Due to a strong jet stream, many planes in the great lakes area are reporting moderate-severe turbulence. However, you have a good chance of avoiding the unpleasant bumps by making Northwest Airlines your carrier of choice. I used the tools at FlightAware to analyze the routes taken by various planes traveling to and from DTW to various areas which would put them right into the path of the two severe advisories that are occuring right now:
SIGMET NOVEMBER 9 VALID UNTIL 242330
SIGMET
OH IA WI IL IN KY LM MI LH
FROM 60WNW YVV TO 40NE ECK TO ROD TO PXV TO 50WNW DEC TO DBQ TO
TVC TO 60WNW YVV
OCNL SEV TURB BTN FL220 AND FL390. CONDS MOVG SLOLY NEWD AND
CONTG BYD 2330Z.
and
WSUS01 KKCI 241940
BOSO WS 241940
SIGMET OSCAR 4 VALID UNTIL 242340
SIGMET
OH MO IL IN KY
FROM FWA TO APE TO 50E BWG TO 30N DYR TO FAM TO FWA
OCNL SEV TURB BTN 100 AND FL220. CONDS CONTG BYD 2340Z.
In every route I could think of, Northwest either flew around or under the advisories until they were out of the areas. Flying low costs a lot of fuel, and with record oil prices, it’s good to see that Northwest still adheres to what they are good at; avoiding turbulence. While Northwest may not have the most modern amenities, your flight will probably be more comfortable.
Here are some of the routes I looked at: NWA426, NWA469, I ended up looking at around 20 routes for Northwest and various competitors.
Written by tb_neg on October 24th, 2007 with 1 comment.
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Due to a sharply twisting jet stream that rushes to the north, turns around, and rushes back up north is causing a major disturbance in the air at all altitudes, causing moderate to severe turbulence for any planes in the path.
Written by tb_neg on October 23rd, 2007 with no comments.
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With winds that are estimated to hit 70mph (as fast as your car drives on the freeway), planes landing and taking off at airports in the area (ONT, BUR) can expect moderate-severe turbulence from the surface to 10,000 feet. Many pilots are reporting severe turbulence, with one pilot going as far to mention in their comments that ‘Passengers should remain seated below 10,000 ft’, this coming from a Boeing 737.
Written by tb_neg on October 22nd, 2007 with 2 comments.
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USC’s football team recently had a rough ride to South Bend due to the weather as of late.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. — USC’s football team, coaches and staff endured several terrifying minutes as their chartered flight to South Bend plummeted amid a severe thunderstorm, forcing the pilot to abort his first landing attempt.
About 125 people, including 82 players, coach Pete Carroll and most of the coaching staff faced a harrowing end to their trip across the country for Saturday’s game.
“There was a moment there when I was thinking, ‘This is it,’ ” Dennis Slutak, USC’s director of football operations, told The Los Angeles Times.
Full Article
Another blog post
Written by tb_neg on October 19th, 2007 with no comments.
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Due to a passing storm system, a strong jet stream, and strong winds on the ground, many flights are experiencing moderate or better turbulence. Buckle up! You might also like to listen to ATC, see this blog post.
Written by tb_neg on October 19th, 2007 with no comments.
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Thanks to LiveATC, you can listen to flights battling turbulence as they fly through a storm system over the plains. Go to this page and scroll down until you see ZKC (Kansas City air traffic control center), and listen.
Written by tb_neg on October 15th, 2007 with 1 comment.
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When I started looking at the maps everyday nearly 3 years ago, I never imagined I’d see such a clearly defined line of turbulence that correlates so closely to the weather. Usually, turbulence is unpredictable, correlating somewhat loosely to the jet stream or a frontal system, but what you see below shows a very unusual and excellent correlation between weather and storms. As you get nearer to the storm system in the plains states, the air is more and more disturbed in a clear pattern, turbulence going from smooth, to light, to moderate severe, depending on how close you are to the storm system. See below. Turbulence is, by definition, chaotic, but there is some semblance of order here.
Written by tb_neg on October 15th, 2007 with no comments.
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Turbulence Forecast generates an index of turbulence for two regions, the US, and the whole world every hour. The index goes from 0-6, with zero meaning most flights are smooth, and 6 severe/extreme. Usually, the index is usually a 1-3, but today, due to significant jet stream and many reports, the index for the US has been hitting level 4. Fortunately, this is not a common event, but it does happen, oftentimes during the fall and winter due to the lowered jet stream. Reports of moderate to severe have been reported all day in the Western United States, near Colorado and the surrounding region. Buckle up.
Written by tb_neg on October 7th, 2007 with no comments.
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Neil Cavuto from Fox News shares a story about a plane ride that got unusually rough. As the turbulence increases though, something very special happens. I don’t want to spoil it, but this is a must read.
Written by tb_neg on October 1st, 2007 with no comments.
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Airplane passengers all over the country are experiencing rough rides today due to upper atmosphere disturbances from jet stream, fronts, and more.
Written by tb_neg on September 29th, 2007 with no comments.
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