How do I set up a tent to surrive strong wind?

[Diveralan]

Re: How do I set up a tent to surrive strong wind?

Only an idiot would go out in that kind of extreme weather & risk your & your sons life.
I don't mean to sound harsh but you are exactly the kind of stupid people the police & rescue-crew have to put their own lives in danger to save!
You can't wait till the weather gets less adventurous than your imagination?

Zack, as you did not fill out your profile I don't know where you are from but let me explain something about the weather in Oklahoma. It is almost always windy in the spring and on the days it is not windy is is very windy. I realize you may find this hard to believe but us idiots who choose to live here manage to go about our lives and not get blown off the face of the planet. What you conciser extreme weather in not unusual around here.
I think renodesertfox put it best, you have to be prepared for the worst weather that you may face. No matter where you go you may face extreme weather. Some people will know how to deal with it and others won't.

Let's take a look at air temperature and how different people react to it. About 5 years ago I was in Mexico in January. A cold front moved in and it was expected to get so cold that night they canceled school for the next day. So what this extreme temperature that caused school to get canceled? The forecast called for temperatures to fall below 50F. I am sure someone lives in northern US or Canada might find this humorous as they routinely send their children to school even when the temperature falls below -20F. Does this make them idiots who are risking their children's lives? It could be that they are prepared and have the proper cold weather clothing to dress their kids for this type of extreme weather. They might even put heaters in the classrooms in places it gets this cold, while in Mexico they do not have heaters and many of the children only have shorts, t-shirts and sandals to wear.

How extreme any weather condition is perceived by someone is related to how well they are prepared to deal with it.

I understand what strong wind can do. I have faced some of the strongest natural winds ever recorded (I was not camping) These winds were in excess of 300 MPH and I have the scars to prove it. (southwest of Oklahoma City on May 3, 1999)

[Sagebrusher]

Re: How do I set up a tent to surrive strong wind?

This thread reminds of the only time I have camped in Oklahoma, I was on the road and bought a new Eureka tent at Walmart because my old tent leaked and I knew there was a good chance of rain that night. I picked Clayton Lake State Park as it was along the highway, and I set up just before dark, tightening down the tent as tight as I could. I used large steel spikes for anchors, already there was lightning in the west. All the campsites were under large oak trees, I was a bit worried about that. About 11pm the storms finally came, it rained torrentially for several hours, accompanied by at 40-60 mph winds that never seemed to die. Fortunately, the new tent held up well, and only a little water seeped in. It had one of those waterproof bottoms that extends up a few inches.
(Despite being camped on a hillside, with little catchment area above me, water was running several inches deep outside my door).

One of these days I'll post my story about the BWCA blowdown of '99

[kurzi]

Re: How do I set up a tent to surrive strong wind?

I've always found that using the correct tent as mentioned above is the best defence against wind. If you're using a dome tent with only two poles the wind is gonna push you around good. Get a three pole tent with slightly lower profile. The more poles in a tent, the sturdier it is. Most four season tents have four poles.