Yes, you certainly can skateboard when it’s windy. You can hop on your skateboard or longboard on any windy day and ride to your heart’s content. As long as the air isn’t blowing too strongly you definitely can skate. You can even ride a skateboard in the rain if you want, but it’s not for the most part a good idea.
Skateboarding When It’s Super Windy is Difficult
For dyed-in-the-wool skateboarders, each day is an opportunity to get out there to practice landing tricks or just have fun.
Also Read: Finest Skateboards
But no matter how good your skating ability is, riding a skateboard in gusty winds can be quite the challenge. You jump, and when you come down looking for a place to land, there’s no board!
I strongly advise against trying to land complex skateboarding tricks in this kind of weather. Especially if your board control skills are still at the beginner level.
How Windy isn’t Too Windy for Skateboarding?
If the wind is blowing at below 60 miles per hour and you’re a pro skateboarder, you sure can jump on the board and head out.
But if you’re a beginner or aren’t confident enough to stand on a rolling board, it makes perfect sense to not go out skating. Wait until the windy weather calms before heading out the door.
Is It Dangerous to Skateboard When It’s Windy?
If the wind isn’t blowing too violently and you’re a pretty decent skateboarder, skating may not be a dangerous adventure.
But when the wind is blowing in gusts and your skating skills aren’t up to snuff, then riding against or even in the direction of the wind can culminate in calamity.
Skating When the Wind is Gusting Can be Fun!
Skating is fun, and it’s not less so when doing it in speeding wind. If you’re anything my hubby (he longboards an awful lot), you enjoy forging ahead against the mightily blowing wind.
He tells me that strong winds act as a sort of brake, a strong force that keeps him rolling downhill at a nice and safe speed.
But the fun certainly extends beyond bombing hills, flannel flapping in the wind.
And have you ever tried riding a skateboard in the same direction the wind is blowing? It feels like the most effortless thing in the world. You need little pushing to keep the board rolling.
However, riding with the wind blowing against your back can be dangerous. If the wind’s speed is too high, the gradient too steep, the bearings too good, and your skateboarding chops not up to scratch, you’ll likely move too fast and most likely crash.
It’s also fun watching members of your skating squad struggle with landing a trick because the wind shifted the position of both rider and board.
What to Consider Before Stepping Out to Skateboard in the Wind
Wind’s Direction
Skating against the wind can be pretty difficult, particularly for novice skaters. Or when trying to land various aerial tricks.
Plus you could struggle to get on rails and ledges. Be sure you know how to fall before attempting to skate ledges and rails and other technical skate park features when strong winds dominate the outdoors
You can also use the wind to your advantage just as sailors of old did. Travel in the direction the wind is blowing, and you won’t need to push that hard.
But it’s not like pushing is bad; it’s a major aspect of riding a motor-less board, without which skating would be less fun for most boarders. I’m obviously not talking about electric skateboarders here.
Your Weight and Frame Size
Science favors larger riders when it comes to getting on a skateboard longboard when the wind is blowing like there’s no tomorrow.
Since the fast-moving air encounters a larger surface area, its overall force slows down the bigger skater less.
If you’re petite and facing the fiercest wind you’ve ever skated in, it’s best to wait for the hostile weather to calm down.
Size may not matter in every other place, but it certainly does when riding a longboard or skateboard in windy weather.
How the Land Lies
The steeper the land, the harder and faster you can go especially if the wind is blowing on your back, boosting your rolling momentum.
If you’re an absolute beginner, I suggest that you find a level skating space and practice flat-ground tricks. Or just wheel around and have fun.
Your Skating Skill Level
The more beginner-lever your skating skill, the more careful you should be when riding against or in its direction of travel.
In fact, no beginner should venture out on the windiest of days. Better leave extremely windy weather skateboarding to pros.
Board Size
You need the most stable board when about to ride in windy weather. Strong winds can seriously destabilize you, and a small-sized board makes balancing and stability that much harder. This is the very reason hubby prefers to longboard rather than skateboard when the wind gets all gusty.
I’m definitely not saying can’t cruise around on any board smaller than a skateboard. It’s purely down to personal preference.
6 Places to Skate When It Gets All Windy
Below is a list of 6 places where you can ride your 4-wheeled board even when the wind is blowing hard.
1. In the Basement
If you live in a large home, chances are you’ve yet to put the spacious basement to any use, so why not skate there when the wind decides you shouldn’t skateboard outside?
You want to ride that wheeled board on a dry basement floor. You want the surface to be pretty smooth and free of objects you might trip on and crash.
And if you have any kind of respiratory condition, make sure there are no triggers in there, particularly fine dust and mold.
2. In the Garage
Not everyone can do this, but if you have a pretty roomy garage and it’s crammed with vehicles, you definitely can ride your skateboard there.
It may not necessarily be warm down there, but it won’t be as drafty as outdoors on a windy day.
3. In a Parking Garage
I don’t know about you, but hubby’s had folks walk up to him and ask him to leave a parking garage a few times. And I’m sure he’s not the only person that’s faced “ejection.” But yes, you might be able to skate in parking garages some of the time.
Stay out of trouble, and don’t fall on strangers’ rides if you don’t want to be punched or even shot. You never know what might happen to you in situations like these nowadays.
4. In a Parking Lot
In many parking lots these days, there’s almost always a skater doing what skateboarders do. You too can have fun there when the weather loses its calm.
5. In an Indoor Skate Park
This may not be possible for everyone everywhere. But if there’s an indoor roller rink nearby, why not get in the car or truck and drive there?
Ask Google or whichever search engine you use, and you’ll learn if there’s any facility around, the rules, when the rink is milling with people versus when it’s pretty much empty, and the charges.
If the drive is about 20-30 minutes, you sure can travel alone and it won’t cost loads.
But if the trip takes anywhere above an hour, I suggest that you get your skating buddies interested enough to accompany you, and everyone chips in for gas and any other expense.
6. Skateboard In Any Enclosed Space
Do you live in a country with lots of abandoned houses? If yes, that’s a perfect place to have skateboard fun.
I’ve been to Japan, and there are tons of empty and spacious buildings there. I didn’t skate there at all… because who skates in haunted houses?
Another place you can skate on a windy day is between city buildings. Spots like these are not only free of windchill, but they’re also sort of warmer.
And if you’re at a location that’s surrounded by natural features such as hills, you sure can have fun there even when it’s windy.
7 Skateboarding in the Wind Tips
Tip #1: Bundle up a bit. Wear a windbreaker or warm clothing for comfort.
Tip #2: Gauge the wind’s strength and direction before heading outdoors.
Tip #3: Ride a longboard instead because it tends to be a tad more stable.
Tip #4: Avoid landing aerial tricks unless you’re a pro. Stick to flatground tricks.
Tip #5: Skateboard indoors if the wind is too gusty.
Tip #6: Add a windsurfer sail to your skateboard and use it for wind skateboarding, aka land surfing. Understand it takes real skills to use a skateboard in this way. Watch this video and see guys riding a skateboard with a sail. This is definitely not for neophytes. It’s for skaters who know what they’re doing.
Tip #7: Wait for the wind to calm down if it’s too forceful and you’re an amateur skateboarder and can’t skate indoors for whatever reason.
Final Thoughts on Skateboarding in the Wind
Is it a good idea to ride a skateboard when it’s windy? Yes, it’s a good idea to Skateboard in windy weather unless the wind is blowing too hard that it becomes dangerous or dramatically less enjoyable to do that.
If winds are traveling at a speed approaching 60mph, it’s unwise to go out skating.
In extremely windy weather, skate indoors or find an enclosed area such as a parking lot, abandoned building, wall-shielded city spots, basement, or parking garage/lot.
And don’t forget to wear warm clothing and protective skating gear including knee pads and a decent-quality skateboard helmet.