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Route turbulence forecasts
Every route has a signature — the jet-stream segments it crosses, the mountain ranges in its lee, the oceans it traverses. Browse the most-searched corridors for a data-driven turbulence profile and a live forecast.
Australia, New Zealand, and trans‑Tasman corridors.
High-demand US domestic and US/Canada links.
Popular routes involving London and Dublin.
Major intra‑Europe hubs and city pairs.
Key East Asia and South‑East Asia trunk routes.
Big connectors (DXB/DOH/RUH/JED) and links to Europe.
Intercontinental corridors (US↔Asia, EU↔Asia, Oceania↔US/Asia/ME).
Major routes across Mexico and South America.
Search any origin and destination and we'll generate a turbulence forecast for every scheduled flight on that corridor.
Long east-west crossings of the North Atlantic and North Pacific record the most clear-air turbulence, because they spend hours inside or beside the mid-latitude jet stream. Routes over the Rocky Mountains, Andes and Himalayas add mountain-wave turbulence on top of jet exposure. Intertropical flights often see more convective (thunderstorm) turbulence than upper-level CAT.
We sample the great-circle path between origin and destination in 40+ points, pull live pressure-level winds and temperatures at cruise altitude for each one, and compute the Ellrod TI1 index plus Richardson-number stability. Those physics-based scores are then reconciled against live NOAA pilot reports (PIREPs), SIGMETs and AIRMETs before being displayed.
On trans-oceanic crossings against the prevailing jet stream, yes — westbound aircraft fly into the wind, which adds time and often more time near the jet core where CAT sits. Eastbound flights ride the tailwind but still skim the turbulent jet edges. The practical difference is typically "more minutes of light chop" rather than "catastrophically different."
For North Atlantic and North Pacific routes, late spring through early autumn (May–September) sees the weakest jet-stream activity and the calmest statistical turbulence. Southern-hemisphere long-hauls follow the opposite pattern — November–February is their smoothest window. Tropical routes track the regional dry season instead of a fixed calendar.
Different flight routes experience varying levels of turbulence based on geographic features, weather patterns, and seasonal conditions. Our route forecasts combine the fixed geography of a corridor (what jet streams it crosses, what ranges it skirts, what oceans it spans) with the day-to-day atmosphere to produce an actionable turbulence estimate.
Flights between North America and Europe frequently cross the North Atlantic jet stream, making turbulence more common on these routes. Westbound flights typically experience more turbulence due to headwinds, while eastbound flights benefit from tailwinds but may still encounter clear-air turbulence near the jet edges.
Pacific routes cross the polar jet stream and can encounter turbulence over the Rocky Mountains and Pacific Ocean. Seasonal variations affect turbulence intensity — winter months generally see stronger jet-stream activity and a more equatorward jet position.
Domestic flights may encounter mountain-wave turbulence over major ranges, convective turbulence during summer thunderstorm season, and clear-air turbulence when crossing the jet stream on longer transcontinental sectors. Shorter regional hops rarely spend enough time at cruise for CAT to develop.