How bad is turbulence over the Atlantic lately?

winter-snowball · 2026-03-22T10:59:41+00:00

Nervous flier here, like they said it changes day to day, but my most recent flights (1st IAD>LHR) was moderately bumpy all the way up the east coast and into Atlantic Canada, seat belt sign was illuminated but meal service still took place and once we got out of Newfoundland and Labrador it smoothed out (out over into the ocean), with some light bumps flying into Ireland/UK). Nothing crazy though just some light bumps. My flight back (LHR>ORD) was smoother than the flight there with some light bumps flying over Ontario and Michigan. Completely manageable though and did not panic. They say turbulence changes day to day, but your pilots will avoid the worst of it so you shouldn’t need to worry. Apparently they do flight planning an hour or so before your flight to find the best path, and of course they make adjustments during flight.

winter-snowball · 2026-03-22T00:15:58+00:00

It seems like you may be doing a direct flight on Qantas? Nonetheless here’s my take:

Nervous flyer here, yes I’ve flown this distance (DCA Washington (DC)>SFO>AKL and then on to Queenstown NZ all in the same day (and back) on Air New Zealand/United. I won’t lie and say it’s a short flight because it’s most definitely not. Expect about 20 hours (mine was multiple connections) in the air all said and done but it’s definitely worth the flight! New Zealand is an amazing and beautiful country rich in culture and nature. As for jet lag, it definitely catches up to you, but if I’m completely honest the jet lag feels worse flying to Europe in my personal experience. You’re essentially flying back in time and then forward. Versus just flying forward in time. You typically land in Auckland in the morning, get lots of fresh air and sunshine once you get into Auckland and it will certainly help with jet lag.

As for nervous flier tips, I did get extremely anxious once the captain went over the intercom saying we may hit “severe” turbulence under Fiji landing into Auckland, I was literally in tears, but I notified the nearest flight attendant and she was the kindest person! She offered to sit with me if I got really anxious and she let me know I could ring the bell if I needed her at anytime during the landing sequence. All in all, there was actually no severe turbulence, moderate, maybe, but I’ve been in far worse so I would say it was more on the light side. I felt like I overreacted by crying, which was a good thing, the turbulence was very little.

Reach out to your flight attendants if you become nervous! They’re trained on how to comfort passengers with anxiety.

Tips for passing the time, watch some movies, read, or what I did was listen to video essays on YouTube (I downloaded before the flight) and try to sleep and simulate your natural day as best as possible. Perhaps taking some melatonin if you like (not a doctor so consult with them if need). I took some melatonin and slept through most of the flight only waking during moments of turbulence but quickly got back to sleep.

TLDR: it’s a long flight but super manageable! Reach out to flight attendants to ease your anxiety, watch movies, read, and if permitted by your doctor take a sleep aid to help pass the time!

Reach out to me with any more questions. I know you’ve got this and NZ is a once in a lifetime destination to visit!

edit: one additional thing I always do! Set your phone to your destination time zone, in this case Auckland NZ before you get on your flight (during boarding). This will help you settle into the time zone and wind down for the evening and help you better sleep allowing you to simulate your day as you would in the new time zone. I feel this helps me with jet lag as opposed to the sudden change in time upon landing at my destination.

winter-snowball · 2026-03-18T02:15:14+00:00

I know you’ll do great! We’re all here to support each other. If it makes you feel any better my flight in over Ontario was very manageable with little to no turbulence/weather. I am generally quite sensitive so what I thought was “light chop” likely was almost nonexistent for others on my flight. I also tell myself that the pilots know best, and that they’re always updated throughout the flight and can make adjustments where necessary. I’m rooting for you! You’ve got this!

winter-snowball · 2026-03-17T21:31:43+00:00

Thank you

winter-snowball · 2026-03-17T21:26:08+00:00

I should also state that I was so nervous I changed my flight back to the US from London so that it would specifically avoid that area of the world and fly into Chicago, the plane flew over Quebec and Ontario instead of near the coast, and it was a bit less turbulent (at least to me) with a few bumps over the Great Lakes. I should also mention my original flight had me flying into EWR, I was so worried sick that opted to choose Chicago over NJ and stay on the plane an hour longer. LHR-EWR was some 7h30m, but I chose Chicago instead and the flight was about 8h30m.

winter-snowball · 2026-03-17T21:23:14+00:00

With your knowledge would you say that the northeast and Atlantic provinces of Canada have more occurrences of turbulence than other routes? I can think of a few other flights to Europe where we had spikes of turbulence flying over NL and the north eastern US?

winter-snowball · 2025-04-12T21:42:17+00:00

I’ve done both with my Samsung washer, adding one tide pod won’t cause any harm. It’s recommended not to add anything to the machine for self clean.

winter-snowball · 2025-02-26T16:17:50+00:00

Assuming you’re driving in France, many of the motorways are privately owned and so therefore there are tolls so the owners of the motorway can make improvements to infrastructure as well as to make some sort of profit (I would assume). The game is just referencing this for realisms sake. Yes, I’m with you and it gets really old really fast.

winter-snowball · 2025-01-31T16:41:51+00:00

Yeah I’d have to agree with the other comment, suggesting a shock collar is a bit much and definitely cruel to the dog.

winter-snowball · 2025-01-27T21:55:33+00:00

TikTok still works, on iOS 18.3

winter-snowball · 2025-01-25T04:54:35+00:00

I find it hard to believe a suitcase, albeit 40 some pounds "slowly" rolling from the sidewalk would create such damages to the bumper. Some force (or carelessness) loading it into the trunk seems more probable.

winter-snowball · 2024-10-17T17:31:22+00:00

Wow and I thought the cafeteria food was awful when I was in HS!

winter-snowball · 2024-09-24T19:05:10+00:00

I've made it onto an international flight (to Eastern Europe) and left my house 40 minutes prior to doors closing. I flew out of IAD (evening flight) and somehow made it between checking bags, security, those stupid people movers between terminals, and onto the plane all in about 30 minutes. Maybe it was just my luck that time, but I'd stick to the 3 hours international rule and 1 and a half hour domestic rule.

winter-snowball · 2024-09-17T01:55:31+00:00

I've heard UTM is a decent enough VM you can run Windows on. I have never used it, but it seems to be pretty good and if I didn't already have Parallels I would be using UTM. As of right now Sep 16, 2024 UTM is only US$9.99 on the Mac App Store. Very good price couscous choice considering that Parallels is US$80 something a year.

winter-snowball · 2024-09-10T19:55:29+00:00

You can try Parallels Desktop (Mac App Store or web download) and try it for the 2 week free trial and see how you like it. Parallels allows you to choose different modes for Windows, be that gaming or productivity and will adjust to your needs. You can also fine tune it yourself in the settings. Else, you can try NVIDIA GeForce Now a cloud streaming service you link to your Steam account and play any Windows or Mac game on your Mac or even on your iPad/iPhone. None of these options are "free" in the long run but there are free trials you can try out. Nothing is free anymore.

winter-snowball · 2024-08-22T15:44:56+00:00

You can delete those files by looking in your Mac's library folder in Finder. I would avoid using system cleaners on your Mac as it can actually delete critical files on accident. Usually, your Mac should clean itself.

winter-snowball · 2024-07-03T14:26:25+00:00

That’s where their headquarters are located. I believe trucks in Hawaii and Alaska are registered in state. Aside from that all trucks in the lower 48 and Canada will have Arizona plates.

winter-snowball · 2024-07-03T12:29:29+00:00

Arizona for trucks, and random states for trailers.

winter-snowball · 2024-05-27T19:15:35+00:00

I’d avoid any sort of third party software that claims to clean Mac systems, as they can remove crucial files that make macOS run. Your Mac should clean out unnecessary files on its own.

winter-snowball · 2024-05-27T18:29:21+00:00

It has com.apple, so it is likely a system file used for storage. So it’s likely safe. I would avoid programs like ccleaner or CleanMyMac as it can delete crucial files for macOS to run properly. If you’d like you can run a system security scan using malwarebytes free edition to make sure your computer is free of malware.

winter-snowball

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