When do thermals switch?

[mad_angler]

I'm generally hunting east facing slopes (terrain drops to the east).
And I typically have pretty strong winds from the west.

When do thermals switch?

In the morning, it seems like they would switch pretty early when the sun really hits the hill. So does it start going uphill within an hour or two of daybreak?

In the evening, I'm pretty confused. The hillside with be in the shadows quite a while before sunset. Are the shadows enough to start the thermals going downhill? Or does it take until sunset and full darkness for the thermals to start going downhill?

 

[AHayes111]

Right about the time when you are just a few steps from getting in range or a clear shot. Happens just about every time.
Lots of factors in what way the wind is going to blow.

 

[Ucsdryder]

when the sun hits a hillside assume the thermals are about to switch. Doesn’t take long after.

 

[Sawbonehunter]

Does anyone have any good YouTube videos explaining thermals? I’ve been trying to learn and understand them better


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[spike camp]

If there is typically a strong easterly wind, I don’t think thermals will play much of a factor for you.

I hunt an area that basically only has a strong easterly wind and I never even consider thermals in the morning.

In the evening, when winds are less, maybe a bit more of a consideration..,but not much.

 

[Skerhunter]

For most areas 10-11am the wind gets squirrelly (still trying to pull down in dark timber but ripping up open faces the sun has been on for a few hours) by noon usually things have stabilized. Every day will be slightly different, sometimes I sit down for a short break for things to stabilize. It’s my favorite time to call in a bull because I can use the thermals to my advantage to get in tight.

In the evenings it’s a lot less predictable, especially if wind dies down at sunset you can go from being OK to thermals pulling your scent in a wild direction super fast.

 

[LostArra]

 

[Btaylor]

View attachment 882586

Or...

 

[mtmontgo]

Does anyone have any good YouTube videos explaining thermals? I’ve been trying to learn and understand them better


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Shane Parker, The Grounded Hunter on Youtube, has the most comprehensive thermal explanation that I've come across. He's very knowledgeable on how thermals act on different slopes. He did a podcast with Beau on Eats Meets West that is very good.

 

[mad_angler]

Does anyone have any good YouTube videos explaining thermals? I’ve been trying to learn and understand them better


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Here is one good video that I have found on thermals...

 

[TaperPin]

Does anyone have any good YouTube videos explaining thermals? I’ve been trying to learn and understand them better


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You’d think there would be more videos on mountain wind as it pertains to hunters, but they are few and far between. The ones I’ve seen have some poor explanations and misinformation. They mean well.

Of course the basics are hot air rises up slope and cool air sinks down slope.

It also pays to keep in mind ground temps during the day are higher than air temps, so when warm rising air reaches the top of a ridge or drainage it starts to mix with cooler air and can sink back down the valley and be recirculated if the prevailing winds aren’t strong enough to carry the air (and scent) away.

Drawings are full of arrows showing winds like they are nice and uniform, but mountain winds are chaotic with swirls, dead spots, fast flows, slow flows, one drainage can even overpower what’s happening in a drainage it’s connected to and when air should be going one direction, it’s going the opposite. Even wind speed on a kestrel is smoothed out as if it’s a uniform thing, while the actual speed is constantly going up and down each second.

Wildfire Smoke Tracing Up-Valley/Down-Valley Winds.

The wildfires across California have been covered extensively by the news and social media lately. The Lion wildfire had burned 15,450 acres by early 13 Oct 2017 in Tulare County in central Califor…

satelliteliaisonblog.wordpress.com

 

[TheYukiYama]

You’d think there would be more videos on mountain wind as it pertains to hunters, but they are few and far between. The ones I’ve seen have some poor explanations and misinformation. They mean well.

I learned a ton about thermals when going through paragliding certification. There are some good videos out there by some of those instructors as it is pretty critical to safety when understanding where the lift is, rotor, valley flows etc. If someone were to search something like "understanding thermals, rotor and valley flows for cross country moutain paragliding".
Something like this.

I agree with you that many hunters over simplify it when thinking it will be going up at this time and down at this time and then are surprised when they spook game. c'est la vie

 

[grfox92]

Dan Infalt and Andre Dequisto give the best explanation on thermals. You'll have to search for videos.

Thermals switch when the sun heats up the valley floor, hot hair rises and pushes air up.

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[spike camp]

Dan Infalt and Andre Dequisto give the best explanation on thermals. You'll have to search for videos.

Thermals switch when the sun heats up the valley floor, hot hair rises and pushes air up.

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Isn’t their experience more to do with the whitetail woods?

 

[grfox92]

Isn’t their experience more to do with the whitetail woods?

Yes, but I'm not sure it changes anything, but i could be wrong.

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[cnelk]

I started a thread back in 2019 about thermals

Thread 'Understanding Mountain Thermals'

Mar 7, 2019

Some may recognize this, but a refresher is always a good thing:

The topic of thermals seems to come up occasionally and hope this post is helpful.

********

Thermals should not be confused with Wind.
Thermals are driven mostly by the heating/cooling of the earth surface

Thermals are very gentle movements of the air, sometimes almost imperceptible.
Cold air sinking below the rising thermal causes a downdraft.
That\'s why you can feel thermals in your face in one spot, then feel it on your neck in another.

Typically the thermals move DOWNSLOPE in the mornings until the air heats. When...

• cnelk
• Replies: 25
• Forum: Elk

• 

 

[LostArra]

Start with "warming air rises, cooling air drifts downhill."
Past that, you just have to be there and constantly check it.
Ambient temp, prevailing wind and terrain all can influence where your stink is going. And sometimes it's not where the diagrams or AI would suggest.

 

[josef]

As people have said there are a ton of variables. If youre looking for a basic rule of thumb Ill tell you that we typically try to be done flying in and around the mountains by 10 AM in March-October. That is solely because of winds and thermals.

 

[MallardSX2]

Either when sun hits a hillside or when I really don't want them to. lol


Know this though.....the elk know EXACXTLY when they switch. I've seen elk stop when they recognized the turn and just stand there for 5 minutes feeling out their current situation. It truly amazed me.

 

[Ross]

Rest assured thermals are the ….things can shift for no rhyme or reason. I’ve lived with smoke in the bottle type items in my hand for decades and made very aggressive moves if things are shifting. Never let them get your scent or you soon