WEATHER
| humboldt wings |
|
|
|
Hang Gliding and Paragliding in Humboldt County, Northern California |
WEATHER |
Hang gliding and Paragliding are very, very weather-dependent sports.
Almost every Hang Glider and Paraglider pilot eventually becomes an amateur meteorologist, and picking a flying day and the site to fly in Humboldt County for the particular weather we think we are going to have can be very challenging, even for the long-time resident pilots. To fly any of our three primary coastal sites, three requirements need to be met:
The wind direction has to be correct - in our case, either north or northwest, OR south or southwest.
The wind velocity needs to be less than 22 or so mph for hang gliding, and 18 or 19 for paragliding. Ideally, 12 to 16 mph allows everybody to soar.
We need adequate visibility; i.e. can we see the landing zone? And is the fog going to stay lifted and not close in on us while we fly?
It has been noted more than once that we can almost always get two out of three...
And it helps a lot if it is not raining on launch.
Getting these three conditions lined up and selecting the right site to take advantage of them is a real challenge. Here are the web sites some of us look at to help us decide if and where conditions might be flyable:
For an overview of the county, and many useful weather links, check Eureka NOAA: http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/eka/ This site provides clickable links to different areas of the county, and to the two primary offshore forecasts from shoreline out 20 miles: one north of Cape Mendocino to the Oregon border, and the other south of Cape Mendocino to Point Arena. In addition to the offshore forecasts, the buoy reports are useful, especially the Eel River Buoy, and the Point Arena buoy.
If the buoys are inconclusive or contradictory, Windcast can sometimes help you understand what is going on. It can take a while to load on slower connections.
The buoy reports also include the latest NWS Marine Forecasts, which are sometimes different than the Eureka offshore forecasts. Significant differences need to be explored before one throws the gear in the car and heads out.
Sometimes a few hours behind, but specific, is Weather Underground You can type in the zip code of a particular area of interest.
For the big picture, and for a few days look ahead, the weather satellite offer some help. The GEOS 10 color enhanced version can be helpful.
Page Last Modified: 7 February 2005