Bowman Field (KLOU) Aviation Weather: METAR & ATIS
As of 1:53 AM EDT, Oct 29, KLOU is currently VFR with calm winds, visibility 10+ statute miles, and no ceiling reported. The FAA lists no ground stop or delay program for KLOU right now.
Live aviation weather for Bowman Field in Louisville, KY, including METAR, ATIS, flight category, wind, visibility, ceiling, altimeter and runway crosswinds.
Bowman Field (KLOU) is a regional airport serving Louisville, KY at a field elevation of 545 ft. KLOU reports its own METAR, decoded live on this page as flight category, wind, visibility, ceiling and altimeter. It has 2 physical runways (06/24, 15/33), the longest 4,358 ft. The official FAA airport diagram is at the bottom of the page.
Wind calm, visibility 10+ statute miles, no cloud data, temperature 11°C (51°F), altimeter 30.21 inHg. Conditions are Visual Flight Rules (VFR).
METAR KLOU 290553Z AUTO 00000KT 10SM CLR 11/09 A3021 RMK AO2 SLP228 T01060094 10189 20106 58003 $
What changed at KLOU?
Since the 0453Z (12:53 AM EDT) report, compared automatically against the latest METAR.
- Temperature–dewpoint spread narrowed to 1°C. Watch for fog or low cloud.
Current pilot readout for KLOU
KLOU is currently VFR with calm winds, visibility 10+ statute miles, and no ceiling reported. Density altitude is approximately -200 ft (field elevation 545 ft). KLOU does not publish a TAF. The nearest TAF station is KSDF, about 5 nm away.
KLOU by the numbers
What the long-run records say about flying here, computed for this airport alone.
KLOU reported VFR in 81% of daylight observations over 20 years, about 264 flyable days a year. August is the most reliable month and December the least, with IFR or worse 9% of the time. When conditions drop it is usually low ceilings rather than fog (ceilings under 1,000 ft 4% of hours, visibility under 3 miles 2%).
Over 20 years of hourly winds, runway 24 had the best headwind 30% of the time, runway 15 28%, and winds were calm 28% of hours. Winds most often blow from the south. Crosswind on the best available runway topped 15 kt in under 1% of hours.
Thunderstorms were reported on about 52 days a year. 53% of storm hours fall in June, July and August, peaking in July when storms were in the air 2% of the time.
Snow fell on about 20 days a year and freezing rain or drizzle on 2. From December to February KLOU was IFR or worse 9% of the time, against 3% from June to August.
Field elevation is 545 ft, but on a median summer afternoon the air performs like 2,296 ft, 1,751 ft higher. Plan for a longer takeoff roll and a weaker climb from June to August.
Gusts showed up in 11% of hours, typically 8 kt above the steady wind, and the strongest credible gust on record was 153 kt. February is the windiest month (mean 6 kt) and August the calmest.
Sources: hourly observations 2006 to 2025 and the per-runway wind climatology 2006 to 2025. Historical summaries, not a forecast: check the current METAR, TAF and a briefing before flight.
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.
Current wind is calm: calm wind is not a factor for runway selection, and with no wind there is no head/tail or crosswind component to compute. Live numbers return automatically once a report includes a wind direction.
| Runway | Length | Surface | Head / Tail | Crosswind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 06 | 4,358 ft | ASP | - | - |
| 15 | 3,580 ft | ASPH-G | - | - |
| 24 | 4,358 ft | ASP | - | - |
| 33 | 3,580 ft | ASPH-G | - | - |
Open the crosswind calculator to try your own wind and runway numbers →
KLOU runways
2 physical runways · 4 runway ends. Each card opens the runway's intelligence page: equipment and lighting, LAHSO, frequencies, today's configuration, predicted use, history and approaches.
- Status not monitoredRunway 06/244,358 × 75 ft · ASPCurrent useno stated-runway source at KLOUWind
- 06
- no steady wind
- 24
- no steady wind
no active equipment NOTAM receivedView Runway Intelligence → - Status not monitoredRunway 15/333,580 × 75 ft · ASPH-GCurrent useno stated-runway source at KLOUWind
- 15
- no steady wind
- 33
- no steady wind
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.
Fuel at KLOU
100LL and Jet A at Bowman Field: prices, FBO fees and cheaper fuel nearby now live on the KLOU fuel page.
Lowest 100LL
$7.30/ galSelf serve · Louisville Executive Aviation
Guaranteed price, checked Oct 20Recent
1 fuel provider · Jet A from $9.14
Fuel information has moved: view KLOUfuel & FBOs for every FBO’s prices, ramp and overnight fees, cheaper 100LL nearby, price history and pilot fuel reports.
24-hour trend
Wind, ceiling and flight category over the last 24 hours.
Over the last 23 h: wind 0→0 kt, ceiling unlimited → unlimited.
KLOU weather radar
Live NEXRAD + lightning, with a 4-hour future-radar forecast. Drag to pan, tap ⚡ to toggle lightning.
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.
Recent aviation weather trends at KLOU
From ATIS Alerts' hourly weather history.
Over the past 24 hours, KLOU reported mostly VFR across 25 observations, with 2 flight-category changes. Wind most often came from the S.
Most recent change: IFR → VFR
Most recent change: IFR → VFR
Share of hours each runway had the most headwind. From wind reports, not ATC assignments.
- 06
- 33%
- 24
- 25%
- 15
- 24%
- 33
- 18%
Get KLOU weather alerts in Telegram
Stop refreshing aviation weather manually. Track KLOU in ATIS Alerts and get notified when a new METAR changes the picture: a category drop, or wind and ceiling moving toward your minimums.
Track KLOU free on TelegramLive KLOU Weather
Live crosswind meter
Measured by KLOU's own weather station.
Wind is calm or variable. Either end works.
Asphalt · 4,358 ft. Headings from FAA runway data. Not for navigation.
Field aerial
North up
Runway 06/24, 15/33 drawn from FAA threshold coordinates.
Imagery: USGS The National Map (public domain). Something off? ✏️ Suggest an edit
Fuel prices
KLOU 100LL, FBOs and fees.
100LL from
$7.30 / gal · Self serve
1 fuel provider · Guaranteed price, checked Oct 20
View fuel prices & FBOs →Airport info
From the FAA airport record (cycle 2026-10-01) and OurAirports.
Services
- Fuel
- 100LL · Jet A See fuel prices →
- Attended
- Daily 0700-2200 local
- Repairs
- Airframe & engine, major
- Oxygen
- Bottled, high & low pressure · Bulk, high & low pressure
- Transient parking
- Tie-downs · Hangars
- Landing fee
- No
- Other services
- Air ambulance · Avionics · Charter · Flight instruction · Aircraft rental · Aircraft sales
- Control tower
- Yes
- Wind indicator
- Lighted
Airport
- Type
- Regional airport
- ICAO
- KLOU
- IATA
- LOU
- FAA LID
- LOU
- City
- Louisville
- State
- Kentucky
- Country
- United States
- Elevation
- 545 ft
- Coordinates
- 38.2280, -85.6637
- Runways
- 2 physical runways · 4 runway ends
- Longest runway
- 4,358 ft
- Weather reporting
- Reports METAR
- TAF
- Nearest KSDF
- ATIS
- 112.2 MHz
- CTAF
- 119.5 MHz
- Time zone
- America/Kentucky/Louisville
- Next sunset
- 16h 19m
Is there a ground stop at LOU today? Delay status and history →
Run a flight school, FBO, or club here? Embed KLOU's live status on your website, free →
Nearby airports
Compare nearby METAR/TAF stations within 25, 50 and 100 NM before departure or arrival.
Within 25 NM
8 airports+2 more within 25 NM
25–50 NM
8 airports+2 more within 50 NM
50–100 NM
8 airports+2 more within 100 NM
RC flying fields nearby
AMA model-aircraft club fields around this airport: live wind, crosswind & flyability on each page.
- Bill Fluke Airfield, River City Radio Controllers , Louisville, KY · 7 mi
- Louisville Area Soaring Society - Charlie Vettner Park , Louisville, KY · 7 mi
- River City Radio Controllers - Bill Fluke Airfield , Louisville, KY · 7 mi
Historical Flying Weather at KLOU
2006–2025 · ATIS Alerts Flying Weather Index
Based on historical observations from 2006–2025, KLOU reported VFR conditions during about 80.9% of valid daylight observations, with an estimated 264 VFR flying days a year. August had the most VFR weather; December had the most instrument conditions. Surface winds averaged 5.1 kt, calm 23.0% of the time.
Full historical breakdown
Flight category by month
| Month | VFR % | MVFR % | IFR % | LIFR % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 65.0 | 25.6 | 7.6 | 1.9 |
| Feb | 70.5 | 20.0 | 7.2 | 2.3 |
| Mar | 78.8 | 15.6 | 4.6 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 86.0 | 10.6 | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| May | 85.0 | 10.7 | 3.4 | 0.9 |
| Jun | 89.8 | 7.8 | 1.8 | 0.6 |
| Jul | 88.3 | 8.7 | 2.6 | 0.5 |
| Aug | 90.3 | 7.0 | 2.1 | 0.5 |
| Sep | 87.0 | 8.7 | 3.6 | 0.8 |
| Oct | 84.3 | 10.6 | 4.3 | 0.8 |
| Nov | 78.5 | 15.8 | 4.4 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 64.2 | 26.6 | 7.2 | 2.0 |
Average wind by month
| Month | Mean wind (kt) |
|---|---|
| Jan | 6.3 kt |
| Feb | 6.4 kt |
| Mar | 6.4 kt |
| Apr | 6.1 kt |
| May | 5.0 kt |
| Jun | 4.7 kt |
| Jul | 4.0 kt |
| Aug | 3.7 kt |
| Sep | 3.7 kt |
| Oct | 4.5 kt |
| Nov | 5.0 kt |
| Dec | 5.8 kt |
Historical summary of past observations: not a forecast or safety rating. Always check the current METAR, TAF, and a weather briefing before flight.
KLOU airport diagram
Official FAA taxiway and runway layout. Tap to zoom.
Official FAA airport diagram · d-TPP cycle 2611 · Not for navigation. Download the official FAA PDF ↗
Customize your LOU shirt or mug
LOU's real runway layout on the back, elevation and tower frequency on the front. Add your tail number on the sleeve.
Pilot PIREPs for Bowman Field (KLOU)
Community-submittedCommunity-submitted airport notes from pilots about runway conditions, wildlife, FBOs, fuel, turbulence, ramp access, and local tips.
Read recent community-submitted pilot notes for Bowman Field, 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 KLOU 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.
No D-ATIS at this airport, showing METAR.
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