Ohio gives you four genuinely different seasons, and a balloon behaves differently in each. Plan for that and it lasts years.
Spring: the best selling season, and the windiest
March through May is when car lots, garden centres and home improvement businesses want visibility most, and it is also when Ohio wind is at its most inconsistent.
Check the forecast daily. Over 25 miles per hour, it comes down. Spring is when most first-year owners lose a balloon, because the weather looks fine at 9am.
Summer: the easy months
June through August is straightforward. Long days, settled weather, and the balloon can more or less live outside.
Watch for the occasional line of afternoon storms coming across from Indiana. Otherwise this is when you get the most flying hours for your helium.
Autumn: the highest value
September and October are arguably when a balloon earns most in Ohio. The weather is still good, the traffic is still there, and seasonal businesses from farm markets to Hallowe’en retail are competing hard for the same drivers.
It is also comfortable working weather for whoever puts it up, which sounds trivial and is not.
Winter: store it, mostly
Deflate, fold at room temperature, box it. Polyurethane handles that cycle indefinitely; PVC stiffens and cracks at the folds.
If you do fly in winter, expect it to look soft on cold mornings and firm up by afternoon. That is gas contracting, not a leak. Judge fullness in the warmest part of the day and do not chase it with helium at dawn.
Also, bring it down ahead of wet snow rather than during. Accumulation on the envelope or line is the awkward case.
Ask for a quote. Call 1-800-791-1445 or email [email protected] and tell us the size and whether you want it printed.
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