I looked out my window early this morning, just before sunrise, and saw a solid bank of clouds to the west. That’s a good sign for west wind today. With the early gradients at .10 rom Portland to The Dalles and another .10 out east, and with Portland socked in and the desert baking in the sunshine, it’s going to be a great day on the river today!
The best wind this morning is going to be in the corridor and down to Mosier, where we’ll see 23-26, maybe a bit better. I wouldn’t be surprised it winds picked up into the upper twenties, even though models aren’t showing it. As a weak front hits the coast this afternoon, the wind shifts east, filling in from Mosier out to Arlington in the 25-29 range.
I’m surprised it isn’t a lot windier this morning. Gradients last night were at .15/.16/.41… huge… I was hoping for a nu-cu-lar morning, but no such luck. Anyway, the marine clouds are actually just past the Hatch (lined up right at my house), so you might want to wait a couple of hours for the wind to steady out up there.
That front pushes onshore tonight, dragging deep clouds back into the Gorge. High pressure off the coast combines with that front and sunshine in the desert to keep Gorge winds blowing in the 18-22 range all day tomorrow.
At this point, Sunday is looking windy as well, with low twenties or better in the morning holding through the day. Actually, it’s looking windy all the way through Tuesday, at least.
In other news, if you’re looking for something fun tonight, Sweatshop Untion plays at the River City. Normally I leave bars and music out of the report, but those guys are really, really good. Coming up tomorrow is Ratatouille, the outdoor movie at Jackson Park. It’s free, it’s fun, and it’s family friendly, so you should be there!
