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Lakewood Airstrip (53AK) Area Aviation Weather & Runway Winds

As of 8:26 AM AKDT, Oct 28, based on the nearest station (PASX), 53AK is currently LIFR with winds from 090° at 5 knots, visibility 2 statute miles, and a 300 ft ceiling.

Aviation weather near Lakewood Airstrip in Sterling, AK, decoded from the nearest reporting station (PASX): conditions and runway crosswinds.

Lakewood Airstrip (53AK) is a general aviation airport serving pilots in and around Sterling, AK at a field elevation of 299 ft. 53AK has no weather station of its own. Conditions here are decoded from PASX, about 6 nm away, the nearest reporting station, and local conditions can differ. It has one runway (02/20), the longest 1,200 ft. The nearest TAF is issued for PAEN.

Ask ATIS AIAsk anything about 53AK's weather, runways or delays, or search another airport.
LIFR
Observed 1626Z (8:26 AM AKDT)live · refreshes every 60s

No weather station at this airport: showing the nearest station PASX, 6.4 nm away.

Wind
090° 5 kt
Visibility
2 sm
Ceiling
300 ft
Altimeter
30.35"
Temp / Dew
25°F / -4°C
feels like 18°F

Wind from the east (090°) at 5 kt, visibility 2 statute miles, overcast at 300 ft, temperature -4°C (25°F), altimeter 30.35 inHg. Conditions are Low IFR (LIFR), ceiling 300 ft.

Raw METAR
SPECI PASX 281626Z AUTO 09005KT 2SM BR OVC003 M04/M04 A3035 RMK AO2 FZRANO TSNO

What changed at PASX (nearest station)?

Since the 1556Z (7:56 AM AKDT) report, compared automatically against the latest METAR.

  • Visibility dropped from 6 SM to 2 SM.

The latest report is an off-schedule special (SPECI), issued because conditions changed significantly. What is a SPECI? →

Current pilot readout for 53AK

Based on the nearest station (PASX), 53AK is currently LIFR with winds from 090° at 5 knots, visibility 2 statute miles, and a 300 ft ceiling. the wind favors northeast-facing runway ends (02). Density altitude is approximately -2,450 ft (field elevation 299 ft). 53AK does not publish a TAF. The nearest TAF station is PAEN, about 12 nm away.

New to aviation weather? How to read a METAR → · What VFR/MVFR/IFR mean → · Decode any METAR/TAF → · Density altitude calculator →

Runway wind check

Estimated head/tailwind and crosswind for each runway end from the current reported wind.

RunwayHead / TailCrosswind
02FAV3 kt head4 kt right
203 kt tail4 kt left

Open the crosswind calculator to try your own wind and runway numbers →

53AK runways

1 physical runway · 2 runway ends. Each card opens the runway's intelligence page: equipment and lighting, LAHSO, frequencies, today's configuration, predicted use, history and approaches.

  • Runway 02/20
    1,200 × 60 ft · GRVL
    Status not monitored
    Current use
    no stated-runway source at 53AK
    Wind
    02
    3 kt headwind · 4 kt crosswind from right
    20
    3 kt tailwind · 4 kt crosswind from left
    no active equipment NOTAM receivedView Runway Intelligence →

“Current use” is what the facilitystates; wind components are arithmetic on the current METAR against TRUE headings; status reflects NOTAMs received through SWIM, the tower's TFDM record and the D-ATIS — a runway reads “Open” only with a complete NOTAM picture.

24-hour trend

Wind, ceiling and flight category over the last 24 hours.

Wind (kt)Gusts (kt)Bottom strip, flight category:VFRMVFRIFRLIFRNo report
061216Z05Z16Z

Over the last 24 h: wind 0→5 kt, ceiling 300 ft → 300 ft.

53AK weather radar

Live NEXRAD + lightning, with a 4-hour future-radar forecast. Drag to pan, tap ⚡ to toggle lightning.

Loading…
Loading radar…

Radar: NOAA/NWS via IEM · Forecast: NOAA HRRR · Lightning: NOAA · Map © Stadia Maps © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap

NOAA NEXRAD composite and lightning, updated about every five minutes; amber frames are HRRR model guidance, not observed radar. Not for navigation.

Pilot reports (PIREPs) within 100 NM of 53AK

Reported by pilots in flight over the past 6 hours, via aviationweather.gov.

PIREP1552Z (7:52 AM AKDT) · 51 NM NE of 53AK · 1,000 ft MSL · BE99
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED020005/TM 1552/FL010/TP BE99/SK TOPS 004, VMC ABV/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM VERY THIN LAYER OVER MRI AND DOWNTOWN
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED020005Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1552Reported at 15:52 UTC.
FL010Altitude: 1,000 ft MSL.
TP BE99Aircraft type reporting.
SK TOPS 004, VMC ABVSky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
TB NEGTurbulence: none reported.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.
RM VERY THIN LAYER OVER MRI …Remarks.
PIREP1547Z (7:47 AM AKDT) · 50 NM NE of 53AK · 500 ft MSL · BE99
Show raw report
MRI UA /OV MRI/TM 1547/FL005/TP BE99/SK OVC002-TOP005/WX FZFG
MRI UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV MRILocation: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1547Reported at 15:47 UTC.
FL005Altitude: 500 ft MSL.
TP BE99Aircraft type reporting.
SK OVC002-TOP005Sky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
WX FZFGWeather and flight visibility observed.
PIREP1545Z (7:45 AM AKDT) · 46 NM NE of 53AK · during descent · B737
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED 25006/TM 1545/FL006/TP B737/RM NEG TURB, NEG ICE, TOPS 004, APPROACH LIGHTS IN SIGHT003 DURD RWY 7R ANC
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED 25006Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1545Reported at 15:45 UTC.
FL006Altitude: 600 ft MSL.
TP B737Aircraft type reporting.
RM NEG TURB, NEG ICE, TOPS 0…Remarks.
PIREP1542Z (7:42 AM AKDT) · 52 NM NE of 53AK · during climb · B744
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED350006/TM 1542/FL038/TP B744/SK TOPS 010, VMC ABV/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM DURC
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED350006Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1542Reported at 15:42 UTC.
FL038Altitude: 3,800 ft MSL.
TP B744Aircraft type reporting.
SK TOPS 010, VMC ABVSky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
TB NEGTurbulence: none reported.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.
RM DURCRemarks.
PIREP1456Z (6:56 AM AKDT) · 39 NM N of 53AK · during descent · B744
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED250015/TM 1456/FL035/TP B744/SK VMC/TB NEG/IC NEG/RM DURD
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED250015Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1456Reported at 14:56 UTC.
FL035Altitude: 3,500 ft MSL.
TP B744Aircraft type reporting.
SK VMCSky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
TB NEGTurbulence: none reported.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.
RM DURDRemarks.
PIREP1442Z (6:42 AM AKDT) · 50 NM NE of 53AK · during climb · BCS3
light turbulence
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED330005/TM 1442/FL030/TP BCS3/SK TOPS 003/TB LGT/IC NEG/RM DURC
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED330005Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1442Reported at 14:42 UTC.
FL030Altitude: 3,000 ft MSL.
TP BCS3Aircraft type reporting.
SK TOPS 003Sky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
TB LGTTurbulence: light.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.
RM DURCRemarks.
PIREP1350Z (5:50 AM AKDT) · 34 NM NE of 53AK · 2,000 ft MSL · C208
Show raw report
ENA UA /OV TED222014-ENA012010 /TM 1350 /FL020 /TP C208 /IC NEG /RM LGT CHOP AIS AKFSS
ENA UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED222014-ENA012010Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1350Reported at 13:50 UTC.
FL020Altitude: 2,000 ft MSL.
TP C208Aircraft type reporting.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.
RM LGT CHOP AIS AKFSSRemarks.
PIREP1317Z (5:17 AM AKDT) · 48 NM NE of 53AK · 2,000 ft MSL · B77L
Show raw report
ANC UA /OV TED300005/TM 1317/FL020/TP B77L/SK TOPS 005/TB NEG/IC NEG
ANC UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV TED300005Location: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1317Reported at 13:17 UTC.
FL020Altitude: 2,000 ft MSL.
TP B77LAircraft type reporting.
SK TOPS 005Sky condition: cloud bases and tops in hundreds of feet MSL.
TB NEGTurbulence: none reported.
IC NEGIcing: none reported.

⚠️ PIREPs are unverified pilot reports. Not for operational use: conditions change between reports.

Recent aviation weather trends at 53AK

From ATIS Alerts' hourly weather history.

Over the past 24 hours, the nearest station PASX reported mostly low IFR across 53 observations, with 2 flight-category changes. The lowest ceiling was 300 ft. Wind most often came from the E.

Last 24 hours
IFR 4%LIFR 96%
Wind avg/max: 4/6 kt
Max gust: -
Lowest ceiling: 300 ft
Lowest vis: -
Prevailing wind: E
Category changes: 2

Most recent change: IFR → LIFR

Last 7 days
VFR 81%MVFR 3%IFR 1%LIFR 15%
Wind avg/max: 4/14 kt
Max gust: 20 kt
Lowest ceiling: 300 ft
Lowest vis: 0.25 sm
Prevailing wind: E
Category changes: 7

Most recent change: IFR → LIFR

Wind-favored runway - past 30 days

Share of hours each runway had the most headwind. From wind reports, not ATC assignments.

02
57%
20
43%

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No live weather from 53AK

Live crosswind meter

53AK has no weather feed online, so the wind comes from PASX, 6.4 nm away.

N02205 kt
Headwind
3 kt
Crosswind (from the right)
4 kt

Wind is 47° off runway 02, the end with the most headwind right now.

Have a weather station at 53AK? Help us make your field's weather available to every pilot, free. Add your field's wx station →

Gravel · 1,200 ft. Headings from FAA runway data. Not for navigation.

Field aerial

North up

Aerial photo of Lakewood Airstrip (53AK)
N ↑

Imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain). Something off? ✏️ Suggest an edit

Airport info

From the FAA airport record (cycle 2026-10-01) and OurAirports.

Services

Attended
Unattended
Control tower
None
Wind indicator
Lighted

Airport

Type
General aviation airport
FAA LID
53AK
City
Sterling
State
Alaska
Country
United States
Elevation
299 ft
Coordinates
60.5337, -150.8566
Runways
1 physical runway · 2 runway ends
Longest runway
1,200 ft
Weather reporting
Nearest station PASX
TAF
Nearest PAEN
Time zone
America/Anchorage
Next sunset
9h 48m

Run a flight school, FBO, or club here? Embed 53AK's live status on your website, free →

Nearby airports

Compare nearby METAR/TAF stations within 25, 50 and 100 NM before departure or arrival.

VFRMVFRIFRLIFRNo report

RC flying fields nearby

AMA model-aircraft club fields around this airport: live wind, crosswind & flyability on each page.

All RC flying fields →

See all Alaska airports →

Pilot PIREPs for Lakewood Airstrip (53AK)

Community-submitted

Community-submitted airport notes from pilots about runway conditions, wildlife, FBOs, fuel, turbulence, ramp access, and local tips.

Read recent community-submitted pilot notes for Lakewood Airstrip, including runway conditions, wildlife activity, FBO/fuel notes, turbulence, ramp access, and local airport tips.

⚠️ Pilot PIREPs on ATIS Alerts are community-submitted airport notes for situational awareness only. They are not official FAA PIREPs, NOTAMs, weather briefings, airport advisories, or flight-planning guidance. Always verify with official FAA/NWS sources, airport management, ATC, and current publications.

No Pilot PIREPs have been submitted for 53AK yet. Recently flew here? Help the next pilot by leaving a quick airport note.

Pilot PIREPs are community pilot notes for situational awareness only, not official FAA PIREPs or advisories. Verify with official sources. Notes are moderated before they appear; helpful marks and reports help us keep them useful.

⚠️ Not for operational use. Always verify with official FAA-approved preflight weather sources before flight.

Spotted incorrect airport info? ✏️ Suggest an edit

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