The U.S. aircraft register, updated daily
Plan a flight · Sun 7:32 pm CDT (00:32 UTC)

St. Louis Lambert International to Sacramento International STL → SMF

1,455 nautical miles (1,675 statute miles) west on a straight line, true course 280°, about 281° magnetic at the departure end (variation 1W). At 120 knots that is 12 h 59 min at the quickest height in today's winds (4,500 ft, a 8-knot headwind), arriving about 6:31 am PDT (13:31 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: 667 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 W68W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 36,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 40 knots, until 8:55 pm CDT (01:55 UTC). Over the route from 777 to 937 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 112355
    MKCW WST 112355
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 68W
    VALID UNTIL 0155Z
    CO NM AZ UT
    FROM 30W CHE-20NNW TBE-60SE ABQ-40N SJN-30SW MTU-30W CHE
    AREA TS MOV FROM 23040KT. TOPS TO FL360.
  • SIGMET W71W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 27,000 ft, moving from the south at 40 knots, until 8:55 pm CDT (01:55 UTC). Over the route from 977 to 1047 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 112355
    MKCW WST 112355
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 71W
    VALID UNTIL 0155Z
    WY UT ID
    FROM 40S DBS-40WNW BPI-30WSW MTU-30SSW DTA-30SE TWF-40S DBS
    AREA EMBD TS MOV FROM 20040KT. TOPS TO FL270.
  • SIGMET W72W: thunderstorms (a convective SIGMET) up to 30,000 ft, moving from the southwest at 20 knots, until 8:55 pm CDT (01:55 UTC). Over the route from 1206 to 1276 nm out.
    as issued
    WSUS33 KKCI 112355
    MKCW WST 112355
    CONVECTIVE SIGMET 72W
    VALID UNTIL 0155Z
    NV
    FROM 60SSW BAM-60W ELY-OAL-40WNW OAL-60SSW BAM
    AREA TS MOV FROM 23020KT. TOPS TO FL300.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence above 18,000 ft from 18,000 ft to 36,000 ft. Over the route from 578 to 1206 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 4W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft up to 18,000 ft. Over the route from 648 to 1077 nm out.
  • AIRMET SIERRA 1E: mountains obscured by cloud (due to mountains obscured by clouds, precipitation, mist). Over the route from 738 to 1196 nm out.
  • 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). Over the route from 758 to 1017 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 5W: strong surface winds (30 knots or more) (due to sustained surface winds greater than 30 knots). Near the route, 847 nm along the route.
  • AIRMET ZULU 3C: moderate icing up to 22,000 ft. Over the route from 897 to 1276 nm out.
  • AIRMET TANGO 3W: moderate turbulence below 18,000 ft (due to mountain wave) up to 15,000 ft. Over the route from 1336 to 1376 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 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 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 12 forecast points nearest it (STL, COU, MKC, SLN, GLD, DEN, GJT, SLC, ELY, BAM, RNO, SAC). A plus sign is a headwind, a minus sign a tailwind.

HeightAverage windHead- or tailwindTemperatureGround speedTime en routeArrival
4,500 ft210° at 19 kt+8 kt112 kt12 h 59 min6:31 am PDT (13:31 UTC)
6,500 ft220° at 20 kt+12 kt15 °C108 kt13 h 28 min7:00 am PDT (14:00 UTC)
8,500 ft220° at 23 kt+15 kt10 °C105 kt13 h 51 min7:23 am PDT (14:23 UTC)
10,500 ft230° at 25 kt+18 kt6 °C102 kt14 h 16 min7:48 am PDT (14:48 UTC)
12,500 ft230° at 27 kt+22 kt2 °C98 kt14 h 51 min8:23 am PDT (15:23 UTC)
14,500 ft230° at 30 kt+24 kt-2 °C96 kt15 h 09 min8:41 am PDT (15:41 UTC)
16,500 ft230° at 33 kt+26 kt-7 °C94 kt15 h 29 min9:01 am PDT (16:01 UTC)
18,000 ft FL180230° at 35 kt+28 kt-10 °C92 kt15 h 49 min9:21 am PDT (16:21 UTC)
24,000 ft FL240220° at 39 kt+28 kt-21 °C92 kt15 h 49 min9:21 am PDT (16:21 UTC)
30,000 ft FL300240° at 49 kt+42 kt-30 °C78 kt18 h 39 min12:11 pm PDT (19:11 UTC)
34,000 ft FL340240° at 53 kt+49 kt-37 °C71 kt20 h 30 min2:02 pm PDT (21:02 UTC)
39,000 ft FL390250° at 54 kt+52 kt-47 °C68 kt21 h 24 min2:56 pm PDT (21:56 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
PointFrom3,0006,0009,00012,00018,00024,00030,00034,00039,000
STLused from 0 nm out; 25 nm from the line210/13260/16 17°270/21 10°280/24 5°310/20 -7°320/22 -18°320/44 -33°320/59 -43°310/69 -51°
COUused from 50 nm out; 15 nm from the line210/16220/19 15°240/33 10°250/29 7°280/21 -6°280/19 -18°300/34 -31°300/40 -42°300/60 -52°
MKCused from 150 nm out; 25 nm from the line200/28220/30 16°270/20 11°280/22 7°260/27 -6°270/27 -18°280/38 -32°270/38 -40°280/50 -52°
SLNused from 299 nm out; 44 nm from the line190/37220/39 20°240/31 14°250/24 7°260/25 -7°250/26 -17°250/44 -31°260/47 -40°260/47 -50°
GLDused from 449 nm out; 59 nm from the line190/29200/30 15°240/23 8°250/39 -7°230/39 -19°230/57 -31°240/67 -39°250/62 -49°
DENused from 598 nm out; 44 nm from the line190/31 16°210/32 7°240/41 -8°230/47 -21°240/56 -32°250/65 -37°250/61 -47°
GJTused from 748 nm out; 82 nm from the line210/40 11°210/46 3°210/61 -10°210/68 -22°220/57 -29°230/59 -36°240/66 -46°
SLCused from 947 nm out; 76 nm from the line280/8210/39 5°210/52 -1°200/50 -11°200/56 -23°220/61 -28°230/73 -37°230/73 -45°
ELYused from 1047 nm out; 67 nm from the line210/20 4°240/21 -1°230/37 -13°200/58 -25°220/73 -27°220/73 -36°220/69 -44°
BAMused from 1196 nm out; 81 nm from the line270/8 4°230/27 -4°220/49 -18°210/52 -26°220/77 -29°220/71 -33°220/63 -43°
RNOused from 1296 nm out; 55 nm from the line320/7260/13 1°230/21 -7°210/38 -17°220/43 -26°230/54 -29°230/59 -32°230/54 -41°
SACused from 1395 nm out; 34 nm from the line270/5L/V 5°L/V -1°240/11 -5°250/22 -15°270/25 -24°260/31 -27°240/39 -33°240/39 -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
STL St Louis, MO departure no report just now 617 ft
COU Columbia, MO 90 nm out, 10 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 889 ft
MCI Kansas City, MO 209 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line, tower no report just now 1,027 ft
MHK Manhattan, KS 299 nm out, 17 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 1,066 ft
SYF St Francis, KS 538 nm out, 5 nm northeast of the line no report just now 3,429 ft
CFO Denver, CO 658 nm out, 3 nm west of the line, tower no report just now 5,515 ft
EGE Eagle, CO 768 nm out, 8 nm south of the line, tower no report just now 6,547 ft
PUC Price, UT 947 nm out, 4 nm south of the line no report just now 5,957 ft
ELY Ely, NV 1136 nm out, 8 nm south of the line no report just now 6,259 ft
GAB Gabbs, NV 1286 nm out, 13 nm south of the line no report just now 4,699 ft
TVL South Lake Tahoe, CA 1376 nm out, 4 nm west of the line no report just now 6,268 ft
SMF Sacramento, CA destination no report just now 26 ft

The highest airport on this list sits at 6,547 ft; the ground between airports is higher still. Check the sectional chart for the terrain and the minimum safe heights along the line.

At SMF when you get there the forecast at the estimated arrival, 6:31 am PDT (13:31 UTC)

SMF 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 10 nm from the route, 90 nm along the route · a hazard on the ground (fire-fighting, a chemical spill, rescue work) · today · ZKC
  • 6/3475 BEALE AFB, CA, Sunday, March 8, 2026 through Sunday, November 1, 2026 Local 15 nm from the route, at the destination end · security · until 1 November · ZOA
  • 6/6740 SACRAMENTO, CA, Thursday, October 8, 2026 through Sunday, October 11, 2026 Local 4 nm from the route, at the destination end · air shows/sports · ended 11 October · ZOA

Daylight

Sunset at STL 6:27 pm CDT (23:27 UTC), at SMF 6:32 pm PDT (01:32 UTC) (civil twilight ends 6:59 pm PDT (01:59 UTC)). At 120 knots the arrival at SMF is before sunrise there (7:12 am PDT (14:12 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 southern Plains
Radar now, the southern Plains · loop National Weather Service
Radar now, the southern Rockies
Radar now, the southern 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: St. Louis Lambert International, Sacramento International.