What is a kite score?
A kite score is a single 0–100 number that says whether it's worth going out to fly a kite right now. 80+ is a YES, 50–79 is an EH, under 50 is a NOPE.
ScoringHow the score is calculated
Four weather factors feed the score, weighted by how much they matter for kite flying:
- Wind speed — 45%. The engine of the whole sport. Ideal is 8–25 mph.
- Wind gusts — 25%. Sudden jumps in wind are what snap lines and launch kites into trees.
- Rain — 20%. A wet sail gets heavy and sluggish; 2 mm or more in a day usually kills a session.
- Temperature — 10%. Mostly comfort — nobody stays out flying in a bitter wind for long.
We compute it live from the forecast for your location on the homepage, and it's the same formula behind the monthly statistics and every best-time-to-fly-a-kite page.
Why a number instead of a forecast
A forecast tells you it's "windy with showers" — a kite score tells you what that means for a kite. It compresses the four variables that matter into one decision: go, maybe, or stay home.
Related terms
Good kite dayA good kite day means wind between 8–25 mph, gusts under 31 mph and less than 2 mm of rain. We count these from 3 years of weather data for 536 cities.Wind gustA wind gust is a sudden, short-lived jump in wind speed above the sustained average. Gusts are what snap kite lines and launch kites into trees.PrecipitationPrecipitation is rain, sleet, snow or hail falling from the sky. Rain soaks a kite sail, makes it heavy, and 2 mm or more in a day usually kills a kite session.