Is it safe to dive in the rain?

[alex_can_dive]

I get that diving with thunderstorms is stupid but if it’s just raining, is it safe to dive? (Especially for new divers?)

It’s been raining all week (and predicted to rain the whole weekend too) - I’ve been itching to get into the water!

 

[MaxBottomtime]

You might get wet.
If you dive in an area with runoff you may get hepatitis, but at least you can dive.

 

[Brett Hatch]

Yeah, it's no big deal. Rain looks and sounds really cool underwater, you gotta do it at least once. Doing a surface interval in the rain can kinda suck, you might want to bring an easy-up, or plan to take your SI in the car. Bring a thermos

 

[Yawana-Dive]

I tell my guests “under the water it’s always a sunny day”.

 

[SlugLife]

Rain isn't a big deal, it was storming the weekend I did my advanced open water class. That said, there may be a few things to consider:

• Lightning is a safety issue at the surface or above water (before/after/between dives).
• Your equipment out of the water could get wet & dirty, or blow away in a storm. Storage-totes are generally good for protecting equipment from weather.
• Rough waters - Rough weather can cause surface conditions to be less than favorable. This includes waves, but also includes things like wet-ladders, boats, stairs, etc. So be careful when entering and exiting. Rising waters or currents could be an issue in some locations.
• Hypothermia - If you can't effectively dry off and weather is cold enough, you might just be miserable, or potentially worse. Leaving your wetsuit on is an option, but that's generally not fun after a dive.
• Dirty Car - If you're still soaking wet by the time you're loading your equipment and yourself into the car, you might get your seats wet & dirty. Possibly cover your seats with towels. I generally keep a tarp in the back of my car, to protect that area from wet & dirty equipment.
• Another day with better weather might be more fun, and less stressful. I dive for fun, so I generally skip rain-days, unless there's a strong incentive to not miss the dive, like a scheduled class, or limited vacation time.

Below water, you can barely tell a difference between a storm and a cloudy day, at least where I dive.

 

[Alekseolsen]

Surprised this is not mentioned yet (or perhaps you don't experience this as badly other places??)
When its been raining, visibility might be bad, really bad. Not a safety issue in itself, but a new thing to deal with if you're not used to it.

Highly recommend diving with a light (always on) for other you and your buddy.

 

[Centrals]

Why You Should Not Swim During or 48 Hours After Heavy Rain

I dive a lot in Philippines whole yr round, dry or wet season until covid put a stop in it. Only typhoon can stop me or may be volcanic eruption!

This is no joke.

https://www.rappler.com/nation/updates-taal-volcano-unrest-eruption-2021

Good luck Philippines.

 

[dmaziuk]

This is rain:

 

[Marie13]

It’s already wet where you’re going.

 

[johndiver999]

Surface visibility will be reduced to some extent during heavy rain. This can be a problem if you ascend from a beach dive and can not see shore or visually locate your desired exit point.

If diving from a boat or around boats in greatly reduced visibility also presents obvious issues. Dark rainy conditions are going to result in reduced lighting at depth. Rainfall also tends to increase runoff into the ocean and surface water bodies and will generally reduce visibility.

I've been on a boat during very heavy rainfall events, where we had to completely stop looking for surfacing divers and just sit at idle and wait until the rainfall lets up and topside visibility is sufficient to safely operate the boat.

In conditions similar to shown in that underwater photo, you are probably better hanging out at 10 feet with an smb over your head rather than being trapped on the surface with a bc inflated.