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Do you pay attention to the wind?
I pay attention when I’m in the field tracking wildlife. But primarily I use wind direction. Stalking an animal from downwind helps me approach without it scenting me.
When you’re outdoors, being able to estimate wind speed can come in handy. Some things to think about:
- Sound carries better downwind.
- Wind creates ambient noise that can screen your movement
- Wind can disguise the movements of animals or people around you
- You can use wind speed and direction to help predict a coming storm
In his book Tracking Humans, David Diaz explains how to observe the forest around you to predict wind speed. He examines how this knowledge can help tactical tracking. This is the first discussion of wind speed I’ve seen in a tracking book. And it intrigued me.
Are his observations correct? Do they hold up for my area of California? Can I develop my own metrics for predicting wind speed?
Here is a table I created from data in the book.
Data/Observations from the book “Tracking Humans”, by David Diaz
Do you have tips to estimate wind speed? Share them in the comments below.
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