When you book a skydive, you might imagine that the weather only matters when it comes to deciding whether you can jump. In reality, weather plays a huge role in almost every part of your skydive — from the flight to altitude, to freefall, canopy flight and even the quality of your photographs and videos.
At Thai Sky Adventures, we keep a close eye on the weather throughout the day. Conditions can change quickly, especially in Thailand, so our instructors and pilots continually assess the conditions to make sure every jump can be conducted safely.
But what does the weather actually mean for your skydive?
Why Does Weather Matter When Skydiving?
Skydiving is an outdoor activity, so we are naturally affected by the atmosphere around us.
The main weather factors we consider are:
- Wind speed and direction
- Rain
- Thunderstorms and lightning
- Cloud cover
- Visibility
- Temperature
- Turbulence
- Conditions at different altitudes
Importantly, not all clouds or rain mean that skydiving is cancelled. Some weather conditions may simply mean that we wait for a suitable window, while other conditions can make a jump unsuitable.
The decision is always made based on the actual conditions rather than simply whether it looks cloudy from the ground.
Wind and Skydiving
Wind is one of the most important weather factors for skydiving.
While skydivers are perfectly capable of jumping in some wind, there are limits. Wind speed and direction can affect both the aircraft and the parachute.
During the parachute descent, the wind has a much greater effect on the skydiver’s movement over the ground. Strong winds can make landings more challenging and can also affect the amount of ground covered during the canopy flight.
Wind direction is important too. The conditions at ground level may be different from those higher up, so our instructors need to understand what the wind is doing throughout the altitude range.
How does wind affect your photos?
Wind itself doesn’t necessarily make your photographs worse. In fact, a clear, windy day can still produce fantastic skydive photographs.
However, stronger winds can sometimes affect the position of the skydivers relative to the camera flyer. Your instructor and camera flyer may need to make small adjustments to maintain the best position for filming and photography.
Clouds: Good Clouds vs Bad Clouds
Clouds are not automatically a problem for skydiving.
In fact, some clouds can make your photographs much more interesting.
A blue sky with a few scattered clouds can create a dramatic background, giving your photographs depth and making it obvious just how high you are.
However, cloud cover can become an issue when it affects visibility or prevents the required separation between the aircraft, skydivers and clouds.
Large areas of thick cloud can also mean that you don’t get the spectacular views you were hoping for.
Clouds Can Make Amazing Skydive Photos
From a photography perspective, clouds can actually be your friend.
Imagine looking down during freefall and seeing white clouds stretching across the landscape below you. Or imagine a photograph of you and your instructor against a huge blue sky with dramatic clouds in the background.
These conditions can produce some of the most impressive skydive photographs.
So don’t automatically assume that a completely cloudless day will produce the best pictures.
What Happens When It Rains?
Rain is one of the most common reasons a skydive may be delayed.
But there is an important point that many first-time skydivers don’t realise:
Rain itself doesn’t suddenly make the parachute stop working or make the skydiver fall differently.
However, rain can create a number of other problems.
Heavy rain can reduce visibility, make conditions unsuitable for the aircraft, affect the parachute flight and create uncomfortable conditions for the skydiver.
For this reason, we don’t simply look out of the window and ask, “Is it raining?”
We look at where the rain is, how heavy it is, how long it is expected to last, and what the conditions are at different altitudes.
Sometimes a rain shower can pass through and jumping can resume relatively quickly.
Is Falling Through Rain Dangerous?
This is one of the questions we get asked quite often.
Falling through rain doesn’t necessarily make the freefall itself more dangerous, but that doesn’t mean it is pleasant!
Rain hitting your body while travelling at freefall speed can be surprisingly painful.
Think about putting your hand out of a moving car window and feeling the air pressure. Now imagine tiny drops of water hitting you while travelling at roughly 200 km/h.
Those little drops can feel much more like tiny pellets than the gentle rain you experience while standing on the ground.
Heavy rain can therefore make freefall extremely uncomfortable.
It can also make it difficult to keep your eyes open and can affect the overall skydiving experience.
For these reasons, if there is significant rain along the intended jump path, we may wait for the rain to pass rather than sending people through it.
So although rain isn’t necessarily dangerous simply because it is rain, jumping through heavy rain is certainly not something we want to do unnecessarily.
How Does Rain Affect Your Skydive Photos?
Rain can have a noticeable effect on photography.
Water droplets on the camera lens can create blurry spots or distort parts of an image. Heavy rain can also reduce contrast and make the background appear hazy.
Instead of seeing a crisp blue sky and clearly defined landscape, your photographs may look grey and washed out.
Your camera flyer also has to deal with the same conditions. Keeping the camera lens clear while travelling through rain at high speed is obviously challenging.
This is another reason why a short weather delay can sometimes make a huge difference to the quality of your photographs.
Waiting 15 or 30 minutes for a rain shower to pass could turn a grey, wet skydive into one with much clearer skies and much better visibility.
Sunshine and Photography
Sunlight can make a huge difference to your skydive photographs.
Bright sunshine gives photographs strong contrast and vibrant colours. It also helps your camera capture a sharp image during the fast-moving freefall.
However, direct sunlight can create its own challenges.
If the sun is directly behind the camera, your face may be beautifully illuminated. If you are looking towards the sun, you may end up squinting, and the camera may have to deal with strong backlighting.
Your camera flyer will take the position of the sun into account when possible.
Sometimes a partly cloudy day can actually create more dramatic photographs than completely clear skies because the clouds provide texture and contrast in the background.
Temperature at Skydiving Altitude
It is also important to remember that it can be considerably colder at altitude than it is on the ground.
You might arrive at the drop zone in Thailand feeling hot and wondering why anyone would need extra clothing.
Then the aircraft climbs to altitude.
The temperature generally decreases as altitude increases, and you also have a huge amount of airflow during freefall.
Fortunately, a tandem skydive is relatively short, so the cold isn’t usually a major issue. However, you will definitely notice the difference during the aircraft ride and freefall.
This is another reason why comfortable clothing and suitable footwear are important.
Turbulence and Skydiving
Weather can also create turbulence.
Turbulence is essentially irregular movement of the air, and it can occur for a number of reasons, including atmospheric conditions and changes in wind.
Pilots are trained to manage aircraft turbulence, while skydiving instructors are experienced in dealing with changing conditions during a jump.
From a passenger’s perspective, mild turbulence may simply feel like some movement during the aircraft ride.
The important thing is that the pilot and instructors are continually evaluating the conditions and will not proceed with a jump if they consider the conditions unsuitable.
Why Your Skydive Might Be Delayed
One of the most frustrating parts of skydiving can be waiting for the weather.
You might arrive at the drop zone and see sunshine, only to be told that jumping is temporarily on hold.
This can happen because the conditions at altitude are different from what you can see from the ground.
There may be rain approaching, excessive wind, cloud conditions or other atmospheric factors that mean we need to wait.
Skydiving requires patience.
Sometimes the best weather decision is simply to wait for the right window.
And when that window arrives, the difference can be incredible.
Don’t Judge the Weather From the Ground
One of the biggest misconceptions about skydiving weather is:
“It looks fine here, so why can’t we jump?”
The weather at ground level doesn’t necessarily tell us what is happening several thousand feet above you.
Our pilots and instructors consider the complete picture, including conditions throughout the planned flight and parachute descent.
That is why a professional drop zone may occasionally delay a jump even when the weather looks perfectly acceptable from the ground.
It isn’t about avoiding a little bit of cloud or rain.
It is about making sure the conditions are suitable for the entire skydive.
Weather Can Make Your Photos Better — or Worse
If you are particularly excited about getting great photographs and video, the weather can have a surprisingly big influence on the final result.
Conditions that can produce fantastic photographs include:
- Clear blue skies
- Scattered clouds
- Good visibility
- Bright but manageable sunlight
- Interesting cloud formations
- Good contrast between the sky and landscape
Conditions that can make photography more difficult include:
- Heavy rain
- Low visibility
- Thick cloud
- Water droplets on the camera lens
- Very flat or dull lighting
- Haze
But there is no single “perfect” skydiving weather.
A dramatic cloudy sky can sometimes create a much more exciting photograph than a completely clear blue sky.
Why We Sometimes Wait for Better Weather
When you have travelled to the drop zone and are excited to jump, waiting can be frustrating.
We understand that.
However, weather holds are a normal part of skydiving.
Our priority is to find a suitable weather window where the jump can be conducted safely and where you can enjoy the experience and get the photographs and video you came for.
Sometimes that means waiting for a rain shower to pass.
Sometimes it means waiting for the wind to settle.
Sometimes the conditions improve within minutes.
And occasionally, the weather simply doesn’t cooperate.
That is why it is always a good idea to allow plenty of time for your skydiving experience rather than planning something immediately afterwards.
The Bottom Line
Weather is a huge part of skydiving.
Wind, rain, clouds, visibility, temperature and sunlight can all affect your jump in different ways. They can determine whether you jump immediately, wait for a better window or postpone the jump altogether.
Weather also has a major impact on photography.
A few clouds can create spectacular photographs, while heavy rain can make photography difficult and can make freefall surprisingly uncomfortable. Rain hitting you at freefall speed can hurt, even though rain itself isn’t necessarily what makes a skydive unsafe.
The most important thing to remember is that the weather at ground level doesn’t always tell the whole story.
So if you arrive at Thai Sky Adventures and we’re waiting for a weather window, don’t worry — we’re watching the conditions carefully.
When the skies clear, the wind settles and everything comes together, you can get something pretty special:
an incredible skydive, spectacular views and photographs that you’ll want to keep forever.
Ready to Experience Skydiving in Thailand?
If you’re looking for an unforgettable tandem skydive near Pattaya, Thai Sky Adventures offers tandem skydiving from up to 13,000 feet, with professional instructors and professional skydive photography and video available.
Book your tandem skydive and let us take you above the clouds.