Do any of you have experience with flying in the rain, snow or sleet?  I've seen several videos of people doing this, including Curtis Morgan.

In rain, thats a huge nope, its not worth it. but I think its possible to fly in some snow conditions, however its at your own risk and you would want to be flying in "dry snow" conditions.

I've flown in snow, large flakes falling slowly so good viability

I've also flown when it's been starting to rain e.g. small drops of water, what we would call spitting.

Fly at your own risk and what's legal for the country

Hi there, we do appreciate your interest in our products. Please do not fly close to reflective surfaces such as water or snow, as these types of terrain may affect the performance of the vision system. Only fly the aircraft in environments with good lighting and visibility when GPS signal is weak. Thanks for your understanding and support.

I've flown in fog several times which needs your attention. During winter the rotors gets iced while flying in fog so you should keep the distance short and fly fast through the fog to get above it - same for landing. Aaaand keep an eye on the laws you are flying under because mostly you should maintain eye contact to your drone which is hard in fog ;)

I've flown in a lot of inclement weather - fog, rain, snow, and high winds.

In fog, get to the other side ASAP - I've often flown up through it to get above-clouds shots. When flying horizontally be very aware of the terrain and anything you might run into.

I only fly in light rain, and only for very brief periods when I really wanted to capture a location or dramatic weather patterns. Never had issues, but definitely better not to.

Snow seems to be just fine, even moderately heavy snowfall doesn't seem to even get my Mavic wet. Still, I restrict flight times and return frequently to check for moisture buildup.

High winds are tricky - it is possible to fly in them, even past the rating of the drone, but be aware that you'll get less battery life and that big gusts can send you tumbling. Also, be aware that of wind direction - just today I flew 7,000 feet away from my position (a new personal record), but didn't realize that I was flying with a strong tail wind. On the way back my drone kept coming to a halt in mid air in a most alarming fashion!

I've found that adverse conditions can be scary and potentially catastrophic, but that they are also the times when I capture the most spectacular and dramatic footage.

I've flown in fog condition, I turn off the sensors, and I go up above the cloud and then fly and take some shots.

I have done the same this as dronespilot, turn off the sensors when flying in foggy conditions, and always try to stay close to my Mavic.

Light rain --> I keep that to a minimum. The only times I've flown in the rain is when it starts and I'm already mid-flight, and quickly make my way back home.

Snow --> never tried it, but I prefer flying when the weather is warm. I don't like being cold.

The first time you fly in inclement weather, I would recommend keeping your UAV close by. That way if something does happen, you have a better chance of retrieving it.

Just my $0.02

I’m experienced with flying in heavy rain and snow...  weakest link is the battery.. if battery gets wet internally, then you start getting errors.. if you do get battery errors in the rain.. either bring it back or land it and get get it..  

Frozen fog, much less safe to fly In because ice can form extremely rapidly depending on the tempatures and how dense the frozen fog is..and may not even get a warning.. however if you decide to do this and temps are stupid cold just below freezing a bit, pay attention to warnings.. any ice on prop warnings or motor current error warnings means ice is forming around motors/props.. bring it back or find a safe place to land if it is too far and errors coming on stronger.  Ice forming on the props can take the drone out mid air.. specially mavic airs.. several people lost their drones to icy props I seen on these forums..   also watch out for payload errors if you didn’t add anything to aircraft and that appears in icy conditions may mean that ice is forming too and having to use more energy to maintain lift.  Also I recommend if fog is denser to disable vision poisoning sensor to avoid unintended behavior when it’s confused about seeing what it will think is the ground below it.


Warm thick fog is typically fine just be careful of errors and lens moisture. Warm fog is basically just suspended rain/clouds that on the ground..all fog is but warmer fog is wet and frozen fog is more dry cuz turns to ice.. however in my experiance flying, opened my drone up after flying in warmer dense fog where my drone was soaked on outside dropping and inside was bone dry..   common errors I gotten is Navigation error and Vision system/IR system error.. just the fog confusing the hell out of the drone.. also watch out for it attempting to land, or attempting to avoid what it things is the ground below it.. disable vision positioning system if this happens.

High winds Wind: tricky.. depends on speed if the speed of the wind exceeds the speed of aircraft at full tilt in sport mode beyond not safe.  If wind is below that and flying but while flying catch first gust and can’t lower the aircraft  even after gust is gone and losing battle..before you lost signal or it’s over water or something, have to CSC it and let it free fall and consider using ur DJI refresh thing.. however I found that if willing to fly in sport mode even the little mavic air can handle 30-35mph winds okay..not most stable and I wouldn’t fly out too far.  

Hail... well, best of luck.. even dime sized hail pelting the drone may damage it.. but I be more worried about crackingn or shattering props in that sized hail.  golf ball sized... RIP probably knock the drone out of the air if it’s hit enough.. larger is just even more stupid.. one solid hit almost a  guarantee it will be knocked out of the sky straight to the ground or knock the battery right out of it.

HereForTheBeer Posted at 2-9 15:58
I’m experienced with flying in heavy rain and snow...  weakest link is the battery.. if battery gets wet internally, then you start getting errors.. if you do get battery errors in the rain.. either bring it back or land it and get get it..  

Frozen fog, much less safe to fly In because ice can form extremely rapidly depending on the tempatures and how dense the frozen fog is..and may not even get a warning.. however if you decide to do this and temps are stupid cold just below freezing a bit, pay attention to warnings.. any ice on prop warnings or motor current error warnings means ice is forming around motors/props.. bring it back or find a safe place to land if it is too far and errors coming on stronger.  Ice forming on the props can take the drone out mid air.. specially mavic airs.. several people lost their drones to icy props I seen on these forums..   also watch out for payload errors if you didn’t add anything to aircraft and that appears in icy conditions may mean that ice is forming too and having to use more energy to maintain lift.  Also I recommend if fog is denser to disable vision poisoning sensor to avoid unintended behavior when it’s confused about seeing what it will think is the ground below it.

Well, this gave me some ideas of things I can do now that I better understand how it will affect my drone. Thanks!

While in the Bahamas drone was caught in just bit of sprinkles before the sun came back out but I remained in the air. Sprits finally stopped but if not then I would've definitely landed.

Do any of you have any footage of these situations that you'd like to share?

Heavy fog day, to the point it felt like a fine mist landing on your face.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw_ePF8BPqo