchell International to Salt Lake City International MKE → SLC
1,081 nautical miles (1,244 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 271°, about 275° magnetic at the departure end (variation 4W). At 120 knots that is 10 h 18 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 15-knot headwind), arriving about 10:03 am MDT (16:03 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: 725 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 79 to 654 nm out.
- AIRMET SIERRA 4E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 516 to 615 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 38,000 ft. Over the route from 664 to 1041 nm out.
- AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the last 367 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 763 to 932 nm out.
- AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the last 248 nm of the route.
- AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 248 nm of the route.
- AIRMET TANGO 5W: strong surface winds (30 knots or more) (due to sustained surface winds greater than 30 knots). Over the route from 843 to 932 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 MKE.
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 8 forecast points nearest it (JOT, DBQ, MCW, FSD, ONL, BFF, RKS, SLC). 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 24 kt | +15 kt | 20 °C | 105 kt | 10 h 18 min | 10:03 am MDT (16:03 UTC) |
| 6,500 ft | 220° at 23 kt | +17 kt | 17 °C | 103 kt | 10 h 30 min | 10:15 am MDT (16:15 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 220° at 24 kt | +19 kt | 13 °C | 101 kt | 10 h 42 min | 10:27 am MDT (16:27 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 230° at 23 kt | +19 kt | 9 °C | 101 kt | 10 h 42 min | 10:27 am MDT (16:27 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 230° at 23 kt | +19 kt | 4 °C | 101 kt | 10 h 42 min | 10:27 am MDT (16:27 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 230° at 24 kt | +20 kt | -1 °C | 100 kt | 10 h 49 min | 10:34 am MDT (16:34 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 230° at 25 kt | +22 kt | -5 °C | 98 kt | 11 h 02 min | 10:47 am MDT (16:47 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 230° at 25 kt | +23 kt | -9 °C | 97 kt | 11 h 09 min | 10:54 am MDT (16:54 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 230° at 32 kt | +28 kt | -21 °C | 92 kt | 11 h 45 min | 11:30 am MDT (17:30 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 230° at 40 kt | +36 kt | -33 °C | 84 kt | 12 h 52 min | 12:37 pm MDT (18:37 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 250° at 48 kt | +48 kt | -39 °C | 72 kt | 15 h 01 min | 2:46 pm MDT (20:46 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 260° at 55 kt | +56 kt | -47 °C | 64 kt | 16 h 53 min | 4:38 pm MDT (22:38 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| JOT | used from 0 nm out; 87 nm from the line | 250/23 | 270/22 15° | 250/16 10° | 240/9 4° | 280/22 -7° | 280/29 -19° | 300/29 -34° | 290/50 -43° | 300/64 -52° |
| DBQ | used from 50 nm out; 60 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° |
| MCW | used from 198 nm out; 21 nm from the line | 220/44 | 250/30 17° | 230/14 12° | 240/17 6° | 250/22 -8° | 270/29 -20° | 250/34 -34° | 260/52 -43° | 260/59 -51° |
| FSD | used from 297 nm out; 80 nm from the line | 190/9 | 230/30 18° | 240/23 13° | 240/20 6° | 260/22 -9° | 250/31 -21° | 250/43 -36° | 260/49 -43° | 270/53 -47° |
| ONL | used from 397 nm out; 56 nm from the line | 210/31 20° | 230/27 13° | 230/18 7° | 220/19 -8° | 240/26 -20° | 250/44 -35° | 270/52 -39° | 260/57 -47° | |
| BFF | used from 595 nm out; 80 nm from the line | 180/28 | 220/33 15° | 210/31 7° | 230/32 -9° | 220/41 -21° | 220/40 -33° | 240/47 -36° | 250/54 -46° | |
| RKS | used from 843 nm out; 75 nm from the line | 200/41 | 220/44 1° | 220/35 -11° | 220/46 -24° | 210/53 -27° | 220/62 -35° | 230/61 -44° | ||
| SLC | used from 991 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 200/5 | 230/8 2° | 220/20 -2° | 210/40 -12° | 190/53 -25° | 210/62 -30° | 220/69 -34° | 220/64 -43° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MKE Milwaukee, WI | departure | no report just now | 728 ft | ||||
| UES Waukesha, WI | 20 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 911 ft | ||||
| ALO Waterloo, IA | 198 nm out, 23 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 873 ft | ||||
| POH Pocahontas, IA | 297 nm out, 7 nm south of the line | no report just now | 1,225 ft | ||||
| SUX Sioux City, IA | 377 nm out, 23 nm south of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,098 ft | ||||
| RBE Bassett, NE | 516 nm out, 1 nm northeast of the line | no report just now | 2,349 ft | ||||
| VTN Valentine, NE | 555 nm out, 23 nm north of the line | no report just now | 2,595 ft | ||||
| GUR Guernsey, WY | 744 nm out, 16 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 4,401 ft | ||||
| RWL Rawlins, WY | 853 nm out, 11 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 6,816 ft | ||||
| RKS Rock Springs, WY | 942 nm out, 15 nm north of the line | no report just now | 6,764 ft | ||||
| EVW Evanston, WY | 1031 nm out, 18 nm north of the line | no report just now | 7,142 ft | ||||
| SLC Salt Lake City, UT | destination | no report just now | 4,230 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 7,142 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At SLC when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:03 am MDT (16:03 UTC)
SLC has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
No temporary flight restriction on or near this route right now.
Daylight
Sunset at MKE 6:14 pm CDT (23:14 UTC), at SLC 6:52 pm MDT (00:52 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:19 pm MDT (01:19 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: General Mitchell International, Salt Lake City International.