Best time of year to fly a kite

The short answer: spring and early autumn are the most reliable kite-flying seasons in most of the world — the wind is up, the rain is down and it's not too hot. Winter can be excellent on the coast.

Seasonality

These patterns come from a 3-year archive of monthly wind, rain and temperature data for 325 cities, scored for the number of genuinely good kite-flying days each month (wind 8–25 mph, gusts under 31 mph, under 2 mm of rain).

Why spring and autumn win

In most northern-hemisphere locations two things align between March–May and September–November: stronger, steadier wind (warm land meeting cool air) and moderate temperatures. Summer's big problem is rarely wind — it's the heat and afternoon storms that kill flying windows.

Month by month (US cities)

• March–April — the best months in the US on our data: spring wind and mild weather, ~6 good days a month.
• May–June — still good, but the calm and the heat start to creep in.
• July–August — the weakest months inland: heat, humidity and thunderstorms. Coastal cities hold up better.
• September–November — autumn returns; October is the single most reliable month for many US cities.
• December–February — variable. Inland, winter calm dominates; the coasts get the strongest wind of the year.

Month by month (UK cities)

• January–February — surprisingly reliable: coastal UK cities average 8+ good days a month in mid-winter.
• March–June — the classic season. Spring wind with mild, dry days; June averages 10+ good days in our data.
• July — the quiet month; the sea breeze softens and rain increases.
• August — the best month of the UK year in our data: ~12 good days, warm and windy.
• September–December — the long autumn runs; October and December both average 9+ good days.

Southern hemisphere is inverted

For Australia and New Zealand the seasons flip: summer (December–January) and spring (September–October) are the kite months, while April–May are the quietest. In our data January averages over 7 good days across Australian cities, versus under 4 in April.

What matters more than the calendar

Within any month, look for the day after a cold front or a settled offshore breeze — those produce the steadiest wind. And check the actual forecast rather than the calendar: some years a June storm, some years a February calm.

Every city on the site has its own best-time-to-fly-a-kite page computed from this same data — try London, New York or Sydney, or browse every city.