These 2 Pittsburgh flights are among North America’s 10 most turbulent routes

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Two Pittsburgh flights are among the most turbulent routes in North America, according to Turbli.

The turbulence forecast website used its database to rank the bumpiest flights around the world last year. For North American routes with the highest average turbulence, Charlotte-Pittsburgh and Pittsburgh-Raleigh/Durham made the top 10. 

The 589-km Charlotte route came in at No. 2 with an average turbulence of 14.582, which, according to Turbli, is still considered light. The 527-km Raleigh/Durham route scored 14.478 and ranked eighth. The Nashville-Raleigh/Durham route took the top spot at 14.728.

Turbulence is given in eddy dissipation rate, or edr. Turbulence levels between 0 to 20 are considered light. It takes an edr of 80 to 100 to be considered extreme. 

The top 10 bumpiest flights across the world scored between 17 and 16 edr. In the No. 1 spot was the route to Santiago to Santa Cruz, with the 1,905-km flight averaging 17.568 edr. 

Turbli also ranked the most turbulent airports of 2023, but Pittsburgh wasn’t on the list. Santiago, Natori and Wellington snagged the top three spots out of all airports worldwide and Portland, Denver and Las Vegas took the top three on the continent. 

Turbli says its sources come from the forecast produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service, which pilots use for flight planning.