Friday: cool, cloudy, and not so windy for a while. Temira will be on retreat until 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. =)
Steven’s Locks	7-11	7-11	7-11	7-11
Viento	20-25	15-20	10-15	10-15
Swell-Hood River	7-11	7-11	7-11	7-11
Lyle to Doug’s	7-11	7-11	7-11	7-11
Rufus, etc.	22-25	22-25	22-25	22-25
Roosevelt & Arlington	22-25	22-25	22-25	22-25

Gorge Wind Forecast

Well… Thursday didn’t work out quite as planned; the afternoon frontal system pushed clouds much deeper into the Gorge than expected. And boy was it cold! We’ll stick with below-normal temps all the way through the weekend into the first half of next week. Models then hint at a significant warmup starting Wednesday and continuing through next weekend. You’ll notice there’s not much talk of wind in that paragraph so far. That’s because, as of Friday morning, there’s not much wind to talk about! Between Friday 5/5 and Tuesday 5/9, the dominant feature will be a series of offshore low pressure systems. Not great! Oh well. I guess it’s a good time period for me to go on retreat. I should be back forecasting next Thursday. Perhaps Friday. Also, if you are accessing this on the website, you’ll need to hit “refresh” to get the current day’s forecast for the foreseeable future. Until I find some time to troubleshoot.

So, let’s look at Friday. We have clouds and drizzle all the way east to Boardman. As often happens in this setup, Viento is overperforming. You’ll find 25ish there this morning. Don’t bank on that hanging around; models take the western Gorge wind to 10mph or less this afternoon. Your best chance for consistent wind will be way, way out east. Arlington and perhaps Threemile (and maybe, just maybe Rufus, which allows you to get food at Amayah’s) should be in the 22-25 range all day. Oops. Forgot the pressures: 29.88/29.80/29.71 for 0.08 and 0.09. River flow yesterday was 300-349kcfs, river temp is 54F, and high temp forecast is 57F.

Saturday starts out cloudy and calm in the western Gorge with westerlies at 7-10 mph east of The Dalles. Afternoon wind picks up to 10-13 in the west and 14-17 east of The Dalles. There’s a shot at 18-22 from Lyle to Threemile mid to late afternoon on through sunset. High temp: 63F.

Sunday may start with westerlies at 10-13mph, but the wind will turn calm in the afternoon. Why? Because a giant low pressure system thinks the Oregon coast is a nice place to visit. That feature sticks around through Tuesday morning. At some point Monday, it’s likely to toss a system this way. That should kick the eastern Gorge wind into the mid 20’s. While the details aren’t yet clear, it looks like high pressure will build inland during the middle part of next week. That’ll turn the wind 180 degrees and set us up for hot, dry, sunny easterlies. Hmmm. Opposite direction downwinder, anyone?

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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. Friday: LTW/S5-10/LTS, NW swell 5′ at 11 seconds. Saturday: LTW/SW10-15/SW10, NW 4′ @ 10. Sunday: S10-15/S10/S15-25, W 5′ @ 10. Jones Friday-Sunday: nada. Sauvie Island Friday: nope. Saturday: WNW 10. Sunday: nothing.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

It’s chilly and damp on Mt. Hood this morning, and it’ll remain so for much of the next three days. The snow level will hover around 4000′. Accumulations will be minor. Wind will be W 30 on Friday, W 15-20 on Saturday, and Variable to 15 on Sunday. The snow level stays at 5500′ or less through Tuesday afternoon. After that: warmer, drier, sunnier weather for the second half of next week.

Hood River Weather Forecast

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

Current Post Canyon closures: 140/Blue Car Downhill and connections closed indefinitely. On weekdays, Upper GP, Lower GP, and the top of Baby GP are closed through approximately May 17th. Eldorado, Chorus, and FMS are currently closed and will reopen approximately May 11. Do not violate these closures. Post Canyon is a tree farm, and we ride there at the grace of Hood River County. Thank you!

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.