St. Louis Lambert International to Buffalo Niagara International STL → BUF
585 nautical miles (673 statute miles) northeast on a straight line, true course 061°, about 062° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 4 h at the quickest height in today's winds (34,000 ft, a 26-knot tailwind), arriving about 9:04 am EDT (13:04 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: 2 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 SIERRA 3E: low cloud or poor visibility (IFR conditions) (due to ceilings below 1,000 ft, visibility below 3 miles, precipitation, mist, fog). Over the last 396 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 STL.
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 08:00–15:00 UTC · at 120 knots true airspeed
The eastbound cruising heights for this course (VFR: odd thousands plus 500 ft; above 18,000 ft the forecast levels), with the wind averaged along the line from the 6 forecast points nearest it (STL, SPI, IND, FWA, CLE, BUF). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.
| Height | Average wind | Head- or tailwind | Temperature | Ground speed | Time en route | Arrival |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3,500 ft | 280° at 16 kt | −14 kt | 134 kt | 4 h 22 min | 9:26 am EDT (13:26 UTC) | |
| 5,500 ft | 300° at 15 kt | −9 kt | 129 kt | 4 h 32 min | 9:36 am EDT (13:36 UTC) | |
| 7,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −8 kt | 12 °C | 128 kt | 4 h 34 min | 9:38 am EDT (13:38 UTC) |
| 9,500 ft | 300° at 14 kt | −9 kt | 8 °C | 129 kt | 4 h 32 min | 9:36 am EDT (13:36 UTC) |
| 11,500 ft | 290° at 17 kt | −12 kt | 4 °C | 132 kt | 4 h 26 min | 9:30 am EDT (13:30 UTC) |
| 13,500 ft | 300° at 20 kt | −13 kt | 1 °C | 133 kt | 4 h 24 min | 9:28 am EDT (13:28 UTC) |
| 15,500 ft | 300° at 23 kt | −13 kt | -3 °C | 133 kt | 4 h 24 min | 9:28 am EDT (13:28 UTC) |
| 17,500 ft | 300° at 26 kt | −14 kt | -7 °C | 134 kt | 4 h 22 min | 9:26 am EDT (13:26 UTC) |
| 18,000 ft FL180 | 300° at 27 kt | −14 kt | -8 °C | 134 kt | 4 h 22 min | 9:26 am EDT (13:26 UTC) |
| 24,000 ft FL240 | 300° at 29 kt | −16 kt | -20 °C | 136 kt | 4 h 18 min | 9:22 am EDT (13:22 UTC) |
| 30,000 ft FL300 | 300° at 39 kt | −21 kt | -35 °C | 141 kt | 4 h 09 min | 9:13 am EDT (13:13 UTC) |
| 34,000 ft FL340 | 300° at 52 kt | −26 kt | -43 °C | 146 kt | 4 h | 9:04 am EDT (13:04 UTC) |
| 39,000 ft FL390 | 310° at 61 kt | −25 kt | -51 °C | 145 kt | 4 h 02 min | 9:06 am EDT (13:06 UTC) |
Based on data from the 12th at 06:00 UTC; valid on the 12th at 12:00 UTC for use 08:00 to 15:00 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL | used from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line | 250/26 | 240/21 15° | 240/22 11° | 250/23 6° | 270/28 -7° | 260/30 -19° | 280/52 -31° | 280/57 -40° | 300/57 -49° |
| SPI | used from 50 nm out; 44 nm from the line | 260/28 | 250/22 15° | 250/14 9° | 260/20 6° | 280/27 -7° | 280/34 -19° | 280/48 -32° | 280/59 -41° | 300/60 -49° |
| IND | used from 149 nm out; 43 nm from the line | 270/22 | 290/19 15° | 270/19 8° | 270/18 4° | 290/28 -7° | 280/35 -20° | 270/37 -34° | 300/51 -42° | 300/61 -51° |
| FWA | used from 248 nm out; 8 nm from the line | 270/20 | 300/16 15° | 290/14 10° | 280/17 3° | 290/25 -7° | 280/30 -19° | 280/34 -35° | 290/48 -44° | 300/64 -52° |
| CLE | used from 347 nm out; 59 nm from the line | 310/7 | 350/20 14° | 340/16 9° | 320/21 2° | 320/32 -8° | 330/34 -20° | 330/45 -36° | 320/60 -45° | 320/64 -51° |
| BUF | used from 496 nm out; 64 nm from the line | 300/11 | 330/15 11° | 340/26 8° | 330/28 2° | 340/31 -10° | 340/32 -21° | 340/52 -37° | 340/59 -46° | 330/66 -53° |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| STL St Louis, MO | departure | no report just now | 617 ft | ||||
| ALN Alton/St Louis, IL | 20 nm out, 2 nm southwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 543 ft | ||||
| DEC Decatur, IL | 89 nm out, 24 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 681 ft | ||||
| CMI Champaign/Urbana, IL | 119 nm out, 22 nm north of the line, tower | no report just now | 754 ft | ||||
| GUS Peru, IN | 228 nm out, 10 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 810 ft | ||||
| FWA Fort Wayne, IN | 278 nm out, 9 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 814 ft | ||||
| TOL Toledo, OH | 347 nm out, 15 nm northwest of the line, tower | no report just now | 683 ft | ||||
| CYPT Pelee Island, | 396 nm out, 4 nm northwest of the line | no report just now | 571 ft | ||||
| LNN Willoughby, OH | 446 nm out, 25 nm southeast of the line | no report just now | 625 ft | ||||
| ERI Erie, PA | 506 nm out, 24 nm southeast of the line, tower | no report just now | 732 ft | ||||
| DKK Dunkirk, NY | 555 nm out, 16 nm south of the line | no report just now | 692 ft | ||||
| BUF Buffalo, NY | destination | no report just now | 726 ft |
The highest airport on this list sits at 814 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.
At BUF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 9:04 am EDT (13:04 UTC)
BUF 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 STL 6:27 pm CDT (23:27 UTC), at BUF 6:37 pm EDT (22:37 UTC) (civil twilight ends 7:06 pm EDT (23:06 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: St. Louis Lambert International, Buffalo Niagara International.