Weather

Understanding the weather for paraglider pilots and free flight pilots

Hurricane Milton and sea temperatures. Image: NASA

Hurricanes: What is rapid intensification?

What exactly is rapid intensification in hurricanes, and what does global climate change have to do with it?
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A tornadic waterspout at Punta Gorda, Florida. Photo: Wikipedia / Public Domain

Waterspouts: What are they are and how do they form?

Fair-weather waterspouts develop in relatively calm weather – but tornadic waterspouts form from storm supercells
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Weather: Gliding among the clouds

Gliding along the side of a cloud is an unforgettable experience. Honza Rejmanek on how and where you can soar up the side of a cloud
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hurricane

Hurricane Watch

Hurricanes are more intense and exploding more quickly. Brian Tang explains why
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Flying with big clouds and storms

When storms are forecast and clouds growing, how do you know whether it is safe to fly, or time to get out of the air? By Bruce Goldsmith
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moisture and temperature mapping

Why soil moisture really matters 

Matthew Scutter says soil moisture levels are critical – and often ignored when judging the quality of day for gliding
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A view from Gertrude Saddle on Mitre Peak, South Island, New Zealand, with a view to Milford Sound.

Flying Fjordlands

Patagonia and New Zealand are known for strong wave that gliders can soar to the stratosphere, sometimes they can be flown on a paraglider
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sailplane cockpit view

Flying 3,000km in wave at night

They connected with wave after climbing just 1,100m – then started flying laps up and down the Sierra Nevada
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Upper winds opposite the lower valley winds

Opposing winds at different levels

There are various scenarios where we can encounter significantly strong wind from opposing directions just by changing altitude
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Weather: Why Storm Ciarán’s winds were so strong

"The rate at which Storm Ciarán’s pressure dropped was exceptional..." And that unleashed strong and destructive winds in France and UK
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