It was truly light-and-variable on the Columbia on Thursday morning with light easterlies in the western Gorge, light westerlies in the eastern Gorge, and a north-south breeze running through my condo. The outdoor wind directions and speed won’t change much at all today, although the north-south intra-condo breeze will end once I close my windows. In other words, today looks like a very nice day for road biking and swimming. Continued after the chart…
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | calm | E 5-10 | E 5-10 | calm | |
| Steven’s Locks | calm | E 5-10 | E 5-10 | calm | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
| Rufus, etc. | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | calm | calm | calm | calm | |
|
|||||
Gorge wind forecast, continued…
Friday starts off with just a touch of an easterly breeze, nice for all those folks out in their fishing boats chasing the Chinook and the Steelhead. There were 4092 of the former and 1268 of the latter that made it past Bonneville yesterday. If you would like to eat them, Doug over in the parking lot at Windance will be happy to sell you some dip-caught fish for dinner. I had some yesterday, and it was delicious. Anyway, I digress… It’s unlikely, but entirely possible, that we’ll see some light westerlies late on Friday after a glassy day on the river.
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Looking at Saturday, the heat low that’s been crushing Portland with hotter temperatures than the Gorge will shift to the east of the Cascades. That will allow temps to drop about 10 degrees, always a good sign for wind. A better setup would include strong offshore high pressure, but we’re just not going to have that. So, expect 10-13+ from Steven’s Locks to the Hatchery to start the day Saturday. By the afternoon, we’ll have somewhat gusty 24-28 from Stevenson to, oh, probably to Rufus.
Sunday sees more of an impact from the lack of offshore high pressure. Westerlies start the day in the 15-18 range and climb to the 18-22 range. The wind on Sunday will be strongest from Hood River to The Dalles.
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Jones Thursday: no. Jones Friday: 5-10. Jones Saturday: 12-15. Sauvie’s Thursday: no. Friday: 10-13 late in the day. Saturday: 7-10. Coast (north/central/south). Thursday: 10-15/15-20/25-30, NW 3′ @ 7. Friday: 5-10/5-10/no, NW 5′ @ 9. Saturday: no wind, NW 4′ @ 9.
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 doing a real fine job of getting the forecast written this morning, and then I got distracted by the “what country should I move to if Trump gets elected?” quiz on Facebook. I’m supposed to move to the Netherlands, in case you were curious. It’s a silly quiz, because whether Trump gets elected or not, I’m staying right here in Hood River.
This brings up the question of why such a quiz even exists. People from all sides of the political spectrum threaten to leave the country if their candidate doesn’t win. This time, however, things are different. As a person of Jewish descent, I am concerned about ethnic hate speech of any sort. Although some people deny it, six million Jews were exterminated by people just like you and me, people who bought into ethnic hate speech.
We’d like to think this couldn’t happen again. We’d like to think we’ve grown beyond wholesale murder. But genocide still happens, and genocide can happen again.
Jumping to the worst-case scenario can be alienating for some. It’s important to remember than wholesale persecution and oppression is even more common than genocide. Measure 88 (restricting licenses) is one example, as is redlining (mortgage loan restrictions based on location and ethnicity). There are many other examples of how we oppress others based on skin color. But here’s the really ridiculous thing: skin color is just pigmentation, a sign of how much UV was present at the home of a person’s ancestors.
So, whether you’re staying or going if Hillary wins, whether you’re staying or going if Trump wins, (and don’t forget Gary Johnson and Jill Stein), remember that hate speech is never innocuous. It starts by targeting the most vulnerable, and may reach you when there’s nobody left to oppress below you. Speak out against hate when you hear it, and help stop the cycle. 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
Yep. Another nice morning: 57 degrees and no wind, with lots of fishing boats out. Temps will climb to the mid 90’s this afternoon. Light wind. No rainbows. Ditto for Friday. Saturday looks different, with temps in the low 60’s early and the mid 80’s in the afternoon. Moderate wind. Still 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’s community events include sailing in Cascade Locks at 5:30, followed by a potluck. There’s the race-pace Post n’ Pint ride at Dirty Fingers at 5:30, There’s free yoga at Samadhi at 6. Then at 6:30, there Tai Chi at Our Savior Church in Bingen and Zumba at the Parkdale Community Center.
Today’s the first day of the Klickitat County Fair and Rodeo in Goldendale. Tomorrow morning at 7, it’s the free donut and coffee run at Kickstand Coffee. Movies in the Park this weekend shows Labryinth at Cascade Locks on Friday, Star Wars in Hood River Saturday.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
