Monday: goodbye heat wave. hello happy wind!

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Gorge Wind Forecast

Today’s the day the heat wave pattern breaks down. The easterlies will be no more, and the westerlies will return. It’s far from an ideal exit from a hot spell, at least in terms of wind; significant instability and thunderstorms will be present on Tuesday into early Wednesday. Once that system slides north of us on Wednesday, we should see a solid day of west wind. In the meantime… you’ll be wanting to watch the sky while you’re on the river so you can make a quick exit if a storm approaches!

Monday starts out as close to dead calm as you can get without it being dead calm. A low off the Nor-Cal coast drives moisture this way and turns upper flow SW. At the surface level, along the river, that translates to an eventual switch to westerlies. Models actually called for gradients in the .06-.09 range this morning, but there’s only .01 out there to start the day. We’ll have to wait for the desert to heat up for thermals to kick in. From mid-afternoon on, the wind will be somewhere in the 17-20 or 20-23 range between Stevenson and Doug’s. It’s hard to rely on the models when they’re so far off to start the day! River flow readings are 111-163kcfs, river temp is 70F, and high temp forecast is 97F and increasingly muggy. It’ll be a nice day to get on the river – I’ll see you there!

Tuesday looks very interesting. Our little low hangs off the coast. It sends instability and moisture and E then SE then S flow overhead. The instability will be elevated, and a lower-level cap will be in place for much of the day. Given this, more than likely, the wind will continue until actual storms pass near by or overhead. So… pre-dawn wind will be in the 25-30 range from Viento to Mosier (Stevenson = maybe) with 22-25 to Rufus and 18-22 to Arlington. Westerlies quickly fade after the sun comes up – 16-19 from Stevenson to Hood River (Viento will overperform) and 10-13 at Arlington. That’s probably the forecast for most of the day. Models hint at evening westerlies, aided by thermals, at 20-23, but that’s highly dependent on whether thunderstorms materialize or not. High temp: 92F.

Thunder continues Tuesday night into Wednesday morning making for an unpredictable start. Models suggest we’ll start with 26-29 from Mosier to Arlington with gusty 18-23 under marine clouds in the west and 30ish at Viento. The system causing all the noise sweeps north mid-morning (cross your fingers for this timing or earlier). A more stable setup settles in. Result: 28-32 from Viento to Arlington with 23-27 at Stevenson and 22-25 at Threemile. High temp: 80F. This looks like a one-day wonder, so jump on it!

Lesser westerlies are forecast on Thursday. Model agreement breaks down towards the end of the week, so there’s not yet a solid plan for the weekend. Have a great week! Enjoy the thunder, and enjoy the wind!  

Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast

Coast forecast (north/central/south, waves). Swell forecast provided by NWS. Wind direction northerly unless otherwise noted. Monday: LTSW/W5-10/LTV, NW swell 6′ at 9 seconds. Tuesday: LTW/W5/S10-15, NW 5′ @ 9. Wednesday: S20-25/S15-20/S10-15, NW 4′ @ 8. Jones Monday: 22-25. Tuesday: 20-23. Wednesday: LTV. Sauvie’s Monday: 9-12. Tuesday: 9-12. Wednesday: LTV.  

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – Back on vacation until next fall

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clear sky sticks around today. Temps will be in the upper 50’s (open windows) early and upper n90’s later (close windows). Light wind this morning. Moderate westerlies this afternoon. No rainbows, Tuesday will be high overcast with a chance of thunder and showers. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early and low 90’s later. Muggy. Moderate westerlies. 11% chance of rainbows. Wednesday may start with thunder and rain but will eventually turn clear and dry. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early and near 80 later. Muggy. Strong westerlies. 16% chance of rainbows.

Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.  

Local-ish Events

Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know! Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. The Small Boat paddlers have a group paddle at 6pm on Thursday at the Hatchery. Post and Pint happens Thursday evenings at 5:30. The women’s Post-and-Pinot ride is Wednesday evening at 5:30.  

Cycling

Some nice Hood River folks went and cleared the Smith Creek trail by St. Helens. That loop is now open. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure of anything being closed. No report yet on Boulder Lakes or Gunsight, but I’m sure someone will email me after changing this. Caveats: the road connecting Plains of Abraham to Smith Creek closes at noon Monday-Friday and will not be open to bikers during that time. Courtney Road (the road that goes up above Syncline) is closed until October. Do not attempt to use it to access trails. If you’re riding Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.  

Sprinter Van of the Week!

  Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!  

Have an awesome day!