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How to Handle Adverse Weather on a Hike
On an unstable day, the weather can turn from good to bad before you know it. If you’re out hiking and you start noticing the skies turning dark, or the first few drops of rain, it can be very intimidating. In order to weather the storm and remain calm, it will help to know how to handle adverse weather even when you’re outdoors on a hike. Here’s how you can do it.
Prevention. Understand the nature of prevention: you don’t want to be the person who’s stuck in a blizzard telling himself “I wish I’d listened to the weather reports.” Prevention means fixing a situation before it happens is not the sexiest way to avoid an emergency, but it is the most effective. The words “safety first” always apply here – adventure can come when the weather ain’t so bad.
Does that mean bad weather is totally avoidable? Of course not. But having an understanding of the weather, including the weather reports and the signs from nature itself, will help you better stay out of a potentially troubling situation.
Understand the clouds. Reading the clouds is perhaps the strongest indicator of weather if you don’t have any sophisticated instruments like a barometer with you. A cloudless day can indicate high pressure – usually meaning that you’re in the clear for the immediate future. If the sky turns cloudy in a hurry, that can signify the drop in pressure that comes with an approaching storm. Be sure to keep an eye on the clouds in order to better understand what’s headed your way.Checking the clouds for their speed and direction will also tell you where they’re being “pushed,” which should give you an idea of where the weather will be coming from. The winds can vary from day to day, so don’t necessarily expect a storm to come from “where they always do.”
If you don’t have any weather reports, ask anyone you see for them. You can read the clouds all day, but a weather report will help you understand the immediate threat of weather. Ask anyone near you for the weather report; if everyone is headed for home, that might be a good indication that you probably should, too.
Handling the weather means being able to read it as best you can, and being prepared to high-tail it out of there once you realize what might be headed your way. Remember: safety first.
Photo Credits: ingo.ronner
