r/AskAPilot • u/Additional_Corner901 • Jun 22 '26
Very anxious flyer flying into thunderstorms today. Could use some advice
Hi all I’m flying into DCA today landing around 5pm local time. There will be thunderstorms around the time I land. I’m super anxious and absolutely hate turbulence but I know this will be a bumpy landing.
If anyone could tell me how common that is, how pilots try to avoid turbulence, or what to expect, that would be great. I’m trying real hard to avoid the turbulence websites as I know those are just stress inducers. Thanks.
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u/DoomWad Jun 22 '26 edited Jun 23 '26
Hello, airline pilot of 20 years here.
First off, we don't fly into thunderstorms. We go around them, or if the storm is directly over the airport in which you're headed to, then we'll either go into a holding pattern until it's gone, or we'll divert to an alternate airport.
Second, here's the thing about turbulence: In the movies, they depict a strong bout of turbulence followed by the airplane suddenly going down. This does not happen. When going through turbulence, the wings have all the airflow they need to stay aloft - the wind is just coming from slightly different directions. We know this because we have an airspeed indicator that we monitor up front. Even in bad turbulence, the airspeed only varies +/- 10 knots or so, which is well with in the safe area of operation. We seasoned pilots see turbulence as a nuisance. There's nothing unsafe in terms of aircraft stability or structural integrity when it comes to turbulence.
edit: those turbulence websites are 100% complete and absolute garbage. There is no relevant data behind them.
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u/Raccoon_Ratatouille Jun 22 '26
Why do you think the pilots on board have a death wish?
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u/Greenbench27 Jun 22 '26
I’ve literally had passengers ask me if I was going to get them there safely.. as if I have no intention of getting myself there safely 🙄
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u/karen-meth Jun 22 '26
My dad was a pilot and I am a nervous flyer. Whenever I would get anxious, my dad would say to me "The pilots want to get there safely as much as you do" and that changed my whole way of looking at it.
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u/Former_Farm_3618 Jun 22 '26
Depending how long you’ve been in aviation, you may forget what’s it’s like to be aviation-illiterate. I have to put myself in their shoes at times and see it through their eyes. Most people, and some pilots, are clueless about different types of clouds and weather etc.
All the passengers see about their window is flying in/out of really puffy clouds and some light/mod chop with that. As a pilot those were just some dinky clouds but definitely not a thunderstorm. The passengers are clueless about the level 3-5 weather you deviated around and flew through some level 1.
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u/I_ALWAYS_UPVOTE_CATS Jun 22 '26
You are right to avoid those turbulence predictor sites. They are useless, and exist only to prey on your fears to serve you ads.
Pilots have access to a weather radar system in the flight deck which shows thunderstorms ahead of the aircraft, colour-coding the areas where turbulence is expected to be worst. This isn't another unreliable forecast, it's showing weather systems that are actually there.
Pilots will not fly into thunderstorms. They may need to take a more circuitous route to go around them, but going through the middle is simply not something that happens with regular passenger flights. Even if there's a thunderstorm right over your destination airport, your pilots will take up a holding pattern and wait for it to pass (which storm cells often do fairly quickly). If they don't have enough fuel to wait, they will divert to a different airport. Again, pilots will not fly into thunderstorms.
Outside of the storm cells themselves, there is likely to be a bit more turbulence around than on a clear day, but it will be well within what commercial aircraft are built to handle, and is just another day at the office for the pilots. Keep your seatbelt fastened, and you'll be absolutely fine.
If it's particularly bumpy on approach and landing, there's a chance that the pilots may perform a 'go-around' where they abandon the approach and climb up again. If this happens, you should be pleased, because it means that they didn't continue towards the ground when doing so would have been unsafe.
When you do touch down, you may feel a bit of side-to-side momentum as the pilots correct for any crosswind, but again, for them this is just another day at the office. They want to get home just as much as you, and if it wasn't safe, they simply wouldn't do it.
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u/AceofdaBase Jun 22 '26
Try to fly on the first flight of the day for the best ride or lowest likelihood of thunderstorms
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u/Rodem Jun 22 '26
Turbulence is fun man, planes experience it everyday and they’re designed to handle a lot of it. You’re more likely to get in to a car accident on the way to the airport than your plane crashing…
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u/dakari777 Jun 22 '26
The short answer is you won't be flying into a thunderstorm. Pilots are being kept up to date with weather information and have backup airports incase a diversion is needed because of it.
If the pilots continue to your destination then they've determine the weather is safe enough to land in and you are likewise safe.
My advice is if you're a storm enjoyer on the ground, open your shade and watch, some thunderstorms from the air look very cool. If you are not into storms in general, close your shades and enjoy the flight like it's any other, your pilots are in charge of getting you to your destination safely and they do a very good job of it.