Bö,vræl,la ráfaga bourrasque,la bufera,a comoção ???
or ... SQUALLS!*
WHAT do you call UNSTABLE WEATHER where you ride ...
what does it LOOK LIKE ...
WHEN does it come ...
how can you PREDICT and AVOID it?
Unstable weather (or wx), can bring strong gusts that may fling you out of control, wind reversals that may spoil your day, Guys are smacking into hard impacts as a consequence of poor understanding or appreciation of the hazards of some local weather conditions.
less common Wx that have caused problems for kiteboarders also include cyclonic activity (waterspouts), wind gradients, dramatic drops in temperature, reduced visibility ...
Weather gone WRONG, like .. rider lofted into a parked car, a wall, tree, is dragged up the beach into ?, is pulled offshore by a wind reversal ... Lots of stories out there today and by current indications, MORE on the way tomorrow. Safety gear may help in this, along with good technique but no where as effectively as AVOIDANCE.
Unstable weather is something we should know about, to be sure. Lots of unnecessary accidents out there in 2002, 2003 could be even more intense UNLESS we build better hazard awareness out there.
So help your country men out and spread the word. Take a minute and fill out the questionnaire, cut and paste it into a message in this thread. If you have ideas on format or alternative questions please send them in. A final reference document will be prepared from your responses and spread around the Internet. An example entry appears below along with a blank form.
Thanks!
Country: USA
Area: Florida
Local Unstable Weather Name: Tropical Depressions
Time Of Year: Warmer months, summer
Characteristics: Sustained, good winds mixed with VIOLENT squalls characterized by sudden gusts to 40 to 60 mph or higher, rapid wind reversals, lightening, tornados and water spouts. May precede or follow hurricanes.
Predictive resources: Internet-http://www.nws.noaa.gov (many others), TV and radio
Appearance: MAY contain dark clouds, moderate to highly unstable wind speed and direction, lightening storms,
Comments: If a tropical depression is heading your way the best course is NOT to go kiteboarding. The variety and violence of these systems have injured kiteboarders already. Some weather systems are more tolerant of kiteboarding. Tropic Depressions appear to have enough surprises and accident experience already as to make them poor risks. Consider windsurfing in this kind of unstable Wx, barring lightening!
Blank Questionnaire:
Country:
Area:
Local Unstable Weather Name:
Time Of Year:
Characteristics:
Predictive resources:
Appearance:
Comments:
If you would like to included text in the comments in your own language or even better supply versions both in English and your language that would be outstanding.
Thanks for everyone’s help in this. If you have ideas for refining this concept please send them in.
*The terms were translated courtesy of http://www.freetranslation.com/, hopefully the terms provided are close to what is actually used.
FKA, Inc.
transcribed by:
Rick Iossi
flkitesurfer@hotmail.com