camping in strong winds

Introduction

camping in strong winds over 60kph is likely to be a terrible experience and likely to damage your tent and risk death from falling trees or branches - AVOID it where possible!
if you are camping above the tree line in alpine areas, you have to assume you may get hit with strong winds as there is little protection and there are stronger winds at that elevation and the weather conditions can change rapidly

Don't go camping if “strong winds” or “severe 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
- 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"
- 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
very few ultralight tents or gazebos will survive winds > 60kph without close attention to setting up and continual reassessment
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

choose a less windy and more protected camp site - but ensure there are no large trees or branches that may fall onto your tent
orientate the tent for least wind exposure to large surfaces
if the strong winds are likely to be transient as with a thunderstorm during the day time, consider taking the tent down and setting it back up AFTER the thunderstorm - you probably don't want to do this overnight - but it may be an option to consider

thin metal alloy, fibreglass or carbon fibre poles are more likely to bend or break - for hiking tents choose alloy poles > 9mm diameter (preferably in a sleeve rather than clip on) or a trekking pole tent
a low profile, small tent or a swag will have less surface area exposed to the wind and thus less wind stresses on the components
aerodynamic tents are more likely to be resistant to wind stresses - for car camping, teepee style tents do well in strong winds if guyed out well
choose a tent where the fly is pitched first so that it can be sequentially guyed out from bottom up as you set it up
ensure the tent has plenty of guy out points and the guy ropes are pre-attached
a tent with sleeves for the poles instead of clips will distribute stresses better
ensure you have good strong pegs for the ground type - a peg coming loose will severely compromise your shelter and risk damage
if gaining strong pegging is likely to be difficult, choose a freestanding tent rather than a trekking pole tent (even though trekking poles are generally stronger than tent poles)
if car camping, air beam tents may do better in strong winds as they do not have metal poles that will bend or break, but they are generally not aerodynamic and are much heavier and bulkier than normal tents and need extra strong pegging
if you have a larger touring 4-12P tent in sandy soils you will need large heavy duty pegs designed for sand, a sledge hammer and strong guy ropes with springs

if a pole snaps, the tent becomes very compromised, a simple short metal tube that fits over the broken pole area can save the night for you
broken poles can easily result in torn tent fabric so a fabric patch repair kit is wise otherwise you will have rain coming in and the tear will get much larger with ongoing wind stresses

wait for a lull in the wind before setting up
peg the tent first (starting at the windy end), then peg out the lower guy lines (if it is a fly first tent) before erecting the poles and continually adjust the guy line tension to optimise them without being overly taut
- failure to do this may result in either:
  - poles bending or breaking
  - tent flying away
  - tent fabric blowing onto sharp objects (eg. tree branches) and tearing
ensure the poles are properly joined and secured
then guy out any higher guy outs

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

in Victoria during Fire Danger periods, it is illegal to have a camp fire if winds are > 10kph
strong winds are likely to:
- re-ignite a partially put out camp fire
- send burning embers around and these may impact your tent as well as causing bush fires

strong winds are likely to bend the stove chimney pipes even if the chimney is guyed out
in fire danger periods, you are not allowed to have a solid fuel fire if winds are > 10kph due to risk of bush fires
even worse, if you are using the wood stove inside a tent and the tent fails, it may fall onto the stove resulting in a tent fire

if you need a tarp shelter, consider using an aerodynamic pitch such as plow point with the point facing into the wind
- a plow point tarp shelter may provide extra wind protection for an ultralight hiking tent
strong winds are likely to pull out the eyelets of most tarps - consider attaching guy ropes in a more secure manner than using an eyelet