It’s one of our great British pastimes—talking about the weather. More so in the ballooning industry, where we don’t just talk about the weather—we live and fly by it. Unfortunately, some days it is impossible to fly, but we always ensure a date change, so you’ll never miss out on seeing the quintessential English countryside from the air. Let’s examine the perfect hot air balloon weather and how our unpredictable British climate can influence flights.
Hot Air Balloon Weather: Why Is the UK So Unpredictable?
Every aspect of hot air ballooning is weather-dependent, particularly in the UK. The famously unpredictable weather here is due to the country’s unique geographic location, perched between the Atlantic Ocean and continental Europe. Five main air masses regularly converge, each with different temperature and moisture properties. When these air masses meet, weather fronts form, meaning these air masses fight it out and whichever one wins can dictate sudden weather changes.
Throw in the influence of the jet stream, a high-altitude ribbon of fast-moving air, and you've got a recipe for rapidly shifting skies. When monitoring hot air balloon weather, this means constant attention to forecasts and conditions.
Did you know? The UK’s weather is so rare that the only comparable country in the world is Japan, which has similar atmospheric conditions. Additionally, air masses in the UK are either polar or tropical, depending on where the air mass originated; they are also divided into maritime or continental, depending on whether the air has passed over land or sea.
Best Weather for Hot Air Ballooning: Morning or Evening?
All our flights are programmed around the most stable weather windows. Morning flights take advantage of calmer, cooler air before the sun creates thermal instability. Evening flights are timed just as the day's heat fades and the winds settle. This helps ensure safer flights and smoother landings. Occasionally, especially in colder months, we may fly during the day if conditions remain stable.
What Weather Do We Need for Hot Air Ballooning
For a successful balloon flight, we require light winds, good visibility and dry weather with stable conditions that are not hot or thermic. We also need wind at altitude to help us travel through the air and reach suitable landing spots. It's a delicate balance, and we keep a close eye on many factors, including thermal activity, wind shear, and cloud development.
Other Considerations: Ground Conditions and Passenger Experience
Ballooning is not just about the skies—we must also consider the land beneath us. Our balloons and recovery vehicles weigh over 5 tonnes together, so soft or muddy fields can make retrieval difficult and risk damaging farmland. We often rely on the goodwill of farmers to let us land on their property, making it even more important to consider the ground conditions and the potential damage.
That's why we’re careful about when and where we fly, especially in spring. We also prioritise your experience: if the winds are too light to provide a meaningful journey with too little distance covered, we’ll reschedule rather than compromise on value.
How We Monitor Hot Air Balloon Weather
Monitoring the weather is one of the most important aspects of a balloon pilot’s job. At Fly Away Ballooning, we use a combination of trusted tools and hands-on experience to determine whether a balloon flight will go ahead. Refunds are unavailable if we decide a flight can’t go ahead because of the weather, but don’t worry, we’ll offer you a different date instead! If you’d prefer a refund, ensure you add the ‘weather-refund’ option at checkout.
The tools we use to determine the perfect hot air balloon weather are the following:
-
Met Office Weekly Videos: We keep an eye on two Met Office videos on YouTube, one is called Deep Dive, and the other is 10 Day Trend. These videos serve an informative purpose and help us get an idea of what to expect, although they are not specific enough alone for hot air balloon flight decisions.
-
Met Office Aviation Briefing Service: This is our primary forecasting tool for each flight. It's tailored specifically for UK balloonists and gives us:
-
A regional aviation weather summary.
-
Detailed information on sea breezes, including strength and inland penetration
-
Wind direction and speed at three altitudes (surface, 500ft, and 2000ft).
-
The temperature at altitude, which helps ensure our balloon is correctly loaded for flight. Useful insight: 2000ft wind speeds often indicate surface winds' overall consistency and pace. 500ft readings help us gauge surface gust strength and likelihood.
-
Windy.com: We also consult Windy.com, which allows us to compare different forecast models. It provides information similar to that of the Met Office aviation service, and its excellent radar tools help us monitor rain, fog, and cloud cover in real time.
-
Real-Time Observations: Even with top-tier forecasts, the sky can surprise you. That’s why we always do our own checks, too. We observe cloud development, wind behaviour, and thermal activity on-site. We also release helium balloons, and track their movement using a compass to measure wind direction and variation at different heights—an old-school trick that still works wonders!
Combining professional forecasting with local knowledge and hands-on observation allows us to make the safest and most accurate flight decisions possible.
The Role of a Pilot’s Expertise
All UK commercial balloon pilots have taken aviation-specific meteorology exams, giving them a great understanding of meteorology in general. This was Hugo’s favourite subject! Experience matters when deciding if it's safe weather for hot air ballooning, as local geographies come with local weather patterns. Moreover, a pilot's knowledge of cloud formations and how they develop can indicate if conditions are stable enough.
Sea breezes or a constant wind are essential in determining whether the balloon's landing will be at a suitable and safe speed. An experienced pilot, like ours at Fly Away Ballooning, will know to look for signs that aren’t included in a forecasting app.
Fun Fact: If seagulls are swirling around at a few hundred feet above the launch site, you can be reasonably confident it is still thermic, in which case we know to wait for the temperature to drop a few degrees before taking off.
Is Ballooning Always a Breeze?
Interpreting the wind speed and direction carefully is essential, as it determines whether we will be able to reach the desired landing spot, and only an experienced pilot will know which area is desirable from experience. Quick winds pushing a balloon towards small fields differ from quick winds towards large open areas. It all comes down to good judgment, which comes from experience of ideal hot air balloon weather.
Wind direction often changes with altitude, so we can “steer” the balloon by moving up or down. Higher altitudes can also offer stunning views above the clouds and increase speed when needed for a better experience or more landing options. We always respect airspace restrictions and coordinate with airports when necessary.
Understanding Local Weather Patterns
We have operated thousands of flights in the southwest, and have extensive knowledge of how the weather behaves in specific zones:
Bristol Channel Squeeze: Winds funnel and speed up as they reach the end of the channel.
Somerset Levels: Calm conditions that can become unstable.
Hill Ranges: Create gusty or turbulent conditions near launch sites.
Sea Breeze Fronts: Where coastal breezes fight the prevailing wind. These are common around Bristol and Bath.
Note: Wind direction and speed can make specific launch sites unsuitable or steer us too close to controlled airspace like Bristol or Exeter (airports). We sometimes switch sites or adjust timings at the last minute to make the most of the best hot air balloon weather conditions.
Challenges of Hot Air Balloon Weather: Rescheduling
Ballooning is 100% weather-dependent. Everything from the timing (dependent on the season, sunrise, and sunsets) and the launch site to the duration of the flight is dictated by conditions. That’s why rescheduling is common, and we’ve made it easy for you—with a simple link to rebook. We also offer a weather-refund option for those who need added flexibility.
How Weather Affects Our Terms & Conditions
We advise you to read our terms and conditions before purchasing a flight or a voucher. This will help you make an informed decision. As an overview:
-
Voucher Validity & Attempts: We ask passengers to make 10 genuine attempts within their 2-year voucher period to qualify for a free extension. This helps ensure everyone gets their chance to fly, while keeping the business sustainable.
-
Non-Refundable Flights: Our business has fixed running costs whether we fly or not, so flights are non-refundable unless you’ve purchased the weather-refund option.
-
Short Notice Cancellations: Conditions can change even at the launch site. If it’s not safe, we won’t fly—full stop. That decision is never taken lightly. We’ll offer you another ‘attempt’ on an alternative date.
Cancellations are disappointing—the hardest part of our job is telling you we can’t fly for whatever reason. If your flight is cancelled, you’ll receive a reschedule link via email and text. We encourage flexibility, as we know being able to jump on a hot air balloon ride at short notice can make all the difference.
Do We Ever Get It Wrong?
Occasionally, despite all our planning, the weather doesn’t behave as forecasted. But we never compromise on safety. If conditions don’t feel right—even on-site or once you’re in the basket—we may cancel. Just because we are in the air doesn't mean we stop looking at the weather. For example, Hugo had to land mid-flight only once in nearly 1,000 flights due to a weather shift. Your safety is our constant focus from beginning to end.
Hugo has been brought up around balloons, with inherited experience from eras with less accurate forecasting and information available—this knowledge helps him to make wise and informed decisions that have been practised by his family for generations.
Is a Hot Air Balloon Ride Worth the Wait?
One hundred per cent, yes! The unpredictability of hot air balloon weather is part of the adventure, and when it all comes together, the experience is unforgettable. A sunrise flight across the patchwork fields of Somerset or a golden sunset drift above the hills will stay with you for a lifetime.