Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport to William P Hobby Airport MSP → HOU
920 nautical miles (1,059 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 187°, about 187° magnetic at the departure end (variation 0E). At 120 knots that is 7 h 29 min at the quickest height in today's winds (39,000 ft, a 3-knot tailwind), arriving about 7:43 am CDT (12:43 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: 120 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 70 to 540 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 MSP.
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 (MSP, MCW, DSM, MKC, 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 | 220° at 27 kt | +21 kt | 99 kt | 9 h 18 min | 9:32 am CDT (14:32 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 240° at 23 kt | +15 kt | 16 °C | 105 kt | 8 h 46 min | 9:00 am CDT (14:00 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 240° at 19 kt | +12 kt | 14 °C | 108 kt | 8 h 31 min | 8:45 am CDT (13:45 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 240° at 17 kt | +10 kt | 10 °C | 110 kt | 8 h 22 min | 8:36 am CDT (13:36 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 240° at 16 kt | +9 kt | 6 °C | 111 kt | 8 h 17 min | 8:31 am CDT (13:31 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 250° at 17 kt | +8 kt | 1 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 13 min | 8:27 am CDT (13:27 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 250° at 19 kt | +7 kt | -3 °C | 113 kt | 8 h 08 min | 8:22 am CDT (13:22 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 260° at 20 kt | +6 kt | -6 °C | 114 kt | 8 h 04 min | 8:18 am CDT (13:18 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 260° at 25 kt | +8 kt | -17 °C | 112 kt | 8 h 13 min | 8:27 am CDT (13:27 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 270° at 36 kt | +2 kt | -31 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 48 min | 8:02 am CDT (13:02 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 270° at 42 kt | +2 kt | -41 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 48 min | 8:02 am CDT (13:02 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 280° at 44 kt | −3 kt | -51 °C | 123 kt | 7 h 29 min | 7:43 am CDT (12:43 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSP | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 230/26 | 240/30 17° | 240/24 12° | 250/22 5° | 250/35 -10° | 260/36 -21° | 250/41 -36° | 250/49 -45° | 260/58 -52° |
| MCW | used from 50 nm out; 29 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° |
| DSM | used from 150 nm out; 27 nm from the line | 230/40 | 250/33 17° | 250/18 12° | 240/17 5° | 260/28 -8° | 270/34 -19° | 260/41 -33° | 260/55 -41° | 270/62 -51° |
| MKC | used from 300 nm out; 34 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° |
| SGF | used from 400 nm out; 56 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 500 nm out; 52 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 650 nm out; 90 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 800 nm out; 75 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 850 nm out; 45 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSP Minneapolis, MN | departure | no report just now | 841 ft | ||||
| AEL Albert Lea, MN | 70 nm out, 3 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 1,261 ft | ||||
| AMW Ames, IA | 170 nm out, 5 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 955 ft | ||||
| DSM Des Moines, IA | 200 nm out, 4 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 957 ft | ||||
| MKC Kansas City, MO | 350 nm out, 23 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 756 ft | ||||
| LLU Lamar, MO | 450 nm out, 3 nm north of the line | no report just now | 1,009 ft | ||||
| JLN Joplin, MO | 470 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 977 ft | ||||
| FSM Fort Smith, AR | 580 nm out, 12 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 469 ft | ||||
| OSA Mount Pleasant, TX | 710 nm out, 5 nm west of the line | no report just now | 364 ft | ||||
| GGG Longview, TX | 750 nm out, 13 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 365 ft | ||||
| IAH Houston, TX | 900 nm out, 5 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 95 ft | ||||
| HOU Houston, TX | destination | no report just now | 46 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,261 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At HOU when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 7:43 am CDT (12:43 UTC)
HOU has no terminal forecast; use the nearest airport that does.
Temporary flight restrictions on the line or within 25 nm of it
- 6/6656 ANOKA, MN, Monday, October 5, 2026 through Monday, October 19, 2026 Local 19 nm from the route, at the departure end · security · until 19 October · ZMP
Daylight
Sunset at MSP 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC), at HOU 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: Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport, William P Hobby Airport.