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Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport (U72) Area Aviation Weather & Runway Winds

A current METAR is not available for U72 right now.

Aviation weather near Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport in Challis, ID, decoded from the nearest reporting station (KLLJ): conditions and runway crosswinds.

Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport (U72) is a general aviation airport serving pilots in and around Challis, ID at a field elevation of 5,500 ft. U72 has no weather station of its own. Conditions here are decoded from KLLJ, about 26 nm away, the nearest reporting station, and local conditions can differ. It has one runway (04/22), the longest 2,500 ft. The nearest TAF is issued for KSMN.

Ask ATIS AIAsk anything about U72's weather, runways or delays, or search another airport.
No data
Awaiting observationlive · refreshes every 60s

No weather station at this airport: showing the nearest station KLLJ, 26.3 nm away.

Wind
-
Visibility
-
Ceiling
Unlimited
Altimeter
-
Temp / Dew
-

What changed at KLLJ (nearest station)?

Since the 1855Z (12:55 PM MDT) report, compared automatically against the latest METAR.

  • Gusts are no longer reported.
  • Pressure falling: altimeter 30.01 → 29.99 inHg.

Current pilot readout for U72

A current METAR is not available for U72 right now. The nearest reporting station is KLLJ. Check back shortly, review a nearby reporting station, and always confirm with an official 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.

RunwayHead / TailCrosswind
04--
22--

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

U72 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 04/22
    2,500 × 75 ft · TURF-DIRT-F
    Status not monitored
    Current use
    no stated-runway source at U72
    Wind
    04
    no steady wind
    22
    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.

24-hour trend

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

Wind (kt)Gusts (kt)Bottom strip, flight category:VFRMVFRIFRLIFRNo report
0102120Z08Z19Z

Over the last 23 h: wind 11→12 kt, ceiling unlimited → unlimited.

U72 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 U72

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

PIREP1847Z (12:47 PM MDT) · 86 NM SW of U72 · 35,000 ft MSL · B737
Show raw report
BOI UA /OV BOI/TM 1847/FL350/TP B737/TB NEG /ZLC
BOI UAHeader: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.
OV BOILocation: fix or navaid, optionally with a radial and distance in NM.
TM 1847Reported at 18:47 UTC.
FL350Altitude: 35,000 ft MSL.
TP B737Aircraft type reporting.
TB NEG /ZLCTurbulence: none reported /zlc.
PIREP1736Z (11:36 AM MDT) · 83 NM NW of U72 · 38,000 ft MSL · UAL751
Show raw report
ARP UAL751 4533N 11615W 1736 F380 MS60 250/065KT TB NONE SK CLEAR IC NONE
ARP UAL751 4533N 11615W 1736…Header: reporting station and UA: a routine pilot report.

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

Recent aviation weather trends at U72

From ATIS Alerts' hourly weather history.

Over the past 24 hours, the nearest station KLLJ reported mostly VFR across 24 observations, with 0 flight-category changes. The strongest gust reached 18 kt, the lowest ceiling was 5,000 ft. Wind most often came from the S.

Last 24 hours
VFR 100%
Wind avg/max: 5/13 kt
Max gust: 18 kt
Lowest ceiling: 5,000 ft
Lowest vis: -
Prevailing wind: S
Category changes: 0
Last 7 days
VFR 93%MVFR 6%IFR 1%
Wind avg/max: 3/13 kt
Max gust: 34 kt
Lowest ceiling: 2,400 ft
Lowest vis: 2.5 sm
Prevailing wind: S
Category changes: 6

Most recent change: MVFR → VFR

Wind-favored runway - past 30 days

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

22
58%
04
42%

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Field aerial

North up

Aerial photo of Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport (U72)
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
Transient parking
Tie-downs
Landing fee
No
Control tower
None
Wind indicator
Unlighted

Airport

Type
General aviation airport
FAA LID
U72
City
Challis
State
Idaho
Country
United States
Elevation
5,500 ft
Coordinates
44.5912, -114.8248
Runways
1 physical runway · 2 runway ends
Longest runway
2,500 ft
Weather reporting
Nearest station KLLJ
TAF
Nearest KSMN
Time zone
America/Boise
Sunset in
4h 12m

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Nearby airports

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

See all Idaho airports →

Pilot PIREPs for Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport (U72)

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 Upper Loon Creek US Forest Service Airport, 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 U72 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.

METAR source temporarily unavailable.

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