[Brock McEwen]

Thanks for the warm welcome, and thoughtful responses - much appreciated.

P7_TOM wondered about storm avoidance; I feel the site linked to below suggests strongly the absence of wind speeds normally associated with significant weather events:

http://earth.nullschool.net/#2014/03/08/...,6.64,2672

For the relevant time and region, wind speeds (from surface up to/including cruising altitude) appear never to exceed 17 knots.