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- How to Handle Weather Delays in Projects
This week, a friend of mine who works as a project leader asked me, “What would you do if a project gets delayed because of bad weather?”
It’s a common challenge. The weather is outside our control, but how we prepare for it is fully within our responsibility. According to the PMBOK® Guide, the right tool for this situation is the Risk Management Plan.
Table of Contents
Where It Fits in the Process Groups
Planning: The Risk Management Plan is developed here. It defines how risks will be identified, analysed, responded to, and monitored. Weather-related risks should be logged in the risk register during this phase.
Executing: If weather hits, the team applies the planned responses—such as shifting work to indoor tasks, activating contingency reserves, or implementing protective measures.
Monitoring and Controlling: The project leader tracks whether the response is effective. If the impact exceeds contingency, a change request is raised through integrated change control.
Closing: At project closeout, lessons learned are recorded, including how weather risks were handled, to improve future projects.
Risk Response Strategies
PMBOK highlights four main approaches for negative risks:
Avoid: Change the schedule so weather-sensitive tasks don’t fall in risky seasons.
Mitigate: Reduce impact, for example, by using temporary shelters or prefabricated modules.
Transfer: Use contractual clauses to shift responsibility for certain delays.
Accept: Allow for float or contingency reserves.
Example in Action
Think about a wind farm project in New Zealand. Installing massive turbine blades requires heavy lifts by cranes. But the weather here is famously unpredictable—high winds can shut down crane operations for days at a time.
If this was captured in the Planning phase:
The Risk Register already lists “high winds during crane lifts” as a major risk.
The Risk Response Plan directs crews to switch to electrical and control system work indoors when cranes can’t operate.
The Schedule Baseline includes buffer time to absorb a few days of stoppage.
Stakeholders are updated through the Communications Management Plan, so no one is surprised.
If winds last longer than expected, Monitoring and Controlling kicks in—a change request is raised to adjust the schedule or resources.
Takeaway
Bad weather may be unpredictable, but it doesn’t have to derail a project. By following the PMBOK process groups and applying the Risk Management Plan, you can anticipate, respond, and learn systematically.
Action Step: Review your risk register this week and check whether external factors like weather are captured, with clear strategies defined.
P.S. The Weather is unpredictable, but project management doesn’t have to be. Connect with me on LinkedIn and let’s share ideas on how to manage risks smarter and keep projects on track.
Until next Saturday!