Weather in the Pacific Northwest, especially here in Snohomish valley, can be very unpredictable and contrary. We keep an eye on the weather at all times to assess if the conditions remain suitable for skydiving.
Generally, if it’s raining, we won’t be able to jump due to cloud cover. If there are gaps in the clouds or if the clouds are high enough, we may be able to jump around or under them, but typically if it’s raining, the clouds will be too low and thick to jump. We also can’t jump if the wind is more than 20 miles per hour on the ground, and we keep an eye on smoke levels as well, especially around late summer when there are occasionally forest fires drifting smoke into the air.
One of our pilots, Mark, keeping an eye on the weather
Two hours in advance of each class, we post the weather status for the class on our website. We use a variety of resources to make this decision: we look at a satellite to see where the clouds are moving, wind charts to have an estimate of how fast they’re moving, and aviation weather reports to see cloud layers and the altitude of the different cloud layers to make the best decision we can for whether skydiving will be possible.
On the day of your reservation, two hours before your reserved time, you can check the website at skydivesnohomish.com/tandemweatherstatus, or refer to the “Check Weather Status” link in your confirmation email.
There are four potential statuses we may post:
- Come On Out! The weather is forecasted to be suitable for skydiving. A happy day for everyone here!
- 75/25. The aviation weather forecasts and actual conditions are inconsistent. Local weather conditions suggest that skydiving is likely, but not certain for this class time.
- 50/50. A toss-up. There’s around a 50% chance we’ll be able to jump or not, depending on what the weather decides to do on your class time.
- Reschedule. We will not be able to jump at this class time and must reschedule the class.
Safety is our highest priority here at Skydive Snohomish. If the weather is not suitable for skydiving, your non-refundable deposit will remain on your account for one year, and you can reschedule into any available class time during that year. If you’re coming from out of town, keep in mind that the deposits to make a reservation are non-refundable, even in the case of inclement weather.
We promise it’s worth the wait! The Pacific Northwest has famously temperamental weather, but it’s a beautiful location to see from the sky on jumpable days, offering views of the surrounding mountains, forest, and farmlands.
A view from our plane on a cloudy evening. This sunset class was posted as a 75/25, with enough gaps in the clouds for students and instructors to jump around them.
