The Balloons InDurham Festival took place over the May Bank Holiday weekend, but it was faced with some tricky weather conditions that limited the number of balloon launches.
The event, which was organised by the city’s Business Improvement District, was affected by poor weather conditions for most of the weekend. The festival took place over four days between Friday 25th May and Monday 28th May. Flights on the Friday, Saturday and Monday were all reluctantly cancelled as the weather was adverse and unsafe for flying.
Friday and Saturday were plagued with rain, while Monday’s weather forecast had predicted a heavy fog which would not have cleared in time for the flight. The highly anticipated nightglow event also suffered a setback, with the weather being too windy to inflate the balloons. However, the nightglow became a ‘candlestick glow’ as pilots were still able to light their burners.
However, the weather on the Sunday was favourable, and therefore pilots were given the go ahead to take off. Half a dozen hot air balloons then took to the skies of County Durham to give spectators the opportunity to see the city skyline filled with colourful balloons.
Safety is always the main priority of any hot air balloon pilot, so should the weather conditions be unfavourable for flying, the balloon will not leave the ground. Operators will ensure that if adverse weather conditions affect your hot air balloon ride over Bristol, Bath or whichever location you choose, they will reschedule at your convenience.
