The Bristol International Balloon Fiesta is back and ready for take off at Ashton Court this morning. The festival, which has long been a staple in Bristol's summer calendar, opens its doors at the estate today (Thursday, August 10) for four days of family friendly fun.
Fiesta organisers say every event is dependent on the skies in more ways than one and poor weather conditions could alter plans for each day. During large scale events, visitors are often worrying about whether they will have to bring an umbrella to stay dry, but that isn't the only important factor this time.
Wind speeds play a vital role in hot air ballooning - no wind and the balloons will not get very far, but too much wind could make them difficult to inflate. It could also scupper plans for the several mass ascents planned throughout the four day fiesta.
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The Met Office expects day one of the festival to stay dry, with a mix of cloud and sunshine throughout the day. It will be warm, verging on hot in the afternoon, reaching a predicted 26C at around 3pm.
Average wind speeds vary between 7mph and and 12mph - between 6 and 10 knots, with gusts reaching a possible 21mph (19 knots) This could throw up some issues with balloon inflating and flight; according to Wickers World, balloons struggle to inflate and fly in winds of more than 8 knots.
"Hot air balloons fly best in stable and light surface winds of between four to six knots, but they can fly in surface winds up to 8 knots," the ballooning website explains.
"However, as the wind speed reaches 8 knots, it becomes difficult to inflate the balloon. Above 8 knots the wind is too strong and the balloon cannot be stood up against the wind. This may seem like very little wind at all, but just imagine, the balloon is 100 feet tall."
The fiesta wesbite says: "Hot air balloons need very specific conditions to be able to fly which includes low wind. Many other factors also effect our ability to fly.
"The decision is made by our flight team at 6am and 6pm each day at the event and is announced in the arena and on our social media channels shortly afterwards. The event will go ahead regardless of weather so please do head down to enjoy the other activities at the event and support our traders."
For full updates about any possible schedule changes, follow the Bristol International Balloon Fiesta X account (formerly known as Twitter).
Thursday hourly weather forecast
