The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Mon 1:43 am CDT (06:43 UTC)

Chicago O'Hare International to Missoula Montana Airport ORD → MSO

1,155 nautical miles (1,329 statute miles) northwest on a straight line, true course 294°, about 297° magnetic at the departure end (variation 3W). At 120 knots that is 9 h 33 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 1-knot tailwind), arriving about 10:16 am MDT (16:16 UTC). Right now ORD is VFR, wind from the south (190°) at 4 knots; MSO is VFR, wind calm. 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: 983 flights in the DOT's last twelve reported months, the route's page.

The return flight

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

  • SIGMET C11C: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 31,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 2:55 am CDT (07:55 UTC). Near the route, 687 nm along the route.
    as issued
    WSUS32 KKCI 120555
    MKCC WST 120555
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 11C
    VALID UNTIL 0755Z
    SD WY
    FROM 60WNW DPR-20SSE DPR-40SSW RAP-60W RAP-60WNW DPR
    DMSHG AREA TS MOV FROM 22040KT. TOPS TO FL310.
  • 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 100 to 269 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 last 777 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). Near the route, 747 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Near the route, 796 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the route from 806 to 876 nm out.
  • AIRMET ZULU 2C: moderate icing up to 23,000 ft. Over the last 269 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the last 219 nm of the route.
  • AIRMET TANGO 1W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 36,000 ft. Over the last 119 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 ORD.

Pilot reports along the route within 50 nm of the line, last three hours, the serious ones first

No pilot reports within 50 nautical miles of the line in the last three hours.

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 12 forecast points nearest it (JOT, DBQ, LSE, MCW, FSD, ABR, PIR, DIK, MLS, BIL, GTF, GPI). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft200° at 12 kt−1 kt8 °C121 kt9 h 33 min10:16 am MDT (16:16 UTC)
6,500 ft210° at 12 kt+2 kt13 °C118 kt9 h 47 min10:30 am MDT (16:30 UTC)
8,500 ft210° at 13 kt+3 kt10 °C117 kt9 h 52 min10:35 am MDT (16:35 UTC)
10,500 ft220° at 18 kt+7 kt4 °C113 kt10 h 13 min10:56 am MDT (16:56 UTC)
12,500 ft220° at 23 kt+10 kt1 °C110 kt10 h 30 min11:13 am MDT (17:13 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 24 kt+13 kt-3 °C107 kt10 h 48 min11:31 am MDT (17:31 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 26 kt+16 kt-7 °C104 kt11 h 06 min11:49 am MDT (17:49 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180240° at 27 kt+18 kt-10 °C102 kt11 h 19 min12:02 pm MDT (18:02 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240240° at 31 kt+21 kt-21 °C99 kt11 h 40 min12:23 pm MDT (18:23 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300230° at 38 kt+23 kt-36 °C97 kt11 h 54 min12:37 pm MDT (18:37 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340250° at 50 kt+40 kt-42 °C80 kt14 h 26 min3:09 pm MDT (21:09 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 59 kt+51 kt-48 °C69 kt16 h 44 min5:27 pm MDT (23:27 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
JOTused from 0 nm out; 39 nm from the line250/23270/22 15°250/16 10°240/9 4°280/22 -7°280/29 -19°300/29 -34°290/50 -43°300/64 -52°
DBQused from 50 nm out; 56 nm from the line230/33250/30 16°280/15 9°260/15 5°260/21 -7°260/24 -20°250/37 -33°270/42 -43°280/63 -52°
LSEused from 149 nm out; 49 nm from the line230/40240/24 17°240/13 10°250/13 6°280/22 -9°250/28 -21°250/41 -34°260/42 -44°270/62 -53°
MCWused from 199 nm out; 34 nm from the line220/44250/30 17°230/14 12°240/17 6°250/22 -8°270/29 -20°250/34 -34°260/52 -43°260/59 -51°
FSDused from 348 nm out; 54 nm from the line190/9230/30 18°240/23 13°240/20 6°260/22 -9°250/31 -21°250/43 -36°260/49 -43°270/53 -47°
ABRused from 448 nm out; 46 nm from the line070/14250/10 17°270/16 11°260/28 5°260/36 -10°260/41 -22°270/33 -37°260/42 -42°260/50 -48°
PIRused from 548 nm out; 48 nm from the line170/22 19°190/25 13°210/32 6°240/23 -9°250/32 -21°250/38 -36°260/44 -40°260/52 -47°
DIKused from 647 nm out; 73 nm from the line150/24 7°200/38 6°220/53 0°230/51 -9°230/49 -21°240/37 -37°240/47 -44°250/65 -48°
MLSused from 747 nm out; 49 nm from the line150/23 2°190/29 4°210/44 2°220/32 -10°210/36 -21°200/48 -37°230/63 -40°240/71 -47°
BILused from 896 nm out; 37 nm from the line080/13180/9 -2°210/38 0°220/51 -11°210/46 -22°210/58 -35°230/73 -39°230/72 -45°
GTFused from 996 nm out; 54 nm from the line070/11080/15 -7°110/19 -9°190/25 -14°200/34 -23°200/54 -39°220/66 -40°220/77 -44°
GPIused from 1145 nm out; 85 nm from the line070/19 -5°100/16 -7°080/10 -8°130/8 -19°170/37 -28°200/50 -40°210/43 -40°220/41 -42°

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

AirportWhereConditionsWindVisibilityCeilingElevationReported
ORD Chicago, IL departure VFR Sky: a few clouds at 30,000 feet from the south (190°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 680 ft 12:51 am CDT (05:51 UTC)
RFD Chicago/Rockford, IL 50 nm out, 10 nm southwest of the line, tower VFR Sky: a broken layer at 25,000 feet calm 10+ mi 25,000 ft 742 ft 05:54 UTC
PVB Platteville, WI 119 nm out, 5 nm southwest of the line VFR calm 10+ mi none 1,025 ft 06:35 UTC
AEL Albert Lea, MN 259 nm out, 5 nm north of the line VFR Sky: overcast at 18,000 feet from the south (190°) at 11 knots 10+ mi 18,000 ft 1,261 ft 06:35 UTC
TKC Tracy, MN 368 nm out, 7 nm northeast of the line VFR from the northwest (310°) at 4 knots 10+ mi none 1,335 ft 06:35 UTC
MBG Mobridge, SD 577 nm out, 21 nm north of the line IFR Sky: a broken layer at 800 feet, overcast at 1,200 feet from the north-northeast (030°) at 9 knots 7 mi 800 ft 1,716 ft 06:21 UTC
LEM Lemmon, SD 657 nm out, 24 nm north of the line no report just now 2,572 ft
MLS Miles City, MT 816 nm out, 20 nm north of the line IFR Sky: a broken layer at 700 feet, overcast at 1,300 feet from the northeast (050°) at 11 knots 10+ mi 700 ft 2,634 ft 06:12 UTC
RPX Roundup, MT 926 nm out, 3 nm northeast of the line no report just now 3,490 ft
HLN Helena, MT 1065 nm out, 9 nm south of the line, tower VFR Sky: a few clouds at 2,100 feet, overcast at 5,000 feet from the west (270°) at 8 knots 10+ mi 5,000 ft 3,877 ft 05:53 UTC
MSO Missoula, MT destination VFR Sky: a few clouds at 1,700 feet, overcast at 6,000 feet calm 10+ mi 6,000 ft 3,205 ft 12:07 am MDT (06:07 UTC)

The highest airport on this list sits at 3,877 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At MSO when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 10:16 am MDT (16:16 UTC)

Wind from the east-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 5,000 feet VFR

The whole forecast for MSO
  • From Mon 12:00 am MDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the east at 2 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, showers nearby, scattered clouds at 1,500 feet, a broken layer at 4,000 feet
  • From Mon 1:00 am MDT (07:00 UTC): wind from the east at 4 knots, visibility 4 miles, light snow, mist, overcast at 1,500 feet
  • From Mon 8:00 am MDT (14:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 4 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 5,000 feet
  • From Mon 2:00 pm MDT (20:00 UTC): wind from the east-southeast at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, overcast at 10,000 feet
The forecast for ORD, the departure
  • From Mon 1:00 am CDT (06:00 UTC): wind from the south at 5 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, scattered clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 12:00 pm CDT (17:00 UTC): wind from the south-southwest at 13 knots, gusting to 24, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 25,000 feet
  • From Mon 6:00 pm CDT (23:00 UTC): wind from the southwest at 12 knots, visibility more than 6 miles, a few clouds at 12,000 feet

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 6:15 pm CDT (23:15 UTC), at MSO 6:53 pm MDT (00:53 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:23 pm MDT (01:23 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

Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley
Radar now, the upper Mississippi valley · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the northern Rockies
Radar now, the northern Rockies · loop National Weather Service
Radar, the whole country
Radar, the whole country · loop National Weather Service
Surface analysis now
Surface analysis now Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 12 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead
Forecast chart, 24 hours ahead Weather Prediction Center

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, Missoula Montana Airport.