Chicago O'Hare International to Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport ORD → MEM
428 nautical miles (492 statute miles) south on a straight line, true course 194°, about 197° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 2 h 44 min at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 37-knot tailwind), arriving about 9:32 pm CDT (02:32 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: 6,481 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
No SIGMET or AIRMET covers any part of this route right now.
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 ORD.
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 20:00–03:00 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 5 forecast points nearest it (JOT, SPI, STL, CGI, MEM). 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 | 250° at 10 kt | +5 kt | 115 kt | 3 h 43 min | 10:31 pm CDT (03:31 UTC) | |
| 6,500 ft | 280° at 13 kt | +1 kt | 16 °C | 119 kt | 3 h 36 min | 10:24 pm CDT (03:24 UTC) |
| 8,500 ft | 280° at 17 kt | 0 | 12 °C | 120 kt | 3 h 34 min | 10:22 pm CDT (03:22 UTC) |
| 10,500 ft | 290° at 20 kt | −3 kt | 8 °C | 123 kt | 3 h 29 min | 10:17 pm CDT (03:17 UTC) |
| 12,500 ft | 300° at 21 kt | −6 kt | 4 °C | 126 kt | 3 h 24 min | 10:12 pm CDT (03:12 UTC) |
| 14,500 ft | 300° at 21 kt | −7 kt | 0 °C | 127 kt | 3 h 22 min | 10:10 pm CDT (03:10 UTC) |
| 16,500 ft | 310° at 21 kt | −9 kt | -5 °C | 129 kt | 3 h 19 min | 10:07 pm CDT (03:07 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 310° at 21 kt | −11 kt | -8 °C | 131 kt | 3 h 16 min | 10:04 pm CDT (03:04 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 330° at 28 kt | −20 kt | -19 °C | 140 kt | 3 h 03 min | 9:51 pm CDT (02:51 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 320° at 50 kt | −30 kt | -34 °C | 150 kt | 2 h 51 min | 9:39 pm CDT (02:39 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 320° at 59 kt | −37 kt | -43 °C | 157 kt | 2 h 44 min | 9:32 pm CDT (02:32 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 320° at 58 kt | −34 kt | -50 °C | 154 kt | 2 h 47 min | 9:35 pm CDT (02:35 UTC) |
Based on data from the 11th at 18:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 00:00 UTC for use 20:00 to 03:00 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; 7 nm from the line | 230/11 | 290/12 16° | 300/19 10° | 320/19 4° | 300/17 -9° | 330/31 -20° | 320/49 -37° | 320/53 -45° | 320/67 -49° |
| SPI | used from 99 nm out; 52 nm from the line | 210/13 | 260/11 17° | 270/18 10° | 290/21 4° | 310/20 -8° | 330/25 -19° | 320/49 -34° | 320/60 -44° | 320/59 -50° |
| STL | used from 199 nm out; 67 nm from the line | 210/13 | 260/16 17° | 270/21 10° | 280/24 5° | 310/20 -7° | 320/22 -18° | 320/44 -33° | 320/59 -43° | 310/69 -51° |
| CGI | used from 249 nm out; 24 nm from the line | 250/10 | 290/12 17° | 290/18 11° | 300/22 5° | 320/25 -8° | 330/30 -18° | 320/53 -33° | 320/66 -42° | 320/56 -50° |
| MEM | used from 348 nm out; 55 nm from the line | 240/9 | 280/14 17° | 280/20 12° | 290/25 5° | 320/25 -6° | 330/31 -18° | 320/52 -32° | 330/58 -41° | 320/42 -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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD Chicago, IL | departure | no report just now | 680 ft | ||||
| LOT Chicago/Romeoville, IL | 20 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 679 ft | ||||
| DTG Dwight, IL | 60 nm out, 12 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 632 ft | ||||
| CMI Champaign/Urbana, IL | 119 nm out, 12 nm east of the line, tower | no report just now | 754 ft | ||||
| DEC Decatur, IL | 139 nm out, 13 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 681 ft | ||||
| SLO Salem, IL | 209 nm out, 3 nm north of the line | no report just now | 573 ft | ||||
| ENL Centralia, IL | 219 nm out, 6 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 534 ft | ||||
| MDH Carbondale/Murphysboro, IL | 258 nm out, 2 nm west of the line, tower | no report just now | 411 ft | ||||
| EIW New Madrid, MO | 338 nm out, 3 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 295 ft | ||||
| HKA Blytheville, AR | 378 nm out, 7 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 255 ft | ||||
| NQA Millington, TN | 408 nm out, 1 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 322 ft | ||||
| MEM Memphis, TN | destination | no report just now | 340 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 754 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At MEM when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:32 pm CDT (02:32 UTC)
MEM 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 ORD 6:16 pm CDT (23:16 UTC), at MEM 6:30 pm CDT (23:30 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:55 pm CDT (23:55 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at MEM is after sunset there (6:30 pm CDT (23:30 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: Chicago O'Hare International, Frederick W Smith Intl/Memphis Airport.