Leeward huntnig

[admiral04]

Last yr. I started paying more attention to wind direction and really focused on hunting leeward hills. I definately noticed a change in my deer sightings and notice alot of sign(trails) at that 1/3 down elevation. My question is can the winds be too fast to where a buck my disregard the leeward wind when bedding or even will deer in general ever hit a point where they may not travel the leeward side because winds are too high too create a thermal tunnel. 20 mph winds here today, wondering if I shuld bother with the leeward side.

[dan]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

[PLB]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[dan]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Actually, a lot of the wind tunnel effect has nothing to do with thermals... A lot of it comes from vacuum created by the air speed above. and if its calm in the valley below the wind, you should still have good thermal rise to boot.

[Crazinamatese]

Thermals are created by the sun. On a cloudy day, there may not be any thermal activity on a leeward side worth paying any attention to. A strong prevailing wind is going to blow air over the leeward side and that air is either going to sink to the bottom of the hill, or blow onto the hillside across the ravine or valley. I think deer would move a little further down from the 1/3 elevation line in this scenario. On a sunny day, the blowing air is going to engage with rising air parcels off the leeward side, creating little 'wind tunnels'. This maybe ideal to find the 1/3 elevation line.

[PK_]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Actually, a lot of the wind tunnel effect has nothing to do with thermals... A lot of it comes from vacuum created by the air speed above. and if its calm in the valley below the wind, you should still have good thermal rise to boot.

Yes. I have been saying this for a while, I noticed this before I came across this site and the 'thermal tunnel' concept. Higher wind speeds will pull air currents up the leeward side even at times when the thermals should be falling…

Think of how water flows around a river bend...

[Thermals]

I am not a 100% sure if it has anything to do with thermals on windy days, it seems to me it makes that tunnel effect by the way the air moves over the hill.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Crazinamatese]

I am not a 100% sure if it has anything to do with thermals on windy days, it seems to me it makes that tunnel effect by the way the air moves over the hill.

[ Post made via iPhone ]

The terrain has alot to do with it. Air tends to move in a more 'fluid' motion over smooth surfaces (aerodynamics). The picture below demonstrates.

[PLB]

Thermals are created by the sun. On a cloudy day, there may not be any thermal activity on a leeward side worth paying any attention to. A strong prevailing wind is going to blow air over the leeward side and that air is either going to sink to the bottom of the hill, or blow onto the hillside across the ravine or valley. I think deer would move a little further down from the 1/3 elevation line in this scenario. On a sunny day, the blowing air is going to engage with rising air parcels off the leeward side, creating little 'wind tunnels'. This maybe ideal to find the 1/3 elevation line.

Great post!!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Bowhunting Brian]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Actually, a lot of the wind tunnel effect has nothing to do with thermals... A lot of it comes from vacuum created by the air speed above. and if its calm in the valley below the wind, you should still have good thermal rise to boot.

a good example of this. ever see garbage doing circles in a truck bed while it's going down the road with no top or cover and the tailgate is up. the garbage looks like it will blow out of the truck only to keep looping around. it moves up the back window and and back toward the tailgate and down along the bed and back up along the back window and keeps circling.

[lynchpin]

Great examples! Good post

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[Crazinamatese]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Actually, a lot of the wind tunnel effect has nothing to do with thermals... A lot of it comes from vacuum created by the air speed above. and if its calm in the valley below the wind, you should still have good thermal rise to boot.

Yes. I have been saying this for a while, I noticed this before I came across this site and the 'thermal tunnel' concept. Higher wind speeds will pull air currents up the leeward side even at times when the thermals should be falling…

Think of how water flows around a river bend...

The wind going over a hill creates a friction layer that circulates the air back up the leeward hillside.

[dan]

I remember a cold extremly windy day in late October when I was hunting a leeward ridge. The wind above was howling at over 20mph. There was a bunch of ttrees dropping leaves and the leaves were gertting caught in the wind tunnel and it was the most awesome sight...
You could look down the ridge and physically see the wind tunnel cause of the leaves caught in the circle vacuum. Thats the day the term "wind tunnel" was born.

[Crazinamatese]

Wind speed can in some cases make the elevation height of travel vary slightly, but if anything, stonger winds make it even more likely they will be on the leeward side.

Agreed but the thermal affect won't be much if anything with winds that strong..

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Actually, a lot of the wind tunnel effect has nothing to do with thermals... A lot of it comes from vacuum created by the air speed above. and if its calm in the valley below the wind, you should still have good thermal rise to boot.

Yes. I have been saying this for a while, I noticed this before I came across this site and the 'thermal tunnel' concept. Higher wind speeds will pull air currents up the leeward side even at times when the thermals should be falling…

Think of how water flows around a river bend...

The wind going over a hill creates a friction layer that circulates the air back up the leeward hillside.

Im thinking the wind has to be pretty strong for this to happen. A steady light wind, not so much.

[dan]

Im thinking the wind has to be pretty strong for this to happen. A steady light wind, not so much.

It really don't take much... Without the wind vacuum thermals rise straight up... Drop milkweed and watch it follow the terrain up the hill. Thats vacuum.