Weather

Paragliding in the Engadine Valley with lakes below. Photo: Marcus King

Weather: When Valley Winds Reverse

Sometimes, valley winds flow the 'wrong' way – pilot and weather guru Honza Rejmanek takes a look at where and why
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Paragliding above the forest in autumn. Photo: Tobi Dimmler

Magical Fall: ‘Things are changing out there’

As autumn, or fall, arrives the environment we fly above changes – in fact for many early autumn is their favourite time of year to fly
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Downburst

Exploring the downburst effect

The latest research into the twisting winds created by downbursts
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High mountain launches

Planning and executing a flight off a high mountain requires careful evaluation of wind strength at the upper, mid and low levels
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Use time spent on the ground before launch to watch the weather. Keep in mind there is a 15-20 minute convective turnover time – you will get a good feeling for how the day is and what is in store if you wait and watch for those 20 minutes

Flying unplugged

In this ever more connected world it is easy to become reliant on technology for our flying maybe it is time to unplug
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Five tropical cyclones were active at one time in the southern hemisphere at the start of March. From left to right they included Honde (1) and Garance (2) in the Indian Ocean, Bianca (3) off Western Australia, and Alfred (4) and Seru (5) off Australia’s north east coastline. Alfred made landfall near Brisbane on 8 March. The false colour image shows warmer temperatures as yellow and orange, cooler as white and purple Photo: Earth Observatory

Allen Weynberg: In the grip of Alfred

Surviving tropical storm Alfred in Australia – "It’s hard to believe we are ever going to fly again"
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La Niña – the cooler sister of El Niño

Climate change and La Niña

Explore how La Niña impacts global climate and weather patterns, even in the face of rising temperatures.
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Flying with overdevelopment

Blowing Up

Flying with overdevelopment in the sky is potentially dangerous, but it’s also now a fact of life, argues Felix Wölk. We need to learn to recognise it, understand it, and know how to fly in increasingly moisture-laden skies
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A cu-nim spreading horizontally when it hits the tropopause, as seen from orbit

Weather: The science behind embedded cu-nims

Embedded cumulonimbus clouds are storm clouds implanted within a stratus layer making them hard to spot, what should we look for?
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Ben Lewis had been in Bir for three weeks before his incident, which saw him reach more than 7,000m in a cu-nim. Photo: Ben Lewis

“The vario was just screaming”

Canadian pilot Dr Ben Lewis was swept to 7,374m in a storm cloud in Bir in India in October 2024 and lived. He tells his story
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