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As the Creston community gears up for the 37th Balloon Days celebration, all eyes are on the weekend weather forecast to see if the balloons will have safe flying conditions.
The National Weather Service forecast for Friday night is partly cloudy with winds out of the south around 14 mph. The temperature is expected to reach 82 degrees.
“Friday night will be much warmer than it has been, but a little on the windy side,” State Climatologist Harry Hillaker said. “It might be a little too high for balloons to go up, but no rain is expected, so visibility should be good.”
Saturday brings the threat of rain, starting mostly cloudy with a southwest wind at 10 mph that morning.
The best chance for showers is around noon as the temperature climbs into the lower 80s again.
“Rain and thunderstorm chances start from 7 a.m. and last until 6 p.m.,” Hillaker said. “All of the heavy activity is expected to stay to the south.”
Saturday night shows another chance for thunderstorms around 6 p.m. with spotty chances continuing the rest of the night. Winds shift to the north and northwest around 8 mph.
Sunday morning is mostly clear and sunny with a northwest wind at 8 to 10 mph. Temperatures are expected around 60 degrees between 6 and 9 a.m.
“The forecast is not too windy,” Hillaker said. “Wind odds start increasing as we get closer to the fall and move out of the summer doldrums.”
Flying conditions
This year’s new balloon meister (race director) Jim Gebhart will be one of the officials checking to see if it is safe flying conditions.
“We fly by all FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) rules and regulations,” Gebhart said.
In ideal flying conditions, pilots look for a high pressure system on the radar with no fog for good visibility and wind between 0 and 10 knots.
One knot is about 1.15 mph.
“We look at what is on the radar and we search several websites for conditions in the area,” Gebhart said.
He will start checking the weather Friday afternoon around 2 p.m. and will make the call on if the fun flight can go up around 5 p.m.
“Saturday will be early,” Gebhart said. “We start checking around 4 a.m. with sunrise at 7:02 a.m. If conditions are not favorable, we will not fly until they are favorable.”
Gebhart will be up again Sunday morning at 4 a.m. to check conditions for the final flight of the weekend.
He said the precautions are all about safety for the pilots and the difficulty added to flying in high winds and low visibility.
“It takes a bigger landing area (in high winds),” Gebhart said. “Instead of looking to put it down in an area the size of a baseball field, you have to find a spot longer than the length of a football field.”
Tune in to 101.3 KSIB radio for updates on if the balloons will be flying and check the Creston News Advertiser Facebook page for any updates on the Balloon Days weekend.