You may have noticed something this morning: it’s 99% cloudy out there. All those clouds mean that “stuff” is happening in the upper atmosphere, and that makes wind forecasting tricky. Because of this, today is mostly a gut instinct day based on initial conditions. Those conditions at 7am were .11 (pdx-dls) and .05 (dls-psc) with 3853 Chinook from yesterday and 793 Steelhead (hey, where did all the fish go?). A weak weather system is forecast to approach the desert from the south this afternoon. Continued after the chart…
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | back | to | bun | tanning | |
| Steven’s Locks | 15-18 | 18-23 | 24-28 | 24-28 | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | 22-25 | 22-25 | 24-28? | 19-22 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 15-18 | 18-23 | 24-28 | 24-28 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 15-18 | 18-23 | 24-28 | 24-28 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 22-25 | 22-25 | 22-25 | 24-28? | |
|
|||||
Gorge wind forecast, continued…
Given all that, you can expect morning wind in the gusty 22-25 range from Viento to Mosier with upper teens further east. There was more wind that that at Arlington early, but given the gradients, it might be worth holding off on a drive. This afternoon’s models have ramped things up a good bit from yesterday’s model runs; we’re now looking at gusty 24-28+ from Stevenson to Arlington.
The strongest wind today will likely be in the afternoon from Mosier to Avery. Stevenson will start out at 15-18 and rise to 24-28 in the afternoon. It’s worth noting that although the low-res models are predicting the strong winds to reach Arlington mid-afternoon, the high-res models are not. So… you get to choose whether to make the drive based on your gut instinct.
Say “thanks for the forecasts”
by making a donation!
Keep the forecasts coming.
Does this forecast save you time, gas money, or help you have more fun in your life? Make a donation to support continued forecasting, and get the forecast in your inbox each day. Click on Temira’s photo to donate via PayPal or credit card. The email subscription isn’t $99/year. Not $50/year. No, just $12.34 or more gets you on the list for 12 months. Don’t PayPal? Send a check to Temira @ PO Box 841 in Hood River. Thank you for your support and thank you for trusting my forecast.
Wednesday sees the passage of a weather system from west to east sometime between mid-morning and early afternoon. That’ll start us off with 10-13 most Gorge places early. In the afternoon, we’re expecting 23-26 from Mosier to Arlington. It’s likely the western Gorge will stay in the clouds on Wednesday, setting up gusty 12-15 from Stevenson to Hood River.
Models are in disagreement on Thursday’s details, so let’s broad-brush this. We’re currently expect 7-10 or so in the morning with 13-16 late in the day. Friday, even further out, and therefore even less likely to do what models currently predict, has a forecast of light wind early and 24-27 in the afternoon.
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Jones Tue-Thur: no wind. Sauvie’s Tue-Thur: no wind. Coast: S 5-15 the next three days. W swell 4′ at 8 seconds.
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
Yesterday mid-morning, I was riding bikes with a friend up Lake Branch Road. Lake Branch offers up a lovely 1.1 mile stretch of 10% grade, which for me is a pretty hard climb. About halfway up, I happened to glance ahead. My brain spun for a moment, like tires on gravel, and then a second later, reality hit. “BEAR!!!” I yelled.
Luckily we were climbing up a 10% grade, so we had no trouble stopping quickly to let the bear and her two cubs cross the road. Bears cross the road, by the way, to get the huckleberries, not to get to the other side!
This speaks to something I talked about a few weeks ago – our minds tend to filter out things that aren’t part of our normal reality. A bear on a steep road climb is not part of expected reality. My mind had to scramble to incorporate this, and thankfully it did, because it meant that both my friend and I saw the bear.
When our minds reality check, there (in my experience) is a subtle moment of disorientation, confusion, fogginess. It’s important to call a pause in these moments, rather than continuing to press forward. Confusion is often a sign of a new experience, a widening of reality. When we press through that with our usual strategies, we miss the opportunity to create a fuller, more vibrant world for ourselves.
So the next time you have a moment of confusion, call a pause. There might just be a bear in front of you, and you don’t want to miss it!
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
How awesome is that? It’s totally cloudy out there this morning, all the way from Portland to Arlington! Expect a cloudy day, maybe clearing up some late, but maybe not. Temps will be in the low 60’s early and the upper 70’s later. Moderate wind. No rainbows. Wednesday sees a weather system move through, for clouds in the morning and partly cloudy sky later. Temps will be in the upper 50’s early and the mid 70’s in the afternoon. Moderate wind. 2% chance of rainbows. Thursday looks mostly cloudy with temps in the mid 50’s early and the low 70’s in the afternoon. Light wind. 1% chance of 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 a free or by-donation yoga class at Flow in Hood River at 4:30. At 5:30 this evening, there’s pickup touch rugby at the Hood River Waterfront park, and at 6:30, there’s a free community mindfulness meditation at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon.
Tomorrow at 5:30, it’s the women’s Post N’ Pinot at Dirty Fingers Bike shop. There are sailboat races at 6 at the Hood River Marina tomorrow, and there’s Zumba at the Parkdale Community Center at 6:30.
Looking at Friday, it’s the annual Rock Paper Scissors Contest on Oak Street during Hood River’s First Friday celebration. Movies in the Park at Cascade Locks shows Cinderella Friday at dusk, there’s a swap meet at the Luhr Jensen Parking Lot on Sunday, and Labor Day is the sold-out Cross-Channel Swim.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
