11.16.12 Good Hunting Weather - FOX44 - Burlington / Plattsburgh News, Weather & Sports

11.16.12 Good Hunting Weather

I first got the idea for this blog from a viewer of mine earlier this week. I get these great updates from my co-worker's father who lives in southern Vermont. Like clockwork he sends me a daily weather report in the morning detailing sky conditions, temperature, humidity, and wind at his location. It's awesome, especially in the winter since his location is about 1,600 feet in elevation (I believe).

He mentioned hunting the other day and how the 'record heat' we had was hurting his hunting. Then I replied and asked him how weather affects the deer. He replied with a great e-mail about the temperatures, wind, precipitation, etc. I then went onto a blog on the Internet to read more about the way deer are affected by weather. Come to find out my coworker's dad was spot on!

Weather conditions that are favorable for hunting (deer out and about)

• Cool temperatures
• Light winds
• Calm conditions around sunset and dusk
• Dry weather or light drizzle/rain
• Before and after big storms

Weather conditions that are bad for hunting (deer stay put/less active)

• High winds
• Heavy rain
• During storms
• Unseasonably warm weather

The deer are more 'out and about' when the temperature is cooler. To them it is more comfortable to move around, opposed to if it's unseasonably warm outside. Heavy rain or snow keeps feeding/activity at a minimum for deer, because of the foul weather. However a light rain or drizzle doesn't seem to impact the deer. Actually hunters say they like going out when it has just rained or is lightly doing so because the hunter doesn't make as much noise when moving around on the leaves/twigs, since everything is wet.

I read that the deer don't really like high winds. They get spooked by swaying branches and trees causing noise. I was also told that a good time to go hunt is before or after a big storm. The deer can sense storms coming in and they will feed prior to the storm, stay put while it's overhead, then come back out when it's gone. In fact one hunter said his absolute favorite time to go hunt is a clear, blue sky with temperatures slightly above freezing, after a big snow event.

I find these topics interesting because weather impacts almost everything. That's why I'm in this profession. I love telling folks what to expect for weather, including the hunters who are trying to plan their day. You can check up on the latest forecast here:

http://www.fox44abc22yourvoice.com/weather

And you can always e-mail us with weather questions or updates here:

weather@fox44now.com

Thanks!

-Meteorologist Steve Glazier

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