Thursday: as windy as any of you could want! (note, I will be on retreat 5/5-5/11)

The best snow forecast for Mt. Hood. The best wind forecast for the Gorge.

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The Forecast

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Rooster Rock	swarms	of	naked	buns
Steven’s Locks	7-10	10-15	20-25	25-30
Viento	24-28	24-28	28-33	28-33
Swell-Hood River	24-28	24-28	28-33	28-33
Lyle to Doug’s	10-15	10-25	28-33	28-33
Rufus, etc.	10-15	20-25	thunder?	thunder?
Roosevelt & Arlington	10-15	20-25	thunder?	rain?

Gorge Wind Forecast

Yesterday afternoon turned into a blustery one, and sadly, I didn’t get a shot at predicting it; I got called for a crisis at 4:30am and didn’t get home until after 5pm. Hopefully all of you got on the water. Maybe you noticed something about the river yesterday. River flow spiked to 270-335kcfs and is holding at 300kcfs or so this morning. That puts us right on the edge of too much for the Rufus stretch. Don’t you worry – that’s the far eastern zone of where you might find wind today. Tomorrow morning should be windy as well, but after that, a series of offshore lows knocks the wind down to the “light” range for most of next week, which is lucky for me because I’ll be on retreat!

So, Thursday. We’re kicking off with instability all across the land. Things stabilize on the west side this afternoon, and instability hangs on in the eastern Gorge. Hold out for the west side today. Early pressures were 29.80/29.63/29.57 for impressive gradients of 0.17/0.09. The wind is a bit up and down to start thanks to that instability, but peak averages are in the 24-27 range from Viento to Swell with big gusts blowing through the Hood River area. Wait until midday, and you’ll find gusty 24-28 from Stevenson to The Dalles with 22-25 at Rufus. Wait a little longer, and things stabilize in the west. When that happens, you’ll find 28-33 from Stevenson to Rufus. Maybe on the Rufus decision. Just in case the storm shift more west than expected, you might want to stay closer to the Corridor. Plus… 300kcfs is pushing it for Rufus. Arlington and eastward? Well, models hold on to rain and instability out there, so that’s not your best bet. River flow readings yesterday were 270-335kcfs, river temp is 54F, and high temp forecast is 64F.

Friday sees a little offshore low in the picture. Also part of the fun: intermittent drizzle all day, all over the place. Morning wind will be gusty 21-24 in the west and gusty 25-29 east of The Dalles. There may be a quick spike to 27-31 east of The Dalles in the morning, but that’ll fade to gusty 22-25 in the afternoon. The western Gorge, Stevenson to Doug’s, sees a slow slide from low 20’s to 17-20 midday and 11-14 in the afternoon. High temp: 58F.

Offshore high pressure refuses to play again on Saturday. We start the day with 11-14 out east and light westerlies in the west. Afternoon wind rises to gusty 19-23 from Lyle to Arlington. In the west: just 10ish. High temp: 61F. An outsize low sets up offshore on Sunday. Result: light/variable wind. Models are quite dour about the wind possibilities next week. I’ll return to forecasting on either Thursday or Friday. Have a great week, and please don’t hassle my housesitter for a forecast!

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Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast

Wind speed in knots. Direction Northerly unless otherwise noted for Coast. Westerly for Jones. Northerly for Sauvie Island. North/Central/South, waves. Wave forecast provided by NWS. Thursday: W10/W10/Vto5, NW swell 6′ at 12 seconds. Friday: LTW/S10-15/S15, NW 6′ @ 11. Saturday: W/SW10+/SW15-20/SW10-15, NW 4′ @ 10. Jones Thursday-Saturday: LTW. Sauvie Island Thursday: LTV. Friday: LTV. Saturday: SW 10.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

The mountain will be cloudy this morning and clear later. Drizzle movers in on Friday and switches to light snow overnight. Up to an inch is forecast. Clouds with flurries are forecast on Saturday and Sunday with the snow level at 4000-4500′. Heavier snow is possible Sunday night into Monday.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Mostly cloudy weather today brings thunder/showers in the morning. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and mid 60’s later. Moderate westerlies early. Strong westerlies later. 10% chance of rainbows. Friday will be drizzly. Temps start in the upper 40’s and rise to the upper 50’s. Moderate westerlies fade during the day. 18% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be partly cloudy and dry. Temps start in the mid 40’s and rise to the low 60’s. Light westerlies. No 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! May 6th is the Wildflower Half Marathon on the Weldon Wagon Trail. That race benefits local fire departments. May 6th is also the Repair Cafe at Gorge Makerspace. May 20th is the Gardener’s Faire plant sale at Rockford Grange. June 10th is the Gorge Adventure Race in White Salmon. Multi-discipline = multi-sport day.

Regular weekly events: NK Studios in Bingen has a donation-based yoga class at 7:30am every Tuesday. Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. There’s meditation with monks at 5:15pm (an hour) and 6:30pm (30 minutes plus a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, there’s a run from Pine Street Bakery. On Fridays at 2:30pm, there’s a free meditation and stretching class at Yoga Samadhi. On Saturday at 9am, there’s a by-donation outdoor group fitness on the 2rd floor deck about Ferment Brewing.

Regular bike rides (thanks to the Hood River Area Trail Stewards for collecting). Tuesday is Mountain View’s ride. Meet at 5:45pm on Post Canyon Drive where the pavement ends. Wednesday is the Evo/Kickstand all-ability, no-drop Post Canyon ride. 5:30 from the shop or join along the way. All abilities welcome. Thursday is Mountain View’s women’s ride. 5:30pm, Seven Streams Trailhead. No drop. Thursday is also the Dirty Fingers Post and Pint. 5:30 from the shop or later at Family Man. This is hardcore, race-pace. Saturday morning is the Mountain View road/gravel ride. Two hours. 12-14mph average speed. Starting May 6th, Oregon Ebikes has the women’s ride at 8:30am. Meet at Seven Streams parking lot for a 1.5 to 2 hour ride.

Cycling

There’s going to be a lot of brown pow out there this week. Go get it! Post is snow-free at least to the top of Borderline. Cows are in on Hospital Hill. That means dogs are no longer allowed. Even if your dog is cool. Even if you’re a local. Even if … you get the picture! Hospital Hill is private land. Please respect the wishes of the landowners – they’re generous enough to let folks use that land, and dogs have been shot there before. Please don’t ride muddy trails, or you’ll do permanent damage. Always remember to consider gravel riding! If you’re parking at Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.

Valuable Advice for Gardeners Inhabiting Neighboring Areas

Valuable Advice for Gardeners Inhabiting Neighboring Areas: Mt. Defiance says you shouldn’t plant your tomatoes, but if you’re below 500-1000′, Hood River Weather and TATAS thinks planting tomatoes this week is a good idea. It’s also time (for me, anyway) to get your beans started indoors. They generally do better direct-sow, but they also generally get eaten by slugs if I do that. If you’re a planner (I generally am not), consider starting next year’s compost pile now. This is ag country, and there’s a lot of manure looking for a good home. Happy gardening.