Smoking in rain and wind — tips for outdoor smokers

What's going on here?

Wind cools your smoker from the outside and simply blows the heat away — the stronger the wind, the more fuel you need to maintain temperature. With a standard offset smoker, wind speeds of 30–40 km/h can mean burning 20–30 % more wood than usual.

Rain makes things even trickier: wet wood chunks or charcoal hiss, produce uneven smoke, and deliver inconsistent heat. Rain also cools the metal shell of your smoker directly, pulling cooking temps down fast. At a target temperature of 110–120 °C, you can easily lose 10–15 °C if you don't take action.

Cold ambient temperatures (below 5 °C) amplify the effect significantly. Smoking in winter rain is truly the master class.

How to fix it

• Position your smoker correctly: Set it up so the wind hits from the back or side — never directly into the firebox. Use house walls, fences, or hedges as natural windbreaks.

• Build a windshield: A simple wooden panel or even a tarp stretched out works well. The goal is just to stop wind from blasting directly across the firebox.

• Keep fuel dry: Always store wood chunks covered and off the ground. Wet wood burns poorly and produces off-flavored smoke. Target moisture content for smoking wood: below 20 %.

• Plan for more fuel: In wind and rain, set aside 25–40 % more wood or charcoal than on a nice day. Better to have too much than to run out mid-cook.

• Double-check your thermometer: Lid thermometers lie. Use a digital probe thermometer at grate level — that tells you what's really happening inside.

• Pre-heat longer: In bad weather, give your smoker an extra 20–30 minutes to come up to temperature. Cold metal absorbs a lot of energy at the start.

Bottom Line

With dry wood, a solid windbreak, and a little extra patience during heat-up, you can smoke just as comfortably in bad weather as on a sunny day.