Skydiving Weather: Why We Wait

Key Takeaways 

Skydiving weather is a huge factor that plays into the experience of your jump. The best skydiving weather conditions are clear skies, light winds, and fair temperatures. When it comes to unpredictable weather while skydiving, it is much better to be on the ground wishing you were in the sky, than in the sky wishing you were on the ground. 

Dealing with weird weather on the day of your skydive is just not the vibe. Trust us when we say: we want to jump and we want to take you to jump, but safety must come first. Let’s look into what weather is best for skydiving and why it’s so important to jump in happy skies. 

What Weather Is Best For Skydiving? 

Can you skydive in any weather? Nope, definitely not. Skydiving takes place when there are blue skies, light winds, and moderate temperatures! 

What Causes Weather Holds? 

Clouds, rain, wind, and extremely low or high temps can all be reasons for us to go on a weather hold. 

Clouds

Can you skydive through a cloud? Absolutely NOT! Skydiving through clouds isn’t as cool as you may think, and here’s the kicker: it’s illegal. Why is it illegal to skydive through a cloud? Visibility! Skydiving is already intimidating in nature. If we can’t see where we’re jumping into (like, when we can’t see below a cloud before jumping out), it’s even more daunting! 

Can you skydive in partly cloudy weather? Yes … but it depends. On any given day, there’s bound to be a few clouds dotting the sky. But how many clouds is too many clouds? The Federal Aviation Administration actually has clear rules for cloud clearances: 

• When jumping from below 10,000 feet MSL, jumpers must have 3 miles of visibility, stay 500 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and 2,000 feet horizontally from clouds. 
• When jumping from above 10,000 feet MSL (like we usually do), jumpers must have 5 miles of visibility, stay 1,000 feet below, 1,000 feet above, and one mile horizontally from clouds. 

Is it safe to skydive in cloudy weather? No. Visibility plays into predictability, which plays a major role in our safety culture – a critical attribute of the skydiving industry. 

Wind

Parachutes are like big wings. Have you ever flown a kite in super windy conditions? It’s difficult! Now, imagine that kite being a couple hundred square feet and you being attached to the underside of it. Eek! 

So, at what wind speed do they cancel skydiving? It’s all in the spread of the gust. For example, skydiving in 20 mph wind may be no big deal, but if the wind is an average of 6 mph and it’s gusting up to 20 mph, that’s a pretty big spread. Flying in unpredictable conditions is a no-go. 

Rain

If we can’t jump through clouds, we definitely can’t jump in the rain! Skydiving gear isn’t made to get wet like that. Yes, people do water landings sometimes (intentionally and unintentionally), but these take place after the skydive and their gear is promptly dried. Think back to the kite, would it fly as efficiently if it was weighed down by water? Probably not. 

Temperature

Cancelling jumping for freezing temperatures is common, and is a reason many dropzones pause operations in the winter. 

As we increase our altitude, the temperature decreases. It depends on some sciency environmental factors, but on average, the temperature drops around 4°F for every 1,000 feet gained. So, for example, if the ground temp is 50° (bearable), the temperature at 13,500 feet would be -4° (AH)! Combine this temperature with the 120 mph wind chill and you’ve got yourself the perfect recipe for some wind burn. 

Can it be too hot to skydive? Sure. Extreme heat can have negative effects on the performance of the airplane and the parachute – it also leaves skydivers feeling icky! Dropzones won’t typically cancel due to the heat, but they may slow down operations during peak-heat times and choose to start jumping early in the morning. 

How Do We Make The Call? 

Through constant monitoring! Those who call the shots are constantly monitoring on-ground wind speed, watching the radar to prepare for any future inconveniences, and closely observing what they can see. What does this mean? It’s simple. We observe what the clouds look like, and how parachutes are handling the wind as they soar around and when they come in for landing. 

We use deductive reasoning to make calls about the weather. For example, if everything appears to be okay, but there’s a nasty storm 10 miles away, we can make the assumption that winds will pick up quickly. We don’t want to send a plane of skydivers up and have them exit only for the wind to become aggressive as they’re coming down to land. This is a prime example of why we may go on a weather hold even if everything appears fine to the naked eye.

Why Is The Weather So Important? 

The reasons listed above are incredibly important, because they all embody predictability. If we jump through a cloud, we can’t see where we’re going (unpredictable) If the parachute gets super wet, we aren’t used to how it will fly (unpredictable). If the wind is super gusty, we can’t make confident calls while flying (unpredictable). Catch our drift?  

Tips For Weird Weather Days

Skydivers live by the motto: you can’t skydive if you’re not here. Meaning, the weather may or may not work out, but what a shame it would be to miss out on a good day because you didn’t give it a shot. That being said, if you are driving from quite a ways, or just want our take on the current conditions, give us a ring before heading our way! If you’re already here and we go on a hold, the wait is well worth it, but we understand if rescheduling is your move. 

Ready to book your jump? We can’t wait to skydive with you! Blue skies!