Although it’s a beautiful day today (Friday), it’s not going to be a very windy day, as a thermal low pressure system sits squarely over the Willamette Valley for much of the day. The result of that is very light easterly morning gradients and very light easterly wind in the western Gorge. It is, however, a good day for the commercial fisherfolk, as evidenced by the fact that 10886 Chinook made it past Bonneville yesterday, along with 1586 steelhead. Continued after the chart…
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | E 10-15 | E 5-10 | W 5-10 | W 5-10 | |
| Steven’s Locks | E 10-15 | E 5-10 | W 5-10 | W 10-13+ | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | calm | calm | calm | 10-13+ | |
| Rufus, etc. | calm | calm | calm | 5-10 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
|
|||||
Gorge wind forecast, continued…
On to the wind forecast for today… that thermal low pressure is forecast to slip east late today. As it does, gradients will turn onshore, and the west wind will return. Timing will be everything today. If the trough packs up early enough, we’ll see late afternoon westerlies at 10-13 from Stevenson to Hood River. We could even see a touch more, as models tend to underestimate the strength of westerlies in this situation. It all depends on timing… so keep an eye on the wind speed at Stevenson, because that’s where the wind will arrive first. No promises.
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Saturday looks more reliable, as the thermal trough will be east of the Cascades. This will combine with a weak disturbance moving through and offshore high pressure for a solid day of wind. Expect 17-20 from Viento to Mosier to start the day with 13-16 further east. By late morning or early afternoon, we’ll have 25-29 from Stevenson to Arlington, with the strongest wind likely to be found from Mosier to Avery. Depending on the impact the previously mentioned “disturbance” has, we may see uncooperative wind in the Viento to Hood River stretch. If it’s weird there, head east to the Rowena stretch for more reliable conditions.
Sunday sees the offshore high weaken as an upper level low moves off the coast of Vancouver, BC. This sets us up for 15-18 from Viento to Arlington to start the day, holding through the morning. As that low flexes its muscles, we’ll see the eastern Gorge wind back off. The Stevenson to Doug’s stretch will max out at 20-23 in the afternoon.
Monday currently looks like 10-13 early with up-and-down, gusty, unreliable 20-23 in the afternoon.
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Jones Friday: 12-15. Saturday: 7-10. Sunday: no. Sauvie’s Friday: no. Saturday: 10-13. Sunday: no. Coast (north/central/south). Friday: 10-15/10-15/no, NW swell 5′ at 9 seconds. Saturday: no/10-15/no, NW 7′ @ 9. Sunday: no/5-10/5-10, NW 4′ @ 8.
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
There will be snow on the ground at Mt. Hood today, and every day until the glaciers completely melt away.
Random Morning Thoughts
I was hanging out in my bathroom this morning (cuz that’s the cool place to hang) when the lights went out. At first, I thought my brand new LED bulb free from Energy Trust of Oregon had burned out. But no, Strava had turned off the lights. She was now on her hind legs with both paws on the switch. There’s no way to prove that she was trying to turn the lights back on, but that’s sure how it appeared.
I thought about teaching her to flip light switches, but do I really want my cat turning the lights on and off when she’s bored? This seems like a bad idea, even if it would make a great youtube video.
Teaching a cat to flip a light switch seems unrealistic, but that’s only because it seems unrealistic. It’s entirely possible. In the same way, we often think of many human possibilities as unrealistic. It’s true that many things may be out of our reach due to systemic influences. The one thing we can all learn, with hard, patient work, is to teach our minds new tricks.
Although the vagaries of our minds are out of our control, the general nature of our minds is not. Much as we can sweeten a cup of tea by adding sugar, we can change the tone of our inner world by adding awareness and cultivating positive mental states. It’s a slow process, much like teaching a cat a new trick, but it’s a process that works.
So, maybe you don’t want to train your pet to flip a light switch. I get that. Use the time you save to teach your mind to flip the switch from one way of being to another. Meditation… it’s the key to all that. It’s time well spent and will make your life more awesome. Have an awesome day.
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist (but I could be in 700 days). I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues. One other thing: I plan to keep doing this forecast indefinitely, even when I am a therapist.
Gorge Weather Forecast
It’s cool enough here in the Gorge this morning to have all those windows and doors open, so cool off your house in time for the afternoon heat. (Or afternoon housecleaner, if you happen to be the person whose house I’m cleaning today). Temps will be in the upper 50’s early and the low 90’s this afternoon. Light wind. No rainbows. Saturday may see a few high clouds. Temps will be in the low 60’s early and the mid 80’s (thank goodness) in the afternoon. Moderate wind. No rainbows. Sunday starts in the upper 50’s and climbs to the low 80’s. Moderate wind. No rainbows.
For weather specifically directed at travel through the Gorge, please visit Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
Whoopdee and Hospital are closed through the end of fire season, whenever that turns out to be.
Upcoming Events
Today starts off with Kickstand coffee’s weekly donut and coffee run at 7am. The Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo is all day in Goldendale. Coming up this evening at dusk, there are two outdoor movies: Planes at Daubenspeck Park in Bingen and Labryinth at Cascade Locks marine Park. Movies in the Park Hood River on Saturday night is Star Wars, The New Hope.
Coming up tomorrow, there’s a trail run at 8am in Post Canyon and a women’s road bike ride that leaves Mountain View Cycles at 9. Mt. Bachelor, not too far for a day trip, has enduro mountain bike races today and tomorrow, and at 1pm today, there’s the fundraiser Get Outside for Education at Hood River’s Waterfront Park, raising money for local school programs.
Coming up tomorrow, there are four free yoga classes, pickup touch rugby, and pickup Ultimate Frisbee.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
