KBLF Runway 05/23 — Mercer County Airport
4,743 × 100 ft asphalt · true headings 042° / 222° · field elevation 2,857 ft
Runway 05/23 at Mercer County Airport (KBLF) in Bluefield, WV is 4,743 ft long and 100 ft wide, asphalt, with true headings 042° and 222°. Over 2005–2025 the wind gave runway 05 the headwind 17.6% of the time and runway 23 82.4%, with a crosswind above 15 kt in 1% of wind hours. KBLF has no digital ATIS, so the active runway is not known; the wind-favored end and the ATIS Alerts prediction are estimates.
Runway 05/23 — current operational status
What the D-ATIS, the tower and current NOTAMs state now. The published FAA baseline (NASR) is a separate line in the overview below and does not reflect temporary closures.
- No received NOTAM closes or restricts this runway, but the NOTAM stream has no complete initial load and the airport has no tower or D-ATIS feed. No current closure information.
Sources: Published FAA baseline (OurAirports/NASR record) · FAA NOTAMs. Runway NOTAMs stream live from the FAA NOTAM Management Service (SWIM); the official text is shown verbatim below the card. Always confirm with a current briefing.
NOTAMs for runway 05/23
Official text as issued; grouped for reading only. “Scheduled” means not yet in effect. NOTAMs are received live from the FAA NOTAM Management Service through SWIM and recorded since Sep 19, 2026; a NOTAM issued before that and not re-issued since may be missing. Get a full briefing before flight.
- 6/2647 · FDC10/27 1203Z (8:03 AM EDT) → 11/03 2000Z (3:00 PM EST)
!FDC 6/2647 BLF IAP MERCER COUNTY, BLUEFIELD, WV. ILS OR LOC RWY 23, AMDT 16... ALTERNATE MINIMUMS NA EXCEPT FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH SUITABLE RNAV SYSTEM WITH GPS, BLF VOR/DME UNMONITORED. 2610271203-2611032000EST
Current runway assignment is not available from D-ATIS at KBLF. The wind components below show which end the wind favors; the section after it is an ATIS Alerts prediction. Neither is an ATC assignment.
Current wind on Runway 05/23
Wind from the south-southeast (160°) at 4 kt
- Tailwind
- 2 kt
- Crosswind
- 4 ktfrom right
- Headwind
- 2 kt
- Crosswind
- 4 ktfrom left
- arrivals
- departures
- LAHSO hold-short
- closed
Layout from FAA NASR runway-end coordinates; the selected runway is highlighted and no active source exists here. Not for navigation.
Components use TRUE runway headings and TRUE METAR wind. “Favored by wind” is arithmetic, not an ATC assignment.
Runway 05/23 outlook
Where runway 05/23 stands now and which runway at KBLF is likely over the next 12 hours — an estimate, not an ATC assignment.
Time · runway 05/23 · airport-wide outlook · confidence · forecast wind · why
- Now0955Z · 5:55 AM EDT·05/23: no runway favored·no runway favored airport-wide·no confidence·wind 160° at 4 kt·Why METAR wind 160° at 4 kt: below 5 kt, wind does not decide the runway.|No recorded calm-wind preference yet, so no end is favored.
- +1 h1055Z · 6:55 AM EDT·05/23: 23 likely·airport-wide likely 23 then 05·Southwest flow·2 kt headwind, 6 kt crosswind·Medium 69%·wind 150° at 6 kt·Why TAF forecast wind 150° at 6 kt favors southeast-facing runway ends: 2 kt headwind and 6 kt crosswind on 23 versus -2 kt headwind on 05.|No known runway closure prevents this configuration.|Confidence falls with forecast distance (+1 h).
- +2 h1155Z · 7:55 AM EDT·05/23: 23 likely·airport-wide likely 23 then 05·Southwest flow·2 kt headwind, 6 kt crosswind·Medium 66%·wind 150° at 6 kt·Why TAF forecast wind 150° at 6 kt favors southeast-facing runway ends: 2 kt headwind and 6 kt crosswind on 23 versus -2 kt headwind on 05.|No known runway closure prevents this configuration.|Confidence falls with forecast distance (+2 h).
- +3 h1255Z · 8:55 AM EDT·05/23: 23 likely·airport-wide likely 23 then 05·Southwest flow·2 kt headwind, 6 kt crosswind·Medium 63%·wind 150° at 6 kt·Why TAF forecast wind 150° at 6 kt favors southeast-facing runway ends: 2 kt headwind and 6 kt crosswind on 23 versus -2 kt headwind on 05.|No known runway closure prevents this configuration.|Confidence falls with forecast distance (+3 h).
- +6 h1555Z · 11:55 AM EDT·05/23: 23 likely·airport-wide likely 23 then 05·Southwest flow·2 kt headwind, 6 kt crosswind·Low 54%·wind 150° at 6 kt·Why TAF forecast wind 150° at 6 kt favors southeast-facing runway ends: 2 kt headwind and 6 kt crosswind on 23 versus -2 kt headwind on 05.|No known runway closure prevents this configuration.|Confidence falls with forecast distance (+6 h).
- +12 h2155Z · 5:55 PM EDT·05/23: 23 likely·airport-wide likely 23 then 05·Southwest flow·2 kt headwind, 6 kt crosswind·Low 36%·wind 150° at 6 kt·Why TAF forecast wind 150° at 6 kt favors southeast-facing runway ends: 2 kt headwind and 6 kt crosswind on 23 versus -2 kt headwind on 05.|No known runway closure prevents this configuration.|Confidence falls with forecast distance (+12 h).
ATIS Alerts Predicted Runway is an estimate from the TAF wind forecast, runway geometry (most headwind, crosswind penalised, tailwind over 5 kt avoided, longest runway breaks ties), the current stated configuration and any stated closures. Each row lists its reasons; “no runway favored” is a genuine answer under variable or light wind, never replaced by a guess. It is not an ATC assignment and does not know about noise abatement or traffic flow unless the recorded history shows them. TAF issued 0600Z (2:00 AM EDT).
Runway 05/23 equipment and lighting
What the FAA record lists for each end, annotated with current NOTAM and D-ATIS outages.
- Approach lighting
- Not available
- Visual glide slope
- PAPI (4-box, left side)
- Runway edge lighting
- HIRL (high intensity)
- Centerline lighting
- Not available
- Touchdown zone lighting
- Not available
- REIL
- Available
- ILS
- Not available
- Localizer
- Not available
- Glideslope
- Not available
- DME
- Not available
- Marker beacons
- Not available
- RVR
- Not available
- Runway markings
- Non-precision instrument
- Arresting system
- Not available
- Approach lighting
- Not available
- Visual glide slope
- PAPI (4-box, left side)
- Runway edge lighting
- HIRL (high intensity)
- Centerline lighting
- Not available
- Touchdown zone lighting
- Not available
- REIL
- Available
- ILS
- ILSDEGRADED
- Localizer
- AvailableDEGRADED
- Glideslope
- Available
- DME
- Not available
- Marker beacons
- Not available
- RVR
- Not available
- Runway markings
- Precision instrument
- Arresting system
- Not available
!FDC 6/2647 BLF IAP MERCER COUNTY, BLUEFIELD, WV. ILS OR LOC RWY 23, AMDT 16... ALTERNATE MINIMUMS NA EXCEPT FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH SUITABLE RNAV SYSTEM WITH GPS, BLF VOR/DME UNMONITORED. 2610271203-2611032000EST
!FDC 6/2647 BLF IAP MERCER COUNTY, BLUEFIELD, WV. ILS OR LOC RWY 23, AMDT 16... ALTERNATE MINIMUMS NA EXCEPT FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH SUITABLE RNAV SYSTEM WITH GPS, BLF VOR/DME UNMONITORED. 2610271203-2611032000EST
!FDC 6/2647 BLF IAP MERCER COUNTY, BLUEFIELD, WV. ILS OR LOC RWY 23, AMDT 16... ALTERNATE MINIMUMS NA EXCEPT FOR ACFT EQUIPPED WITH SUITABLE RNAV SYSTEM WITH GPS, BLF VOR/DME UNMONITORED. 2610271203-2611032000EST
Source: FAA NASR 28-day subscription, cycle effective 2026-10-01 (equipment on record) · FAA NOTAMs via SWIM (live)and the current D-ATIS (outages). “Not available” means the FAA record lists no such equipment for the end; nothing here is inferred. An outage annotation is only ever a reading of the official text shown with it. Declared distances are not shown in this phase.
Land and hold short operations
LAHSO hold-short points and available landing distances on the FAA record, and whether the current D-ATIS reports LAHSO in effect.
No LAHSO hold-short point on the FAA record for this end.
No LAHSO hold-short point on the FAA record for this end.
This airport has no D-ATIS, so the current LAHSO state is not known here. Source: FAA NASR cycle 2026-10-01; D-ATIS text read by ATIS Alerts.
Frequencies for runway 05/23
Tower, ground, clearance, ATIS and approach frequencies from the FAA record, labelled by what they apply to.
| Service | Frequency | Applies to |
|---|---|---|
| CTAF | 122.9 | Airport-wideACTVT REIL RWY 05 & 23; PAPI RWY 05 & 23; HIRL RWY 05/23; TWY LIGHTS - CTAF. |
The FAA record does not sectorize KBLF's frequencies by runway; every row applies airport-wide. Source: FAA NASR FRQ, cycle 2026-10-01. Verify on the current chart supplement before use.
Runway 05/23 overview
Physical characteristics from the FAA-derived runway record.
- Length
- 4,743 ft
- Width
- 100 ft
- Surface
- Asphalt · Good condition
- Surface treatment
- Grooved
- Weight bearing (lb)
- S 30k · D 48k
- Runway lights
- Lighted
- Airport elevation
- 2,857 ft
- Published FAA baseline
- Open
- Published NASR record; does not reflect temporary closures or restrictions. Current operational status is the card at the top of the page.
- True heading
- 042°
- Magnetic
- 049°
- Published FAA baseline
- Open
- Threshold elevation
- 2,850 ft
- TDZ elevation
- 2,850 ft
- Displaced threshold
- None on record
- Threshold crossing height
- 40 ft
- Visual glide path
- 3°
- Traffic pattern
- Left
- Controlling obstruction
- trees, 35 ft, 201 ft from threshold, 0:1 slope
- True heading
- 222°
- Magnetic
- 229°
- Published FAA baseline
- Open
- Threshold elevation
- 2,857 ft
- TDZ elevation
- 2,857 ft
- Displaced threshold
- None on record
- Threshold crossing height
- 65 ft
- Visual glide path
- 3°
- Traffic pattern
- Left
- Controlling obstruction
- trees, 40 ft, 201 ft from threshold, 0:1 slope
Runway 05/23 numbers are magnetic; the stored geometry and every wind calculation on this page are TRUE north, so they never need a variation correction. Magnetic headings use the FAA's published variation for this airport, 7.0°W (2010), the same value printed on the FAA airport diagram. Surface condition, treatment, weight bearing, thresholds and traffic pattern are from the FAA NASR record (cycle 2026-10-01); lighting, ILS and LAHSO are in their own sections above. Declared distances are not shown in this phase.
Wind-favored runway at KBLF — last 30 days
Which runway end had the most headwind each hour, from ATIS Alerts' collected wind history — an estimate, not ATC use.
Share of hours each runway had the most headwind. From wind reports, not ATC assignments.
- 23
- 79%
- 05
- 21%
Historical wind and crosswind on runway 05/23
20-year hourly climatology from the ASOS archive, computed per runway end.
From 173,431 hourly observations at KBLF (2005–2025), 129,084 with a steady wind direction (25.6% calm, variable or direction-less). One observation per clock hour; TRUE headings against TRUE wind.
Crosswind on runway 05/23 (either end)
| Crosswind (kt) | Share of wind hours |
|---|---|
| 0–5 | 56.8% |
| 5–10 | 34% |
| 10–15 | 8.2% |
| 15–20 | 0.9% |
| 20–25 | 0.1% |
| 25+ | 0% |
Strongest-crosswind month on average: Jan; calmest: Aug. Percentiles are streaming approximations (t-digest), accurate to about 0.1 kt.
Runway 05
Runway 23
“Most wind-favored end” is meteorological analysis: the share of steady-wind hours (2005–2025) in which this end had the most headwind of every open runway end at KBLF. It does not mean ATC selected the runway that often (parallel ends with the same heading share the credit equally). Observed runway use, where available, is the configuration-history section above.
By wind direction
| Wind from | Share of wind hours | 05 favored | 23 favored | Mean crosswind | Crosswind > 15 kt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N 338–023° | 3% | 100% | 0% | 3.6 kt | 0% |
| NE 023–068° | 2% | 100% | 0% | 0.9 kt | 0% |
| E 068–113° | 7% | 100% | 0% | 3.8 kt | 0% |
| SE 113–158° | 8% | 45.4% | 54.6% | 6.5 kt | 1.7% |
| S 158–203° | 9% | 0% | 100% | 5.1 kt | 0.3% |
| SW 203–248° | 12% | 0% | 100% | 1.5 kt | 0% |
| W 248–293° | 45% | 0% | 100% | 5.4 kt | 0.8% |
| NW 293–338° | 15% | 17.2% | 82.8% | 8 kt | 3.3% |
By time of day (airport-local)
Seasonal runway conditions
| Month | Mean crosswind (kt) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 6.4 kt |
| Feb | 6.4 kt |
| Mar | 6.2 kt |
| Apr | 5.8 kt |
| May | 4.7 kt |
| Jun | 4.1 kt |
| Jul | 3.7 kt |
| Aug | 3.6 kt |
| Sep | 3.9 kt |
| Oct | 4.8 kt |
| Nov | 5.4 kt |
| Dec | 5.9 kt |
| Month | Prevailing | Mean wind | Gusty | Mean xw | xw > 10 | xw > 15 | xw > 20 | 05 tail > 5 | 23 tail > 5 | IFR | TS | Fog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | W | 7.6 kt | 32.7% | 6.4 kt | 16.8% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 34.7% | 1% | 19.1% | 0.01% | 10.2% |
| Feb | W | 7.7 kt | 33.7% | 6.4 kt | 17.6% | 2.2% | 0.3% | 36.6% | 0.8% | 17% | 0.08% | 8.7% |
| Mar | W | 7.4 kt | 33.1% | 6.2 kt | 15.1% | 1.8% | 0.2% | 31.8% | 1.7% | 13.3% | 0.24% | 6.9% |
| Apr | W | 7.2 kt | 32.2% | 5.8 kt | 13% | 1.9% | 0.2% | 34.5% | 2.2% | 8.3% | 0.46% | 4.6% |
| May | W | 5.6 kt | 16.6% | 4.7 kt | 6% | 0.4% | 0% | 27.4% | 2.5% | 10.1% | 1.34% | 5.7% |
| Jun | W | 4.9 kt | 8.8% | 4.1 kt | 2.1% | 0% | 0% | 22.5% | 2.2% | 7.2% | 1.53% | 4.5% |
| Jul | W | 4.4 kt | 4.6% | 3.7 kt | 0.8% | 0% | 0% | 20.1% | 1.3% | 7.1% | 2.09% | 4.8% |
| Aug | W | 3.9 kt | 3.4% | 3.6 kt | 0.7% | 0% | 0% | 14.7% | 1.7% | 9.2% | 1.3% | 6.4% |
| Sep | W | 4.1 kt | 6.3% | 3.9 kt | 1.3% | 0.1% | 0% | 14.4% | 4.4% | 12.5% | 0.65% | 7% |
| Oct | W | 5.4 kt | 16.5% | 4.8 kt | 6.5% | 0.4% | 0% | 23.9% | 2.5% | 13.2% | 0.08% | 7.1% |
| Nov | W | 6.2 kt | 22.4% | 5.4 kt | 10.2% | 0.8% | 0% | 27.3% | 1.9% | 11.6% | 0.01% | 6.5% |
| Dec | W | 6.9 kt | 27.4% | 5.9 kt | 13.7% | 1.8% | 0.1% | 32.7% | 1.1% | 17.7% | 0% | 9.5% |
IFR, thunderstorm (TS) and fog columns are airport-wide shares of hours; the crosswind and tailwind columns are specific to this runway. Prevailing = most common 45° wind sector among wind hours.
Runway 05/23 closure history
Kept per source with its provenance: D-ATIS-observed, NOTAM-observed and the FAA published baseline are never merged.
KBLF has no D-ATIS, so there is no broadcast-observed closure record.
No closure NOTAM naming runway 05/23 has been received since the stream went live.
Runway 05/23: Open on the published record — a baseline that does not reflect temporary closures or restrictions, not the current operational status.
Recent pilot reports involving runway 05/23
Official PIREPs that name this runway explicitly, past 6 hours.
No pilot report in the last 6 hours names runway 05/23 at KBLF explicitly. Reports near the airport that do not name a runway are on the airport page.
Instrument approaches to runway 05/23
From the FAA d-TPP, linked to the official plates.
Runway 05
- RNAV (GPS)RNAV (GPS) RWY 05 ↗
Runway 23
- ILSILS OR LOC RWY 23 ↗precision
- RNAV (GPS)RNAV (GPS) RWY 23 ↗
2 departure procedures · FAA d-TPP cycle 2611. Plates open on aeronav.faa.gov (public domain); ATIS Alerts does not reproduce charts or minimums.
Methodology and sources
Short version below; the full write-up is at Runway Intelligence methodology, and every launched airport is listed on the Runway Intelligence hub.
- Active runwayscome first from the tower's TFDM (Terminal Flight Data Manager) airport configuration, received as structured data through the FAA SWIM Cloud Distribution Service at towers that have it; otherwise from the airport's D-ATIS text (community relay of the FAA broadcast) with an open, tested parser, and the broadcast text is always shown. Every change is recorded, so “recorded use” is what the facility stated, never an inference. ATIS Alerts is not an FAA product and this is not FAA data; SWIM content is for non-operational use.
- Flowis the compass direction of the stated arrival ends (eight sectors, named only when every arrival end points within 30° of the others and clear of a sector edge); a tower's own configuration name is used when it carries a direction word. Stored separately from the runway sets.
- Equipment, LAHSO and frequencies come from the FAA NASR 28-day subscription (cycle 2026-10-01): approach lights, visual glide slope, edge / centerline / touchdown-zone lights, REIL, ILS components with FAA status, RVR, markings, LAHSO hold-short points and available landing distances, and facility frequencies with their published sectorization. Outage annotations are readings of the NOTAM or D-ATIS text shown beside them. Blank FAA fields read “Not available”.
- Wind components use the current METAR (aviationweather.gov) against TRUE runway headings from the OurAirports/FAA runway record.
- Runway visual range, tower demand and traffic-management restrictions come from FAA SWIM: STDDS Airport Data (RVR and light settings, about 130 airports) and TFDM (15-minute runway demand, APREQ/MIT restrictions). Each block is stamped with its own time; none of it is an FAA product or a clearance.
- Predicted runway scores each open end from the TAF wind (headwind, crosswind penalty, tailwind avoidance, longest-runway tie-break), excludes stated closures, and — once a wind sector has 24 h of recorded use — adjusts confidence by what the facility did under similar wind; every row lists its reasons. It does not model noise abatement or flow programs beyond what the record shows.
- History thresholds: usage shares need 12 / 48 / 168 recorded hours for the 24-hour / 7-day / 30-day windows; a wind sector needs 24 h and 5 days; time-of-day needs 7 days and 20 h per daypart; flow shares need 48 h. Below a bar the module says so instead of showing a percentage.
- Climatology: Iowa Environmental Mesonet ASOS archive, one observation per hour, 45° wind sectors, percentiles via t-digest; runway geometry is today's record applied to all years. Methodology v1.
- PIREPs: official reports from aviationweather.gov are attached only when the text names this runway and the report is tied to KBLF by identifier or by position within 15 NM. Approaches: FAA d-TPP metafile, current charting cycle; plates link to aeronav.faa.gov. No minimums are reproduced.
- Data freshness: METAR and D-ATIS refresh every minute on this page; the D-ATIS recorder ran 0 min ago; usage rollups every 3 h; climatology through 2025-12-31.
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Other runways at KBLF
KBLF has a single runway.
Tools for this runway
⚠️ ATIS Alerts provides informational runway analysis based on available weather, the tower's TFDM configuration and NOTAMs received through FAA SWIM, D-ATIS text, FAA data and historical observations. Active runways shown here are what the tower or its D-ATIS stated and may lag or be misread; NOTAM coverage is not complete; predicted runways are an ATIS Alerts estimate, not an ATC assignment; equipment states are readings of the official text shown with them. Not an FAA product. Not for operational use. Always verify with official FAA-approved preflight weather sources before flight.