Utah Windriders Association

My wind log for Ladders today:
3:20 arrived with 17m kite, to a sea of whitecaps
3:25 lull 15-17mph W
3:29 ramps up 25-36mph WSW
3:47 lull 14-17mph W
3:52 ramps up 17-24mph WSW
3:58 ramps up 25-34mph
4:04 ramps up 35-38mph SW
4:09 ramps up 38-42mph SSW
4:10 27-36mph SW
4:15 lull 15-17mph WSW
4:18 ramps up 22-25mph
4:25 Lull to 16mph
4:27 another big wave of wind coming in across the reservoir; went home; my east coast wind surfer friends would have been giggling; I don’t have a kite that small.

While I was there, I watched three cloud fronts roll over back to back, pushing wind; few sprinkles; no lightning on the lightning app (that I visually confirmed 5 strikes with the week before). Fisherman said it had been this way for couple of hours; and it still is, at 5:45, back here at the cabin, 5 miles south…

Thunderstorm winds. Tempting yes. Dangerous YES.

jason morton wrote:Thunderstorm winds. Tempting yes. Dangerous YES.

I was about to ask if anyone kited in the 3 meter condition at UL today.

jason morton wrote:Thunderstorm winds. Tempting yes. Dangerous YES.

No thunder, no lightning for 25 miles, no problem; safe kiting. Can't be a fair weather kiter on the east coast, maybe fifty percent of kiting is storm fronts. Know the clouds, and watch your radar and lightning apps.

I wouldn't go so far as to call it safe kiting. I'm glad you didn't have a problem though. We kited last week at SSB on a t-cloud generated wind. It is risky and unpredictable but we made the decision and launched anyway. And this ain't the east coast!!

RonBert wrote:

jason morton wrote:Thunderstorm winds. Tempting yes. Dangerous YES.

No thunder, no lightning for 25 miles, no problem; safe kiting. Can't be a fair weather kiter on the east coast, maybe fifty percent of kiting is storm fronts. Know the clouds, and watch your radar and lightning apps.

Yeah, I learned to windsurf and kite on water in Delaware and micro burst scares the heck out of me every time it happens. Still, the storm generated wind is far more predictable and easier to ride through than the wild winds here in Utah in late Spring and early summer. Be safe out there.

T-head driven wind can be fairly erratic (even at 25 Miles), but it would be unusual, though not impossible, for a lightning
strike to travel more than 25 miles. I have seen bolts come out of what looked like a clear blue sky and strike the East bench
at Rush, with unseen clouds past the mountain on the East side, but that is considerably less than 25 miles. I sailed out there
that day, but we moved off during the lightning (that 1st strike was a real eye opener though).

I'm a big believer in risk, as long as it doesn't affect your loved ones. Just know what the risks are before you challenge the
elements, make sure your life insurance is paid up, and remember there is considerable chaos in weather. ;*)

-Craig

RonBert wrote:

jason morton wrote:Thunderstorm winds. Tempting yes. Dangerous YES.

No thunder, no lightning for 25 miles, no problem; safe kiting. Can't be a fair weather kiter on the east coast, maybe fifty percent of kiting is storm fronts. Know the clouds, and watch your radar and lightning apps.

Well as further clarification, I’ve been watching the storms at Strawberry now for over five years; being up here on a daily basis for months at a time, throughout the year. I study the local storms and climate. The implication of the safety statement made, that I took away, is that I do not know what I am doing, or that I am kiting irresponsibly. I have to disagree with the presumption; and such blanket statements can unnecessarily dissuade others form kiting in such conditions. There were no cumulonimbus (thunderhead) clouds that I observed yesterday, only Nimbostratus/Stratocumulus in nature, of the Fractus verity. They were moving easily over the ridge line, well above 10,000 ft with light under bellies, and not growing vertically.

True this is not the east coast, but recognizing cloud formations transfers. Too, I’ve done my share of local climbing and alpine treks in the area over the last 15 years I’ve been coming out here. I feel comfortable in my decisions to climb and kite, and when not to, and when to bail or seek cover. I’m all about “acceptable risk”. I've declined to kite in conditions other more experienced friends have kited in. You should never undertake kiting, or any outdoor activity, in weather you do not understand, or are even slightly uneasy about. And even though I was comfortable with the weather conditions yesterday, regarding lightning, and would have kited had it not been blowing above 22 Kts, exceeding my kite’s wind range, and my comfort zone, there are no guarantees that the outlier discharge will not zap me, or that I got it wrong. Make your own decision; best judgment; be informed; kite at your own risk. Below are a few NOAA web pages that are good references for clouds, and storm and lightning safety that may help some in their decision making process.

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/lmk/?n=cloud_classification

http://www.lightningsafety.noaa.gov/