A low with its cold front, paintedIsobars round a low, laid in tonal bands that deepen toward the centre, the lines heavier near the low and fading with distance, bent where they cross the front as they are on a real chart; the cold front, with its triangles, the only colour.L

Knowledge Base / Meteorology & Weather Analysis

Meteorology & Weather Analysis

What Do Paragliding Pilots Need To Know About Weather?

One series so far, built around a real forecast walked through by a club weather briefer: why the apps disagree, how far ahead to trust them, wind at the height you fly, soundings and cloud base, and the local effects no model sees. The questions below add what pilots in other series say about cloud, wind and storms.

Understanding weather patterns and atmospheric conditions is crucial for safe paragliding. This section exists to help you build exactly that.

1series5questions below

The Series

Built from the episodes

Weather Patterns and Forecasting

How Do You Read a Weather Forecast for Paragliding?

Build a solid foundation in understanding weather systems and how they influence flying conditions.

  • Pressure systems and fronts
  • Cloud formations and indicators
  • Wind patterns and thermals
  • Forecast interpretation
Read the series →
FAQ

Questions Across The Knowledge Base

Each answer draws on the series pages and links to the chapters where the guests say it.

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5episodes

Can a cloud suck you in when paragliding?

Not in the way the phrase suggests, says Will Gadd: nobody is sucked into a cloud, they fly in, and once you own that, you can fix it by leaving earlier and checking the radar on your phone. In the Himalaya, Eddie Colfox's advice is to be very careful of cloud, and never to follow someone into one just because they are there.

Will Gadd What could actually kill you, and what to doEddie Colfox Being brave enough to go out and do it

How can you tell a day will overdevelop?

Watch the clock and the sounding. Eddie Colfox notes what time the clouds form, because early clouds usually mean they will grow big later. On a sounding, Ivelin Kalushkov looks at the dew point: if it runs close to the temperature line over a great height, clouds can grow high enough for storms or rain, while a very dry layer stops them overdeveloping.

Eddie Colfox A short season, and a changing climateIvelin Kalushkov Inversions, and the 23 degree questionIvelin Kalushkov Conical flow, and what it means

How do gust fronts catch pilots out?

Often at launch. Eddie Colfox saw one coming across the water just as he turned to launch on the coast, after an older pilot had told him it was too windy; he was lifted, took a big collapse and stalled onto the slope. Ivelin Kalushkov treats any rain radar colour above green, on a day with thunderstorms forecast, as a sign of rain and possible gust fronts.

Eddie Colfox Bold pilots and old pilotsIvelin Kalushkov What to look at in a chart

When is the wind strongest at a flying site?

Often late in the day. In Ivelin Kalushkov's forecast for Manilla in Australia, the wind was expected to build to gusts of 30 km/h late in the afternoon, so his advice was to be in the air before 3 pm. At Roldanillo in Colombia, the afternoon wind makes landing near town gusty, so Pal Takats lands out near the main road instead.

Ivelin Kalushkov Millibars, and a thousand metresPal Takats What a good day gives you

Why can local pilots read the weather better than a forecast?

Because some effects never reach the models. At Manilla, when the wind blows off Lake Keepit, the lake spills cool air into the valley in front of launch from about one o'clock and breaks up the thermals, which no model shows. At Sopot in Bulgaria, strong daytime anabatic winds can overcome a forecast northerly. Ivelin Kalushkov's advice: use local knowledge, and research a site first.

Ivelin Kalushkov Reading the colour mappingIvelin Kalushkov Where local knowledge still wins