KMCO Runway 18R/36L — Orlando International Airport

Name: KMCO Runway 18R/36L wind climatology 2005–2025
Creator: ATIS Alerts

12,004 × 200 ft concrete · true headings 179° / 359° · field elevation 96 ft

Runway 18R/36L at Orlando International Airport (KMCO) in Orlando, FL is 12,004 ft long and 200 ft wide, concrete, with true headings 179° and 359°. Over 2005–2025 the wind gave runway 18R the headwind 47.1% of the time and runway 36L 52.9%, with a crosswind above 15 kt in 1.2% of wind hours. KMCO 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 18R/36L — current status

CLOSED (D-ATIS)

D-ATIS reports runway 18R and 36L closed.

Sources: FAA runway record (OurAirports) · D-ATIS · D-ATIS 2103Z (5:03 PM EDT). Runway NOTAM monitoring (closures, lighting, navaid outages) is scheduled for the next phase; until then this card reflects only the FAA runway record and the airport's own D-ATIS.

Current active runways at KMCO

As stated by the airport's D-ATIS — the facility's own broadcast, not an estimate.

Information Uniform · 2103Z (5:03 PM EDT)

Arrivals

35R36R

Departures

35L36R

D-ATIS reports runway 18R and 36L closed.

This configuration has been stated since 1703Z (1:03 PM EDT).

Show the D-ATIS text

MCO ARR INFO U 2103Z SPECIAL. 12009G22KT 10SM R35L/4500VP6000FT -RA BKN034 BKN090 27/23 A3002 (THREE ZERO ZERO TWO) RMK AO2 WSHFT 2043 RAB2056 P0000 T02720228 TSNO FIBI. SIMULTANEOUS APPCHS, ILS RWY 35R, 36R. NOTICE TO AIRMEN. RWY 18R, 36L CLSD UFN. E1 CLSD BTWN, B9 AND, B11 B10 CLSD BTWN, 36R AND A. ALL ACFT CTC GROUND CONTROL ON 121.8. INCREASED BIRD ACTIVITY  IN THE VCNTY OF THE ARPT. ...ADVS YOU HAVE INFO U.

MCO DEP INFO H 2103Z SPECIAL. 12009G22KT 10SM R35L/4500VP6000FT -RA BKN034 BKN090 27/23 A3002 (THREE ZERO ZERO TWO) RMK AO2 WSHFT 2043 RAB2056 P0000 T02720228 TSNO FIBI. DEPG RWYS 35L, 36R. NOTICE TO AIRMEN. RWY 18R, 36L CLSD UFN. E1 CLSD BTWN, B9 AND, B11 B10 CLSD BTWN, 36R AND A. ALL ACFT CTC GROUND CONTROL ON 121.8. INCREASED BIRD ACTIVITY  IN THE VCNTY OF THE ARPT. ...ADVS YOU HAVE INFO H.

Current wind on Runway 18R/36L

Wind from the east (080°) at 11 kt

METAR 2053Z (4:53 PM EDT)

Runway 18R

Tailwind: 2 kt
Crosswind: 11 ktfrom left

Runway 36L

FAVORED BY WIND

Headwind: 2 kt
Crosswind: 11 ktfrom right

Wind-favored runway at KMCO right now: 35R (2 kt headwind) — a different runway than this one.

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 KMCO is likely to be in use over the next 12 hours — an estimate, not an ATC assignment.

Time	Likely runway	Confidence	Wind
Now2107Z · 5:07 PM EDT	35R and 36Ractive · D-ATIS stated by D-ATIS	stated	080° at 11 kt
+1 h2207Z · 6:07 PM EDT	36Rthen 35R	Low49%	080° at 12 kt G18
+2 h2307Z · 7:07 PM EDT	36Rthen 35R	Low46%	080° at 12 kt G18
+3 h0007Z · 8:07 PM EDT	36Rthen 35R	Low43%	080° at 12 kt G18
+6 h0307Z · 11:07 PM EDT	- calm wind: assignment depends on local practice, not wind	-	VRB at 4 kt
+12 h0907Z · 5:07 AM EDT	- calm wind: assignment depends on local practice, not wind	-	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 2102Z (5:02 PM EDT).

Runway 18R/36L overview

Physical characteristics from the FAA-derived runway record.

Length: 12,004 ft
Width: 200 ft
Surface: Concrete
Runway lights: Lighted
Airport elevation: 96 ft
FAA record status: Open

Runway 18R

True heading: 179°
Magnetic (approx.): ≈ 186°
FAA record: Open

Runway 36L

True heading: 359°
Magnetic (approx.): ≈ 006°
FAA record: Open

Runway 18R/36L 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 7.0°W (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 KMCO — last 30 days

How often the D-ATIS named each end for arrivals and departures (the facility's own statement).

ATIS Alerts records every change of KMCO's D-ATIS and turns it into a log of which runways the facility named for arrivals and departures. Recording started Sep 18, 2026 — 4 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 18R/36L

20-year hourly climatology from the ASOS archive, computed per runway end.

From 174,956 hourly observations at KMCO (2005–2025), 147,834 with a steady wind direction (15.5% calm, variable or direction-less). One observation per clock hour; TRUE headings against TRUE wind.

Crosswind on runway 18R/36L (either end)

Mean crosswind

4.7 kt

median 3.9 kt

90th / 95th percentile

10 / 12 kt

max 43.7 kt

Above 10 kt

9.6%

> 15 kt: 1.2% · > 20 kt: 0.1%

Gust crosswind > 15 kt

4.8%

90th pct gust 10.9 kt

Strongest-crosswind month on average: Apr; calmest: Jul. Percentiles are streaming approximations (t-digest), accurate to about 0.1 kt.

Runway 18R

Headwind

47.1%

of wind hours

Tailwind > 5 kt

22.8%

> 10 kt: 4.4%

Wind-favored end

9.9%

most headwind of all runways

Runway 36L

Headwind

52.9%

of wind hours

Tailwind > 5 kt

15.1%

> 10 kt: 2.9%

Wind-favored end

8.6%

most headwind of all runways

“Wind-favored” counts the hours this end had the most headwind of every open runway at KMCO — 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-favored share of runway 18R and 36L by wind sector, 2005–2025
Wind from	Share of wind hours	18R favored	36L favored	Mean crosswind	Crosswind > 15 kt
N 338–023°	18%	0%	20.4%	1.4 kt	0%
NE 023–068°	12%	0%	0%	6.1 kt	0.8%
E 068–113°	18%	18.7%	0%	7.5 kt	2.4%
SE 113–158°	10%	33.3%	0%	4.7 kt	0.1%
S 158–203°	14%	21%	0%	1.4 kt	0%
SW 203–248°	9%	0%	0%	4.9 kt	0.7%
W 248–293°	10%	0%	21.8%	7.8 kt	4.9%
NW 293–338°	8%	0%	33.3%	5.2 kt	0.6%

By time of day (airport-local)

morning

18R favored 8.8% · 36L 9.4%

mean crosswind 4.2 kt · calm 16.8%

afternoon

18R favored 10.2% · 36L 7.6%

mean crosswind 6.6 kt · calm 11.7%

evening

18R favored 11.8% · 36L 6.5%

mean crosswind 5.5 kt · calm 6.8%

night

18R favored 9.2% · 36L 10.1%

mean crosswind 3 kt · calm 21.7%

Seasonal runway conditions

Monthly wind and weather statistics for runway 18R/36L at KMCO, 2005–2025
Month	Prevailing	Mean wind	Gusty	Mean xw	xw > 10	xw > 15	xw > 20	18R tail > 5	36L tail > 5	IFR	TS	Fog
Jan	N	7 kt	7.7%	4.4 kt	7.9%	1.3%	0.2%	32.3%	15.9%	6.7%	0.25%	7.3%
Feb	N	7 kt	8.8%	4.7 kt	9.2%	1.3%	0.1%	24.9%	19.1%	6.7%	0.21%	7.2%
Mar	E	7.5 kt	12.1%	5.4 kt	13.7%	2%	0.2%	22.3%	19.6%	3.1%	0.6%	3.5%
Apr	E	7.4 kt	11.9%	5.7 kt	15.1%	1.9%	0.2%	18.6%	20.2%	1.8%	1.09%	2.8%
May	E	6.8 kt	9.2%	5.6 kt	14.9%	1.5%	0.1%	14.5%	15.5%	1.5%	2.28%	2.5%
Jun	S	5.8 kt	5.8%	4.6 kt	9%	0.7%	0%	8.6%	20%	1.6%	5.18%	2.5%
Jul	S	4.9 kt	3.6%	3.9 kt	5.2%	0.4%	0.1%	5%	19.6%	1.3%	6.12%	2%
Aug	S	5.3 kt	4.9%	4.3 kt	7.3%	1%	0.1%	8.7%	17.5%	1.1%	5.58%	1.9%
Sep	E	5.7 kt	5.1%	4.5 kt	8.1%	0.9%	0.1%	22.9%	9.2%	2%	3.2%	2.1%
Oct	N	6.8 kt	6.9%	4.8 kt	10.3%	1.2%	0.2%	37.3%	5.7%	1.8%	0.54%	2.6%
Nov	N	6.9 kt	6.4%	4.2 kt	7.6%	0.9%	0.1%	41.8%	7.2%	4.5%	0.17%	4.9%
Dec	N	6.6 kt	5.8%	4.1 kt	6.7%	0.8%	0%	31.7%	13.2%	7.8%	0.2%	8.4%

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 18R/36L closure history

Runway NOTAM history begins when the NOTAM feed goes live (next phase).

D-ATIS broadcasts recorded since Sep 18, 2026 declared runway 18R closed on 1 day and runway 36L closed on 1 day 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 18R/36L

From the FAA d-TPP, linked to the official plates.

Runway 18R

Runway 36L

17 departure procedures · 22 STARs · FAA d-TPP cycle 2610. Plates open on aeronav.faa.gov (public domain); ATIS Alerts does not reproduce charts or minimums.

Methodology and sources

Active runwaysare read from the airport's D-ATIS text (community relay of the FAA broadcast) with an open, tested parser; the broadcast text is always shown. Every change is recorded, so “recorded use” is what the facility stated, never an inference.
Wind components use the current METAR (aviationweather.gov) against TRUE runway headings from the OurAirports/FAA runway record.
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; climatology through 2025-12-31.

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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).

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Crosswind (kt)	Share of wind hours
0–5	62.2%
5–10	28.1%
10–15	8.5%
15–20	1.1%
20–25	0.1%
25+	0%