I just gotta say that yesterday afternoon near the Hatchery was nutso. The weather models had more gradients lined up than I’ve seen in a long time, and for a short period, those gradients materialized as wind on the water. If it had been sunny, there would have been rainbows in the spray. Instead, there was a stampeding herd of unicorns racing down the river as massive gusts whipped them from behind. We won’t see a repeat of that fairy tale today, but we’ll see some wind. As the atmosphere stabilizes, we’ll see a decent day on the water, and if the models are correct, we’re going to see a lot of windy days in the next week! Continued after the chart.
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster’s Rocks | Sandy | beach | sandy | bare buns |
|
| Steven’s Locks | 5-10 | 10-13 | 17-20 | 23-26 | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | 10-15 | 21-24 | 24-27 | 21-24 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 10-15 | 13-16 | 21-24 | 25-29 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 10-15 | 13-16 | 21-24 | 25-29 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 10-15 | 13-16 | 21-24 | 25-29 | |
|
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Gorge Wind Forecast, continued…
The 5am gradients were .11 (pdx-dls), .04 (dls-psc), and .34 (eph-dls), but the wind wasn’t where it should be given those gradients. Give it time, baby. Give it time. Expect a slow and steady build to 21-24 this morning from Viento to Mosier, picking up to gusty 25-29 this afternoon from Stevenson all the way to Arlington. The strongest, most consistent wind today will be in the Rowena stretch of river, and the far east beaches won’t join in until late in the afternoon.
As strong high pressure builds in the Pacific tomorrow, we’ll see a high-quality morning on the river. A weather system moving into BC in the afternoon will probably cause some issues on the water. So, expect 17-20 right off the bat from Viento to Mosier, picking up to 21-24 midday and gusty 24-27 in the afternoon. The stronger afternoon wind will likely only be found at Stevenson-Avery-Arlington. In addition, I should mention that I’m being far more optimistic than the models; they’re only calling for low twenties tomorrow, but I’m placing my trust in the helpful influence of the offshore high pressure.
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Wednesday’s models suggest very little wind for the Gorge, but I’m not buying it. I’m going with 13-16 all day, strongest near Hood River in the morning and filling in from Stevenson to The Dalles in the afternoon.
Jones and Sauvie’s beta test forecast: Jones today, 20-23. Jones tomorrow, 16-19. Jones Wednesday, 13-16. Sauvie’s today, 10-13. Sauvie’s tomorrow, 16-19. Sauvie’s Wednesday, 18-22.
Coast forecast (north/central/south). Today: light/light/10-15, W swell 3′ @ 9 seconds. Tuesday: 15-20/20-25/30-40, W 5′ @ 9. Wednesday: 20-25/20-25/30-35, W 6 @ 9.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Nothing to say here today.
Random Morning Thoughts
I was curled up on my couch dreaming last night while my nocturnal cat monitored the windows, when I was awakened by flashing UFO lights and growling bears. It wasn’t, of course, bears and UFO’s, although that would have been a less painful nightmare than the one I was having. Instead, it was a doozy of a thunderstorm.
I got my butt out of bed to watch. Some thunderstorms are so impressive that sleeping through them would be a crime, and some downpours demand to be reframed as showers. I ran outside in my bikini and twirled around my parking lot, dripping water and staring in awe at the lightning flashes in the clouds.
And then I thought of the cherry farmers. My heart fell. I felt a bit guilty for taking joy in the rain. When rain falls on cherries, they absorb the water. And when hot sunshine touches those cherries, they split. Today’s supposed to be 90 degrees and muggy. The downpour that brought me so much delight and awe will bring devastation to my farmer friends.
I don’t believe that life is a zero-sum game, but I do believe it’s important to make thoughtful choices. The downpour isn’t my fault, so I can enjoy it. We can enjoy it. But it’s important to evaluate the things that we create, and to evaluate our consumption of other peoples’ creations, in order to ensure, as much as possible, that we aren’t harming others. (Whoa, that was a lot of commas) Be a conscientious consumer. That doesn’t mean, by the way, that there are right and wrong choices. Just a responsibility to be informed and to take responsibility for our choices.
Keep those cherry farmers in your thoughts today.
Gorge Weather Forecast
Our weather models predicted thunderstorms each afternoon last weekend, and nothing happened. Nothing happened until last night around 3:30. If you’re near Hood River, you probably know that, because you were awakened from a sound sleep by thunder and lightning. Expect a f**king muggy day today, as we start with 68 degrees and 83% relative humidity. High temps will max out around 90. Moderate wind. No rainbows.
Tomorrow looks equally warm and less muggy. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early and right around 90 in the afternoon. Moderate wind. No rainbows. Wednesday looks hot and dry with temps in the low 60’s early and the upper 90’s in the afternoon. Moderate wind. No rainbows. Looks like we’ll run smack into the 100 degree mark on Thursday. Our holiday weekend looks hot and dry.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
HOLY AMAZEBALLS IT RAINED. Get out and ride. Do it right now. This very instant. Get it before the good dirt goes back to dust. GO RIDE YOUR MOUNTAIN BIKE. And remember, Kreps and SDS lands close on Thursday, so you have until then to ride Whoopdee and Hospital Hill. After that, they’re gone until fall.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.
The Good Medicine Lounge, at May and 11th in the Heights, is your summertime escape from downtown crowds! We have thirst quenching cold infusions, healthy smoothies, light lunches and gluten free goodies! Relax in the shade of our porch or in our sunny garden while you enjoy the sounds at our open mic every Thursday after Farmer’s market from 6 to 8 pm. When it’s time to head home, take a blend with you to make your own flavorful iced tea, grab a growler of house made chai, kefir, or Kombucha. Open dailyweekdays 9 to 6 and 9 to 5 on the weekends. See you soon!
Upcoming Events
Today’s events are all movement meditation: There’s Tai Chi at the Mt. Hood Town Hall at 1pm and community yoga, free or by donation, at the Town Hall at 6:30 and at Yoga Samadhi, also at 6:30. There’s more yoga tomorrow at 8am at Flow. In the evening, there’s Manbo’s fun ride, cruising from Mountain View Cycles to the Union Taphouse in Mosier at 6:15. At the same time tomorrow, there’s triathlon practice at Mayer Park.
Tomorrow evening is my favorite activity: meditation at 6:30 at Yoga Samadhi with the monk(s) from Pacific Hermitage. This is mindfulness meditation, all the rage right now (for good reason). If you want to meet some cool people and build self-awareness, come check it out.
Coming up Sunday, there’s a swap meet at Windance, and Anson’s Bike Buddies will be taking bikes on consignment for a bike swap for the day. They’ll also be taking donation bikes and parts for a tax writeoff, so if you have an old bike in the garage, even if it’s not working, bring it to Windance Sunday morning.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
