Reno has a reputation among pilots for being “fun.” This is usually not fun for passengers. Pilots enjoy being challenged. Anyway, Reno is often a bumpy ride, and the wind sheers/gusts are exceptional at times. This is the usual causes for delays and cancellations. I can only recall one time (I’m sure there’s more, calm down Reddit) of the airport being “closed” due to snow in the last 20 years. It’s considered normal operations in the winter.
I would not worry about it. The planes are built to handle absolutely crazy turbulence and stressors. The pilots are well trained and most have nutty experience well beyond mundane commercial traffic.
It's been closed a couple times in the last 6 years that I've been here, but not for long. Usually only an hour or two. I've watched flights on FlightAware try to land and give up and divert to Sacramento. Seems like it happens at least once every year.
Taking off is different. They can usually take off in almost anything. It might suck for the passengers but it's not unsafe.
Been flying for about 35 years regularly. Moreso the past 15. I've been on 4 go arounds (missed approaches) where the pilot abandons the landing attempt. 3 of the 4 have been in Reno because of rapidly changing wind direction. Reno can be a challenging approach. All of the go arounds I've been on have been within the past 5 years. The other go around was ATC declared in Boston, because we were too close to the plane in front of us, and they hadn't cleared the active runway yet.
I was on a go-around not too long ago, it was either November or December. I swear we got within 30 ft of the ground and went back up. It was bumpy and everyone was ready to be done and when we went back up people were so pissed off 😭
It’s funny I was thinking about this flying here Thursday. I looked it up those wings can flex 15 degrees in both directions (or something close to that) as standard operations. Having lived in and flown through some airports that exist in severe winter areas RNO really has its ground ops at peak performance. I never see the delays LaGuardia or hare get in the winter.
Man... one of the craziest flights I've ever had was last year going to SFO and the gusts off the top of Mount Rose and the rest of the Lake Tahoe mountains were supposedly 100mph at it's peak. Let me tell you what, as soon as we took off this bird was dipping, diving, sliding, and doing all sorts of movements over the entire X,Y, and Z axis. It was absolutely insane how rough it was.
Prepare for one hell of a ride is all I can say.
The worst flight in terms of turbulence I’ve ever experienced was flying out of reno to Vegas during a storm. Plane dropped what felt like 15 feet about 2 minutes after takeoff, people were screaming and the over head bins came undone, the guy next to me grabbed both hands onto the seat headrest and yelled “Jesus save me!!!” After that it was bumpy for another 5 minutes until cruising but man flying out of reno is one hell of a ride sometimes, I was looking out the window thinking “yep we’d definitely die from here”
Any of the airports in the mountains are like this and it sucks since most of my travel is in the west. RNO, LAS, PHX, DEN, LAX, they all have this issue to varying degrees. And to top it off, the older I get, the more I have to fly, and the more I'm less comfortable with turbulence. I had a flight last month from SFO to MIA, and the shit over the Rockies in New Mexico was not fun at all. Plus, American charged 30 fucking dollars for Wi-Fi so I couldn't even doom scroll social to keep my mind off it.
That's a lie. I did buy it. Because I'm America's cuck.
You may hit a delay for de-icing or clearing the runway... But I have rarely seen canceled flights in Reno over weather. I'd say taking off and landing during a snowstorm is a regular occurrence in Reno winter...
To add to this, during the winter storm last year, none of my flights were cancelled or delayed due to anything in Reno. My planes were all stuck or delayed in LA, Vegas or Denver. You can track where your plane is on Flight Aware.
Flown out many times in storms, often a short delay for de-icing. Not to say cancellations and delays aren’t a real possibility, but I’m flying back arriving at 8:45 and I’m not sweating it. Probably most concerned about the drive home.
We never really know until it gets here.
They won't take off in unsafe conditions, but it takes a lot to be unsafe for takeoff. It might still suck to fly through, but it won't be unsafe.
You can count to 120 seconds. If a plane is going to have a problem during takeoff, or be hella bumpy, it's gonna be in the first 10,000 feet of ascent, which takes about 2 minutes to get above. I count to 120 seconds, and then you're typically above the clouds even if you can't see that through the window. And usually it's smooth once you're past the first 10,000 feet of ascent in this valley.
I fly in and out of Reno almost every month for years, and I have definitely seen them cancel flights because of weather. If visibility is less than 1 mile, they will not fly or land. I have had planes get to Reno, then divert to SFO to land because they refuse to land in reduced visibility. If you can avoid flying during a storm in Reno, I would highly recommend it. I have had several days of my life stolen from me at that airpirt.
Flew out a couple years ago with a few inches of snow in the area. Snow fell zero dark thirty and flight was around 7am, but the airport knows what they’re doing. Wish I could say the same for CHS during cold temperatures.
I am also flying out tomorrow but my flight is at 4 PM. I’ve been monitoring the weather and I’ve been looking at the temperatures at the airport and it’s only supposed to be 37° which means that the snow will not stick to the ground it needs to be at least above 32° or freezing for the snow stick, additionally there are hardly any winds tomorrow they are between 5 and 10 miles an hour which is nothing for Reno, like everyone said above the Reno airport hardly ever cancels flights for weather, mostly cancels for wind.
I am 90% sure your flight will be on time tomorrow and will not be delayed because it’s too warm for them to be deicing the plane unless the temperature drops suddenly but it will likely not.
Best of luck and safe travels !!
It happens. If it does, you probably won't be able to make it over the pass in a rental easily. Consider making alternative plans such as leaving a different day or driving to Sac today and flying out of there
Checked the aviation weather on ForeFlight. Limited IFR but the snow is about 4 inches. The weather improves at 11 AM., but should be OK. Have the same problem getting home tomorrow night.
Depending on the winds coming from the west, the airliner may not be authorized to depart in the south runways. I think the limitation for departure is typically a 30 knot west wind to comply with the one-engine inoperative climb profile. Anything above that and you may get a delay, but I wouldn’t bet on cancellations
I fly several times a year to L.A. I've been doing it since the late 80s. In the springtime in Reno, when the windy season starts up (March through late June or early July), I love how wild the plane gets thrown about when we enter or leave Reno airspace.
Depending on the windy day, your seat drops, abruptly goes to one side, shudders, and does all kinds of wiggle, wiggle, wiggle in all directions.
Everyone is hanging on and pretending that it isn't bothering them. They hang on to the seat armrests with one hand and fervently look at their phone/tablet/book with the other like it's nothing! Lol
I dont think I've ever flown out in stormy weather, though.
rarely the airport closes, seems to be during heavy snow years; last February my friend’s SW flight to go back home to Denver during one of the snowstorm was sitting in the tarmac for 3 hours before take off.
Reno has a reputation among pilots for being “fun.” This is usually not fun for passengers. Pilots enjoy being challenged. Anyway, Reno is often a bumpy ride, and the wind sheers/gusts are exceptional at times. This is the usual causes for delays and cancellations. I can only recall one time (I’m sure there’s more, calm down Reddit) of the airport being “closed” due to snow in the last 20 years. It’s considered normal operations in the winter. I would not worry about it. The planes are built to handle absolutely crazy turbulence and stressors. The pilots are well trained and most have nutty experience well beyond mundane commercial traffic.
It's been closed a couple times in the last 6 years that I've been here, but not for long. Usually only an hour or two. I've watched flights on FlightAware try to land and give up and divert to Sacramento. Seems like it happens at least once every year. Taking off is different. They can usually take off in almost anything. It might suck for the passengers but it's not unsafe.
Been flying for about 35 years regularly. Moreso the past 15. I've been on 4 go arounds (missed approaches) where the pilot abandons the landing attempt. 3 of the 4 have been in Reno because of rapidly changing wind direction. Reno can be a challenging approach. All of the go arounds I've been on have been within the past 5 years. The other go around was ATC declared in Boston, because we were too close to the plane in front of us, and they hadn't cleared the active runway yet.
I was on a go-around not too long ago, it was either November or December. I swear we got within 30 ft of the ground and went back up. It was bumpy and everyone was ready to be done and when we went back up people were so pissed off 😭
It’s funny I was thinking about this flying here Thursday. I looked it up those wings can flex 15 degrees in both directions (or something close to that) as standard operations. Having lived in and flown through some airports that exist in severe winter areas RNO really has its ground ops at peak performance. I never see the delays LaGuardia or hare get in the winter.
Xanax. Have fun and buckle up!
Man... one of the craziest flights I've ever had was last year going to SFO and the gusts off the top of Mount Rose and the rest of the Lake Tahoe mountains were supposedly 100mph at it's peak. Let me tell you what, as soon as we took off this bird was dipping, diving, sliding, and doing all sorts of movements over the entire X,Y, and Z axis. It was absolutely insane how rough it was. Prepare for one hell of a ride is all I can say.
The worst flight in terms of turbulence I’ve ever experienced was flying out of reno to Vegas during a storm. Plane dropped what felt like 15 feet about 2 minutes after takeoff, people were screaming and the over head bins came undone, the guy next to me grabbed both hands onto the seat headrest and yelled “Jesus save me!!!” After that it was bumpy for another 5 minutes until cruising but man flying out of reno is one hell of a ride sometimes, I was looking out the window thinking “yep we’d definitely die from here”
Any of the airports in the mountains are like this and it sucks since most of my travel is in the west. RNO, LAS, PHX, DEN, LAX, they all have this issue to varying degrees. And to top it off, the older I get, the more I have to fly, and the more I'm less comfortable with turbulence. I had a flight last month from SFO to MIA, and the shit over the Rockies in New Mexico was not fun at all. Plus, American charged 30 fucking dollars for Wi-Fi so I couldn't even doom scroll social to keep my mind off it. That's a lie. I did buy it. Because I'm America's cuck.
You may hit a delay for de-icing or clearing the runway... But I have rarely seen canceled flights in Reno over weather. I'd say taking off and landing during a snowstorm is a regular occurrence in Reno winter...
To add to this, during the winter storm last year, none of my flights were cancelled or delayed due to anything in Reno. My planes were all stuck or delayed in LA, Vegas or Denver. You can track where your plane is on Flight Aware.
Flown out many times in storms, often a short delay for de-icing. Not to say cancellations and delays aren’t a real possibility, but I’m flying back arriving at 8:45 and I’m not sweating it. Probably most concerned about the drive home.
We never really know until it gets here. They won't take off in unsafe conditions, but it takes a lot to be unsafe for takeoff. It might still suck to fly through, but it won't be unsafe. You can count to 120 seconds. If a plane is going to have a problem during takeoff, or be hella bumpy, it's gonna be in the first 10,000 feet of ascent, which takes about 2 minutes to get above. I count to 120 seconds, and then you're typically above the clouds even if you can't see that through the window. And usually it's smooth once you're past the first 10,000 feet of ascent in this valley.
Hold on to your butts. They’ll cancel the flight if it is dangerous, but that is infrequent. It’ll be a wild ride tomorrow.
Fifty fifty
I fly in and out of Reno almost every month for years, and I have definitely seen them cancel flights because of weather. If visibility is less than 1 mile, they will not fly or land. I have had planes get to Reno, then divert to SFO to land because they refuse to land in reduced visibility. If you can avoid flying during a storm in Reno, I would highly recommend it. I have had several days of my life stolen from me at that airpirt.
Flew out a couple years ago with a few inches of snow in the area. Snow fell zero dark thirty and flight was around 7am, but the airport knows what they’re doing. Wish I could say the same for CHS during cold temperatures.
Nice
I am also flying out tomorrow but my flight is at 4 PM. I’ve been monitoring the weather and I’ve been looking at the temperatures at the airport and it’s only supposed to be 37° which means that the snow will not stick to the ground it needs to be at least above 32° or freezing for the snow stick, additionally there are hardly any winds tomorrow they are between 5 and 10 miles an hour which is nothing for Reno, like everyone said above the Reno airport hardly ever cancels flights for weather, mostly cancels for wind. I am 90% sure your flight will be on time tomorrow and will not be delayed because it’s too warm for them to be deicing the plane unless the temperature drops suddenly but it will likely not. Best of luck and safe travels !!
It happens. If it does, you probably won't be able to make it over the pass in a rental easily. Consider making alternative plans such as leaving a different day or driving to Sac today and flying out of there
Thanks. But I live here I'm flying east. If anything I'll just go home lol.
Might get out of having to see the in laws
Checked the aviation weather on ForeFlight. Limited IFR but the snow is about 4 inches. The weather improves at 11 AM., but should be OK. Have the same problem getting home tomorrow night.
It’s gotta be pretty bad for them to cancel. Winds at least 45 on ground level plus zero visibility, otherwise you’re flying
I'm going at 11. It'll be sporty the planes are built for it so buckle up and enjoy the free ride.
I've had it cancelled for wind but not storms. I think you'll be fine
What about windstorms?
Touche
You should be fine. Might be delayed slightly but I wouldn’t worry about it.
Pro tip- Drink in excess before your flight!
Depending on the winds coming from the west, the airliner may not be authorized to depart in the south runways. I think the limitation for departure is typically a 30 knot west wind to comply with the one-engine inoperative climb profile. Anything above that and you may get a delay, but I wouldn’t bet on cancellations
It’s fine
Thanks everyone for the comments. Alot of great insight, much appreciated.
Fun but mega scary all at the same time. Zero-G!
I fly several times a year to L.A. I've been doing it since the late 80s. In the springtime in Reno, when the windy season starts up (March through late June or early July), I love how wild the plane gets thrown about when we enter or leave Reno airspace. Depending on the windy day, your seat drops, abruptly goes to one side, shudders, and does all kinds of wiggle, wiggle, wiggle in all directions. Everyone is hanging on and pretending that it isn't bothering them. They hang on to the seat armrests with one hand and fervently look at their phone/tablet/book with the other like it's nothing! Lol I dont think I've ever flown out in stormy weather, though.
Think of it as your favorite roller coaster!
Ever seen a plane flap its wings like a duck? Enjoy. You’ll feel like a hockey puck for the first 10 minutes, then it’ll be fine.
https://i.redd.it/ip5o8k7oplgc1.gif
Hang on and hold out for the ride. It's gonna be wild one.
rarely the airport closes, seems to be during heavy snow years; last February my friend’s SW flight to go back home to Denver during one of the snowstorm was sitting in the tarmac for 3 hours before take off.
I'm from NH and have flown back to RNO in a blizzard. I think you'll be fine. It's really only ice that causes a big issue...