[woo_cart_mob]
Bailey Balloons Website Header

Ideal weather for balloon flights in the South West

04/07/2015 Jo Bailey Features

A balloon flight over the Bristol area can be a wonderful experience. Certainly, tourists really get an awful lot of pleasure when the weather is perfect for their trip.

While a balloon may not be able to go up in extremely poor conditions, when the weather is sunny, the winds are light, and the visibility is excellent, the passengers will soon know that they have struck lucky. However, there are steps that can be taken to ensure better chances of striking the weather jackpot:

Think seasonally for success

There are times of the year when high winds are more likely than others. As such, it is prudent for people to book balloon flights in periods when high pressure is likely to occur in the South West. When this is the case, high winds from the Atlantic are an improbable event.

Some tourists may want to use a long-range weather forecast, but it is critical to remember that the reliability of these is in inverse proportion to their range. In Bristol, the summer is a particularly appropriate time for ballooning, because the sun is out most often and there is less rainfall than is ordinarily the case.

Focus on comfort

Warm weather is great for ballooning, and there is something about a pleasant day that makes the adventure even more attractive than it normally is. Fortunately, the Bristol area is a great spot for decent temperatures. It is sunnier than the UK norm and warms up considerably, even if the Mendip Hills do have a sheltering effect when the weather is coming from a specific direction.

Bristol has a mean annual temperature approaching 12°C, which is high for a British city. However, its heat island effect, wherein towns are hotter than the surrounding countryside, is less pronounced than that of some larger urban areas. As such, the city will be less sweltering for visitors, even on very warm days.

Pick a great month

In 2015, the Bristol International Balloon Festival was scheduled for the 6th of August and set to stretch on until the 9th. This is frequently a great time of year to go ballooning in Southwest England. However, the point is that there are plenty of other weeks when a great experience can be had in a balloon. Therefore, it is definitely a case of nothing ventured, nothing gained when it comes to enjoying amazing flights above a noteworthy city in an interesting region.

Facebook Twitter Digg Reddit LinkedIn Pinterest StumbleUpon Email