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Thermals vs Wind

krub6b said:
There was a wired to hunt podcast a few years back where a guy studied his family property by sitting in his tree stands with a metal coffee can that he would burn wet smoky wood in to watch the effect of thermals and wind direction on his favorite sites, especially the ones he couldn't figure out why he got busted in so much.
His take away was there are spots you simply can't hunt because of the thermals, and other places where being 10 yards in a different direction are money.

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The can and wet wood is a great idea I'll try that! Bubbles only go so far, but are more fun.... Thanks!
 
raisins said:
I’ll add that the wind up a hill (or in a valley) against the dominant wind usually isn’t thermals. It’s caused by low pressure on leeward side generated by the wind cresting the hill (Bernoulli principle).

It is stronger than thermals, found all day in right location, and increases with wind speed.
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I personally believe that its a combination of the leeward effect and thermals, not one of the other, because on most larger hills, the Bernoulli principle drive air more on the upper half. While this does create a vacuum to some extent, there is still usually a thermal rise coming from entire hill in our area at least.
 
The "wind" is often a product of thermals. I know this for a fact from river paddling. Sometimes thermals are strong enough to produce whitecaps on larger rivers or streams. Lots of people think this is prevailing wind, but it's often nothing more than thermal behavior. And these patterns interact and effect each other.
A strong thermal in a broad valley will pull lesser thermals from adjoining terrain. It's very dynamic.
Cloud cover is also an important ingredient. Sun on slopes (or lack of sun) will produce heating (or cooling) on slopes that effect adjacent conditions.
This is the kind of stuff that makes me shake my head when someone says that they just hunt the wind. Do they really know what the wind is doing even 100 yards away?
 
Allegheny Tom said:
Well then you DO pay attention.
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Let me clarify. I don’t pay attention to whether it’s prevailing wind, thermal, or how the thermals effect prevailing wind etc.

I toss miilkeed before setting up and choose how i set up. Then toss milkweed every so often and if it’s now blowing right where i don’t want it to i move.

But i don’t care if it’s a thermal or a prevailing wind or whatever nor do i really care whats effecting it.

Just toss your midweef and let it guide you.
 
swampdonkey said:
Let me clarify. I don’t pay attention to whether it’s prevailing wind, thermal, or how the thermals effect prevailing wind etc.

I toss miilkeed before setting up and choose how i set up. Then toss milkweed every so often and if it’s now blowing right where i don’t want it to i move.

But i don’t care if it’s a thermal or a prevailing wind or whatever nor do i really care whats effecting it.

Just toss your midweef and let it guide you.
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I prefer to plan> observe> adjust if need be. But with a pre conceived plan I can usually be where I assumed I could be before I even go there. Knowing the difference between prevailing patterns and thermal patterns saves me from disturbing stands only to find out (after tossing floaters) that I should have been somewhere else.
It's what I mean when I refer to being a planner as opposed to an observer. Gotta know why the wind is doing what it does.
 
I don't know anything about thermal. Does humidity play a role in all this? I've noticed on really humid days the rabbit fur I use to check wind drops rapidly and on less humid days it'll carry a long way. Living close to the ocean has to play a facture on thermal right?
 
This is a great topic. I can tell, because my brain hurtso_O

I think there's a lot of great responses here. Very situational is an overwhelming consensus.

I think time of day plays a large factor, like raisins said, when the temp change is greatest, you'll experience greater thermal action. And like TNbowhunter said, if you're on a hill top the wind can be greater and more consistent than it is down in a swamp or valley.

I watched a YouTube WHS video the other day, Jeff talked about look at 4 or more hours before and after your hunt window... if there's a change in wind in that time frame you can assume you'll get some of those winds alternating back and forth. Say 12am WSW, 5am W, then 12pm E. You can bet that at 5am you may get a S wind, and at 10am you may get a solid E wind...

This is only my 3rd season deer hunting so what do I know? wind has been the trickiest thing to learn. Just watched slo-mo's scent regiment video today... makes me wanna go Eberhart on them deer...

Keep the brain melting content coming!
 
I believe entropy is the true culprit...in Webster dictionary terms there is no true 100 percent consistent pattern due to multiple factors...to the point I believe conversation is futile and the only true study and answer is to toss some milk weed in a given situations based of topo changes, water, height and density of vegetation...temperature changes wind speeds humidity etc etc etc ...take notes and adjust
 
Weldabeast said:
I don't know anything about thermal. Does humidity play a role in all this? I've noticed on really humid days the rabbit fur I use to check wind drops rapidly and on less humid days it'll carry a long way. Living close to the ocean has to play a facture on thermal right?
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High humidity holds scent pretty well , it also does not let it disperse as much. And if a skunk sprayed recently, it's gonna reactivate that lovely smell.
 
Forecast is just a forecast. Just a starting point. Usually when it says 2 to 3 mph wind it’s calm in the morning and evening. Thermals don’t start rising till after the sun hits the ground pretty good. And they don’t start falling till the hillside has been shaded for a little bit. 2 to 3 mph will be overpowered by thermals most of the time but it depends on the terrain, where the thermals are, how strong the sunlight is, etc etc. There’s no cut and dry answer, gotta get out and see for yourself. I still have quite a bit to learn, but going out and observing has been the best teacher for me.


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catman529 said:
Forecast is just a forecast. Just a starting point. Usually when it says 2 to 3 mph wind it’s calm in the morning and evening. Thermals don’t start rising till after the sun hits the ground pretty good. And they don’t start falling till the hillside has been shaded for a little bit. 2 to 3 mph will be overpowered by thermals most of the time but it depends on the terrain, where the thermals are, how strong the sunlight is, etc etc. There’s no cut and dry answer, gotta get out and see for yourself. I still have quite a bit to learn, but going out and observing has been the best teacher for me.


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Hey Catman, I like your youtube videos.

What has helped me is imagining the landscape is a huge stream bed and the air moving is water. I can picture it better that way and anticipate things. I believe the equations and such for water and air flowing are very similar.
 
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