KIAH Runway 08L/26R — George Bush Intercontinental Airport
9,000 × 150 ft concrete · true headings 090° / 270° · field elevation 97 ft
Runway 08L/26R at George Bush Intercontinental Airport (KIAH) in Houston, TX is 9,000 ft long and 150 ft wide, concrete, with true headings 090° and 270°. Over 2005–2025 the wind gave runway 08L the headwind 63.3% of the time and runway 26R 33.1%, with a crosswind above 15 kt in 2.2% of wind hours. KIAH publishes a digital ATIS, so this page shows the runway the tower is actually using right now and builds a record of how often each end is assigned.
Runway 08L/26R — current status
NO CLOSURE REPORTED- The tower's TFDM closure record lists no closure for this runway and the current D-ATIS names no closure, restriction or outage for it. No received NOTAM closes or restricts this runway, but the NOTAM stream has no complete initial load yet — verify NOTAMs before flight.
Sources: FAA runway record (OurAirports) · FAA NOTAMs · Tower TFDM configuration (FAA SWIM) · D-ATIS · Tower TFDM 0229Z (9:29 PM CDT) · D-ATIS 0153Z (8:53 PM CDT). 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.
No received NOTAM currently names runway 08L/26R at KIAH. 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.
Feet, touchdown / midpoint / rollout; 6000+ is the reportable maximum and "off" means the sensor is not reporting (runway not in use). Light settings 0 (off) to 5. Runway lights are on. Not an FAA product; verify with the current METAR and ATIS.
Current active runways at KIAH
As stated by the tower — its TFDM surface system and its D-ATIS broadcast. Not an estimate.
Airport rates: 88 arrivals / 80 departures per hour. In effect since 2026-09-18 1909Z (2:09 PM CDT).
This D-ATIS configuration has been stated since 0153Z (8:53 PM CDT).
Show the D-ATIS text
IAH ATIS INFO G 0153Z. 11009KT 10SM CLR 26/18 A3004 (THREE ZERO ZERO FOUR). ARRIVALS EXPECT ILS OR RNAV Y RY 8R, ILS OR RNAV Y RY 8L, ILS OR RNAV Y RY 9. SIMUL APPROACHES IN USE. DEPG RY 15L. NOTICE TO AIRMEN. UNITED RAMP CONTROL IN EFFECT. BIRD ACTIVITY VICINITY ARPT. LAHSO RY8R. TWY EA CLSD. NOTAM ATIS IN USE ON FREQUENCY 126.225. SIMULTANEOUS PARALLEL DEPARTURES ARE IN EFFECT PILOTS MUST ENSURE CORRECT DIRECTION OF INITIAL TURN. ...ADVS YOU HAVE INFO G.
Current wind on Runway 08L/26R
Wind from the east-southeast (110°) at 9 kt
- Headwind
- 8 kt
- Crosswind
- 3 ktfrom right
- Tailwind
- 8 kt
- Crosswind
- 3 ktfrom left
Components use TRUE runway headings and TRUE METAR wind. “Favored by wind” is arithmetic, not an ATC assignment.
ATIS Alerts Predicted Runway
Which runway at KIAH is likely to be in use over the next 12 hours — an estimate, not an ATC assignment.
| Time | Likely runway | Confidence | Wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Now0232Z · 9:32 PM CDT | 08R, 09 and 08Lactive · tower TFDM stated by the tower (TFDM) | stated | 110° at 9 kt |
| +1 h0332Z · 10:32 PM CDT | 08L calm wind: the end this airport most often used in calm wind | Low55% | VRB at 4 kt |
| +2 h0432Z · 11:32 PM CDT | 08L calm wind: the end this airport most often used in calm wind | Low55% | VRB at 4 kt |
| +3 h0532Z · 12:32 AM CDT | 08L calm wind: the end this airport most often used in calm wind | Low55% | VRB at 4 kt |
| +6 h0832Z · 3:32 AM CDT | 08L calm wind: the end this airport most often used in calm wind | Low55% | VRB at 4 kt |
| +12 h1432Z · 9:32 AM CDT | 08L calm wind: the end this airport most often used in calm wind | Low55% | VRB at 4 kt |
ATIS Alerts Predicted Runway is an estimate from the TAF wind forecast and runway geometry (most headwind, crosswind penalised, tailwind over 5 kt avoided, longest runway breaks ties). It is not an ATC assignment and does not know about noise abatement, traffic flow or construction unless the D-ATIS states them. TAF issued 2320Z (6:20 PM CDT).
Counts the tower's surface system expects per runway over the next two hours — the tower's plan, not an ATIS Alerts estimate and not an ATC assignment. A runway with zero expected demand is not in the plan for that period. During a runway change the plan can lag the configuration above for a few minutes (flights already assigned to the old runways stay counted there until reassigned).
- GDP → DEN · since 09/18 2200Z · by DCC · Weather:Thunderstorms: — ground delay program
- GDP → SAN · since 09/19 0000Z · by DCC · Volume/Terminal:Volume: — ground delay program
- GDP → SFO · since 09/19 0200Z · by DCC · Volume/Terminal:Volume: — ground delay program
Restrictions on departures from KIAHtoward the named airports or fixes, as recorded by the tower's surface system; they change the departure flow, not the runway in use. Not an FAA product.
Runway 08L/26R overview
Physical characteristics from the FAA-derived runway record.
- Length
- 9,000 ft
- Width
- 150 ft
- Surface
- Concrete
- Runway lights
- Lighted
- Airport elevation
- 97 ft
- FAA record status
- Open
- True heading
- 090°
- Magnetic (approx.)
- ≈ 088°
- FAA record
- Open
- True heading
- 270°
- Magnetic (approx.)
- ≈ 268°
- FAA record
- Open
Runway 08L/26R numbers are magnetic; the stored geometry and every wind calculation on this page are TRUE north, so they never need a variation correction. Magnetic variation here is about 1.7°E (World Magnetic Model). Displaced thresholds, declared distances (TORA/TODA/ASDA/LDA), approach lighting, PAPI/VASI, ILS equipment and traffic-pattern direction are FAA NASR fields not yet loaded — they are omitted rather than guessed.
Recorded runway use at KIAH — last 30 days
How often the tower's TFDM configuration listed each end for arrivals and departures (the tower's own statement, via FAA SWIM).
ATIS Alerts records every change of KIAH's tower TFDM configuration and turns it into a log of which runways the facility named for arrivals and departures. Recording started Sep 18, 2026 — 7 hours captured so far. Usage statistics appear once 24 hours are on record, and become meaningful after a few weeks.
Historical wind and crosswind on runway 08L/26R
20-year hourly climatology from the ASOS archive, computed per runway end.
From 175,245 hourly observations at KIAH (2005–2025), 144,371 with a steady wind direction (17.6% calm, variable or direction-less). One observation per clock hour; TRUE headings against TRUE wind.
Crosswind on runway 08L/26R (either end)
| Crosswind (kt) | Share of wind hours |
|---|---|
| 0–5 | 49.7% |
| 5–10 | 36% |
| 10–15 | 12.1% |
| 15–20 | 2.1% |
| 20–25 | 0.1% |
| 25+ | 0% |
Strongest-crosswind month on average: Apr; calmest: Sep. Percentiles are streaming approximations (t-digest), accurate to about 0.1 kt.
Runway 08L
Runway 26R
“Wind-favored” counts the hours this end had the most headwind of every open runway at KIAH — wind arithmetic, not an ATC assignment (parallel runways with the same heading share the credit equally). Recorded D-ATIS use, where available, is the section above.
By wind direction
| Wind from | Share of wind hours | 08L favored | 26R favored | Mean crosswind | Crosswind > 15 kt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N 338–023° | 16% | 0% | 0% | 8.1 kt | 6.3% |
| NE 023–068° | 9% | 27.2% | 0% | 4.9 kt | 0.5% |
| E 068–113° | 10% | 33.2% | 0% | 1.7 kt | 0% |
| SE 113–158° | 19% | 6.3% | 0% | 6.5 kt | 1.6% |
| S 158–203° | 29% | 0% | 0% | 7.1 kt | 2.6% |
| SW 203–248° | 5% | 0% | 24.4% | 4.4 kt | 0.1% |
| W 248–293° | 4% | 0% | 33.2% | 1.3 kt | 0% |
| NW 293–338° | 7% | 0% | 4.9% | 6.2 kt | 2% |
By time of day (airport-local)
Seasonal runway conditions
| Month | Mean crosswind (kt) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 6.1 kt |
| Feb | 6.7 kt |
| Mar | 7.0 kt |
| Apr | 7.2 kt |
| May | 6.8 kt |
| Jun | 5.7 kt |
| Jul | 4.9 kt |
| Aug | 4.7 kt |
| Sep | 4.6 kt |
| Oct | 5.3 kt |
| Nov | 5.8 kt |
| Dec | 5.9 kt |
| Month | Prevailing | Mean wind | Gusty | Mean xw | xw > 10 | xw > 15 | xw > 20 | 08L tail > 5 | 26R tail > 5 | IFR | TS | Fog |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | N | 7 kt | 11.2% | 6.1 kt | 17% | 2.7% | 0.1% | 13.2% | 19.6% | 13.1% | 0.52% | 12.4% |
| Feb | S | 7.5 kt | 13.9% | 6.7 kt | 20.4% | 3.1% | 0.2% | 10.8% | 20% | 16.6% | 0.38% | 14.2% |
| Mar | S | 7.8 kt | 16.6% | 7 kt | 21.9% | 4.4% | 0.2% | 8.7% | 26.3% | 9.9% | 0.61% | 10.1% |
| Apr | S | 8.3 kt | 18.7% | 7.2 kt | 24.8% | 4.3% | 0.2% | 7.9% | 32.4% | 6.5% | 1.22% | 7.4% |
| May | S | 7.6 kt | 14.6% | 6.8 kt | 19.8% | 2.7% | 0.2% | 3.9% | 32.1% | 3% | 2.22% | 4.4% |
| Jun | S | 6.2 kt | 9.3% | 5.7 kt | 11% | 0.9% | 0.1% | 3.9% | 22.3% | 1.5% | 2.36% | 2.3% |
| Jul | S | 5.3 kt | 5.3% | 4.9 kt | 5.3% | 0.3% | 0.1% | 6.1% | 16.2% | 1.3% | 2.19% | 2% |
| Aug | S | 5.2 kt | 5.6% | 4.7 kt | 4.7% | 0.6% | 0.1% | 5.6% | 20.5% | 1.4% | 1.98% | 1.8% |
| Sep | N | 5.4 kt | 4.9% | 4.6 kt | 5.5% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 3.7% | 29.2% | 3.3% | 1.33% | 3.5% |
| Oct | SE | 5.9 kt | 8.1% | 5.3 kt | 10.7% | 1.7% | 0.1% | 6.7% | 27.1% | 4.8% | 0.81% | 5.6% |
| Nov | N | 6.2 kt | 8.6% | 5.8 kt | 13.9% | 2.1% | 0.1% | 6.4% | 23.6% | 9.2% | 0.44% | 9.5% |
| Dec | N | 6.6 kt | 9.3% | 5.9 kt | 13.8% | 2.6% | 0.2% | 10% | 21.5% | 15.6% | 0.57% | 13.7% |
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 08L/26R closure history
Runway NOTAM history begins when the NOTAM feed goes live (next phase).
D-ATIS broadcasts recorded since Sep 18, 2026 declared runway 08L closed on 0 days and runway 26R closed on 0 days in the last 30 days. Scheduled and unscheduled closure NOTAMs, with start and end times and the official text, will appear here once ATIS Alerts records runway NOTAMs; there is no retrievable archive, so history accrues from that date forward.
Instrument approaches to runway 08L/26R
From the FAA d-TPP, linked to the official plates.
Runway 08L
- GLSGLS RWY 08L ↗
- ILSILS OR LOC RWY 08L ↗precision
- ILSILS RWY 08L (CAT II - III) ↗precision
- ILSILS RWY 08L (SA CAT I) ↗precision
- RNAV (GPS)RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 08L ↗
- RNAV (RNP)RNAV (RNP) Y RWY 08L ↗
Runway 26R
- GLSGLS RWY 26R ↗
- ILSILS OR LOC RWY 26R ↗precision
- ILSILS RWY 26R (CAT II - III) ↗precision
- ILSILS RWY 26R (SA CAT I) ↗precision
- RNAV (GPS)RNAV (GPS) Z RWY 26R ↗
- RNAV (RNP)RNAV (RNP) Y RWY 26R ↗
31 departure procedures · 30 STARs · LAHSO page ↗ · FAA d-TPP cycle 2610. 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 (KIAH does); 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.
- 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); confidence falls with forecast distance, gusts and TAF age. It does not model noise abatement or flow programs.
- 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.
- 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 2 min ago; the tower TFDM feed last delivered 3 min ago; climatology through 2025-12-31.
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Other runways at KIAH
Tools for this runway
⚠️ ATIS Alerts provides informational runway analysis based on available weather, D-ATIS, FAA data and historical observations. Active runways shown here are read from D-ATIS text and may lag or be misread; predicted runways are an ATIS Alerts estimate, not an ATC assignment. Not for operational use. Always verify with official FAA-approved preflight weather sources before flight.
Runway page score 73/100 · indexed (rollout wave gate).