Louis Armstrong New Orleans International to Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport MSY → MSP
905 nautical miles (1,041 statute miles) north on a straight line, true course 352°, about 353° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 6 h 58 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 10-knot tailwind), arriving about 4:38 am CDT (09:38 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: 1,053 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 716 to 845 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 MSY.
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 10 forecast points nearest it (MSY, JAN, LIT, MEM, SGF, COU, BRL, DSM, MCW, MSP). 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 23 kt | −10 kt | 130 kt | 6 h 58 min | 4:38 am CDT (09:38 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 240° at 21 kt | −6 kt | 15 °C | 126 kt | 7 h 11 min | 4:51 am CDT (09:51 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 250° at 16 kt | −2 kt | 13 °C | 122 kt | 7 h 25 min | 5:05 am CDT (10:05 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 260° at 14 kt | 0 | 9 °C | 120 kt | 7 h 32 min | 5:12 am CDT (10:12 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 270° at 14 kt | +2 kt | 5 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 40 min | 5:20 am CDT (10:20 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 270° at 15 kt | +2 kt | 1 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 40 min | 5:20 am CDT (10:20 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 270° at 17 kt | +2 kt | -3 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 40 min | 5:20 am CDT (10:20 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 270° at 19 kt | +2 kt | -6 °C | 118 kt | 7 h 40 min | 5:20 am CDT (10:20 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 280° at 26 kt | +7 kt | -18 °C | 113 kt | 8 h 01 min | 5:41 am CDT (10:41 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 280° at 33 kt | +11 kt | -32 °C | 109 kt | 8 h 18 min | 5:58 am CDT (10:58 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 290° at 42 kt | +17 kt | -41 °C | 103 kt | 8 h 47 min | 6:27 am CDT (11:27 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 290° at 46 kt | +23 kt | -52 °C | 97 kt | 9 h 20 min | 7:00 am CDT (12:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSY | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 110/5 | 150/6 19° | L/V 12° | 310/5 7° | 310/13 -4° | 290/20 -16° | 330/36 -31° | 330/37 -41° | 350/43 -52° |
| JAN | used from 50 nm out; 68 nm from the line | 230/10 | 270/13 18° | 270/11 12° | 310/11 6° | 300/15 -4° | 300/22 -16° | 310/33 -31° | 320/37 -41° | 330/41 -52° |
| LIT | used from 199 nm out; 91 nm from the line | 220/21 | 230/17 16° | 250/24 12° | 260/15 7° | 260/13 -5° | 280/25 -16° | 290/35 -30° | 300/42 -40° | 300/40 -52° |
| MEM | used from 298 nm out; 62 nm from the line | 230/19 | 260/16 15° | 270/17 12° | 300/13 6° | 300/15 -5° | 300/26 -18° | 300/34 -32° | 300/41 -40° | 310/46 -52° |
| SGF | used from 398 nm out; 92 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° |
| COU | used from 447 nm out; 68 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° |
| BRL | used from 597 nm out; 58 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° |
| DSM | used from 696 nm out; 55 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° |
| MCW | used from 746 nm out; 40 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° |
| MSP | used from 845 nm out; 35 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° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MSY New Orleans, LA | departure | no report just now | 3 ft | ||||
| HDC Hammond, LA | 30 nm out, 5 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 46 ft | ||||
| HKS Jackson, MS | 139 nm out, 22 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 341 ft | ||||
| GLH Greenville, MS | 209 nm out, 8 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 130 ft | ||||
| DRP Colt, AR | 308 nm out, 16 nm east of the line | no report just now | 238 ft | ||||
| CVK Ash Flat, AR | 378 nm out, 10 nm west of the line | no report just now | 717 ft | ||||
| JEF Jefferson City, MO | 527 nm out, 16 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 549 ft | ||||
| MYJ Mexico, MO | 557 nm out, 6 nm east of the line | no report just now | 822 ft | ||||
| OTM Ottumwa, IA | 676 nm out, 4 nm west of the line | no report just now | 845 ft | ||||
| ALO Waterloo, IA | 766 nm out, 13 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 873 ft | ||||
| RST Rochester, MN | 845 nm out, 21 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 1,317 ft | ||||
| MSP Minneapolis, MN | destination | no report just now | 841 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 1,317 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MSP when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 4:38 am CDT (09:38 UTC)
MSP 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 9 nm from the route, 557 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
- 6/6656 ANOKA, MN, Monday, October 5, 2026 through Monday, October 19, 2026 Local 19 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · until 19 October · ZMP
Daylight
Sunset at MSY 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC), at MSP 6:33 pm CDT (23:33 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:03 pm CDT (00:03 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MSP is before sunrise there (7:24 am CDT (12:24 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: Louis Armstrong New Orleans International, Minneapolis-St Paul Intl/Wold-Chamberlain Airport.