Table of Contents

camping in strong winds

see also:

Introduction

  • Don't go camping if “strong winds” or “severe or damaging thunderstorms” are forecast
    • the winds may destroy your shelter, and leave you exposed to cold and rain as well as wetting your sleeping gear
    • there is risk of trees and branches falling onto you or blocking the roads home
    • flying shrapnel is a significant risk
    • it will be very noisy and stressful trying to sleep
    • it may be very dusty and you may have to breathe dust all night - this is especially the case at Wilsons Promontory National Park - "The Prom"
    • large hail will destroy hiking tent fabrics (sorry, your very expensive 40D nylon or Dyneema cuben fibre tent probably will not survive) as well as your car windows and it will cause lots of hail damage to your car's metal work, and it will cause physical injury to you (tents usually can survive hail up to 10mm diameter)
      • if you must be in large hail in the open then you need an industrial quality tarp set up securely, sloped and taut above you or your tent such as:
        • you need to have high tensile strength and low stretch which helps the fabric absorb impact rather than tearing
        • double- or triple-layer laminates, sewn-and-taped seams, reinforced high-wear points, and integrated inner bracing reduce stress concentrations that cause punctures
        • 500–1200 g/m² PVC tarpaulin
        • 600D–1200D polyester
      • if you don't have such a tarp as you are hiking and it is far too heavy, then use a sacrificial lighter tarp such as an XF tarp and hope it absorbs all the damage
    • in fire danger periods, strong winds are often associated with bush fires, especially on hot dry windy days or if “dry” thunderstorms occur, which can have you trapped in your camping area
  • You will NOT want to be trying to sleep in a roof top tent!
    • resort to sleeping in your vehicle or perhaps a swag or strong hike tent
  • a Hub-type gazebo with fibreglass poles such as the Vevor are only rated for up to 24kph winds as winds over 32kph can break the poles
  • very few ultralight tents or gazebos will survive winds > 60kph without close attention to setting up and continual reassessment
    • even 4 season alpine hiking tents made for the wind costing over $1000 are likely to have their poles broken if winds are over 80-90kph, especially if a door is opened into the wind even for only a few seconds
  • don't have anything sharp such as rocks rubbing on synthetic tents or tarps - strong winds will result in the tent or tarp tearing!
  • the strong gusts from a severe thunderstorm often come from the same direction as the thunderstorm which is often very different to prevailing winds and are likely to catch you off-guard! The same applies to sudden strong wind gusts following a cold front - the wind can suddenly change from a northerly to a SW gusty wind
  • in inland Australia “dust devils” - mini tornado like events often occur and can send a hike tent high into the sky as occurred at Strawberry Fields music festival in Tocumwal Nov 2025 - https://www.instagram.com/reel/DRftQsajCUp/?igsh=MXkwbjkwOTlkYWg1dA%3D%3D

Tips if you can't avoid strong winds

  • consider options likely to survive strong winds (as long as you are not going to get hit by tree shrapnel/branches) such as:
    • low profile 320-420gsm polycotton waterproofed or seasoned swag on a stretcher to get out of storm water and securely guyed out
      • perhaps add a plow-point tarp if rain is forecast, but this can be compromised if wind changes direction
      • an air swag may be better - as long as it doesn't get punctured by shrapnel
    • alpine tents designed for strong winds (but may not be good in warmer nights) such as:
      • Mountain Hardwear Trango 2 expedition tent $US1050
        • 5 x DAC NS poles; 70D silnylon; two dual canopy and mesh doors; 3.8-4.3kg
      • Nortent Vern 2 perhaps the easiest to set up in strong winds and rain and can give a fairly quiet night if winds are under 60kph, but may get compromised in winds over 80kph especially if a door is opened into the wind1), does need seam sealing and a few extras, and you can buy extra poles to use double poles.
        • there are also 1P and 3P sizes
      • Hilleberg Jannu 2
      • Hilleberg Nammatj 2
      • Mont Epoch - similar to the Trango 2 design, perhaps the most wind proof hiking tent supposedly to 109kph in a wind tunnel but harder to set up and inner tent will get wet in set up and pack up; 2P, 40D nylon; 5 poles (4 for inner, 1 for fly), 1.4m wide, 4kg, inner is freestanding, but fly needs secure pegging
      • Mont Supercell Tunnel tent - perhaps best compromise for weight, wind proofing and potentially easier to set up as it has integral pitch (no adding on fly afterwards) but NOT freestanding which adds to complexity in rocky alpine areas as secure pegging not so easy if no snow, 2P, 40D nylon; 2 poles, 1.32m wide, 2.8kg
    • hub umbrella style tents - but they need to be well guyed out and they are very bulky and pack up very long
    • teepee style tents
      • OneTigris Rock Fortress teepee style Hot Tent should survive 70-90kph plus winds if guyed out well
        • in windy conditions, the wind will blow under the snow skirts (assuming you can't pack them down with lots of snow), so you will need a 4 season freestanding hike tent inside (withouts its fly) to protect from wind chill - in sub zero temperatures, frost on the zippers can compromise these and they can end up falling off so prevent this by being extra careful, melt off the frost before using them and you need a back up to hold the doors closed in such an emergency
        • it does rely upon the integrity of all the guy outs, and, having two doors, allows you to open the one that is away from the wind
        • take down the chimney in strong winds as it may be compromised or may rip the stove jack
    • geodesic tents
      • generally very storm-proof but lots of poles to set up, and being almost circular means usable space is less
  • if camping near your car, pack up, or at least secure the shelter as much as possible and as flat to the ground as possible, and sleep in the car
    • this will be safer for you and if you packed up, you will still hopefully have an intact shelter for the rest of your camp
    • if you can't pack up, place your car on the wind side of shelter to provide shrapnel protection
  • NEVER open a door into a strong wind - this will turn your tent into a parachute and the extreme forces are likely to severely compromise the tent within seconds!
  • have a back up plan for when your shelter fails - as it may just do that unexpectedly during the night!
    • as a minimum, an emergency bivy - you will have a miserable night but at least you may survive it

minimise wind exposures

choose a tent that is more likely to survive strong winds

  • guylines help distribute the wind load, minimizing pole flex and fabric strain, which are the main failure points in wind - these are CRITICAL
  • if camping in sandy or dusty areas with winds, a full fabric inner tent to reduce dust in the air inside your tent will make your night more bearable
  • even if you have a strong aerodynamic wind resistant tent - tent peg failure can result in the tent being damaged and blown away
    • a strong wind gust can pull out even 18 strong pegs in one gust - they will need additional support such as boulders weighing 5-20kg each
    • see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVgeoYz3_AI for an example of a Nortent hot tent being suddenly blown away despite seemingly strong tent pegs - the last peg to come out appears to be the cause of the guy rope attachment ripping from the tent - also shows you should select a more sheltered camp site if strong winds expected and you should double or triple peg the windward guy lines for extra strength and potentially place boulders on the ties connecting the pegs - and don't open a door on the windward side!
  • for those with “4P” or larger wind resistant tents:
    • having a 4 season freestanding hike tent without its fly inside the larger tent solves several problems:
      • virtually eliminates wind chill from wind coming under the tent if the outer tent does not have a floor
      • is much quieter than an inner tent attached to the constantly moving outer tent
      • creates much more spacial separation from the outer tent than most supplied inner tents, so any inward movement of outer tent fabric or tent frame won't impact the inner tent
      • can provide better waterproofing and warmth than the mesh inner tents that are often provided
      • reduces dust, sand or debris entry into your sleeping pod
      • reduces condensation issues as it essentially makes the set up a double wall tent set up
      • avoids the need for a floor in the main tent and thus still allows the use of a stove (perhaps not when its windy though)
      • can be an emergency tent if the outer tent fails, especially if you brought the fly for it and it is a reasonably wind resistant tent in itself
  • floor or no floor in outer tent
    • an outer tent with a floor will have less wind chill, less dust/sand entry (as long as any mesh can be sealed), and also allow heavy rain to be more easily managed - as long as it doesn't leak!
    • a tent without a floor is lighter, less bulky, can be dried out more easily, and allows use of a stove more safely, and any rain coming through the stove jack hole or other leaks will just fall onto ground rather than running throughout the floor and wetting everything
  • a tent with a snow skirt or mud skirt will be very noisy in strong winds if these skirts cannot be pegged down or packed down with snow
  • strong winds can push open the zipper on many tent doors so bring something to secure the zipper closed

take a pole repair kit and a tent fabric repair kit

take extra care when setting up - this can be the most dangerous period for a tent in strong winds

  • if you have an ultralight tent which will struggle to survive winds, set up a plow point tarp FIRST
    • you can the set up your tent or bivvy swag under the tarp with some wind protection
    • you will need a 3x3m or 2.4×3.6m tarp and a trekking pole or guy out to a tree

don't have a wood camp fire burning and ensure any fire is well extinguished with water

don't have a wood stove set up

take down any gazebos or awnings

review any tarp shelters

bring extra sleep aids

bring a chain saw

1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsmWT0oIbQ
2) , 3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9CcW6MwSWqY