Friday: rain, glorious rain … makes for a low-confidence wind forecast!

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	clouds	around	buns	abound
Steven’s Locks	7-10	7-10	10-13	16-19?
Viento	20-23	20-23	20-23	20-23
Swell-Hood River	18-22	18-22	14-17	16-19?
Lyle to Doug’s	14-17	14-17	14-17	16-19?
Rufus, etc.	15-18	15-18	18-23	24-28
Roosevelt & Arlington	11-14	15-18	18-23	24-28

Gorge Wind Forecast

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In an unexpected twist this morning, it’s raining in the Gorge. And we’re not complaining about that one bit. This does make the wind forecast tricky today, but maybe you need a rest day after yesterday? If not, I’ll give the forecast a shot in the next paragraph. Looking at the weekend, we’re honing in on afternoon westerlies at 20mph or so. Same, perhaps a bit stronger on Monday. Starting Tuesday, the wind really picks up and sticks around for a few days. Ensemble members (50 versions of what we call “the model”) are honing in on very strong wind Tuesday and Wednesday. Fingers crossed!

Let’s look at our complicated Friday morning setup. A disturbance encountered lots of humidity and unstable air and created an unexpected and widespread field of rain. Models are all over the place on how long this rain will stick around – we have forecasts of a 10am end time and a 5pm end time in the central Gorge. The rain and the unclear temp forecast make for tricky forecasting. It does appear that the desert will clear this afternoon and help the cross-cascade gradient.

Speaking of gradients… our pressures start at 30.03/29.91/29.85 this morning for gradients of 0.12 and 0.06. This seems to indicate you’ll want to shift east a bit. Best guess for today is at 12-16mph start all through the Gorge. It appears the western Gorge will rise to the gusty 16-19 range this afternoon, but that depends in part on the rain. East of The Dalles, models hint at gusty 24-27 this afternoon between Avery and Arlington. Again, this is a low-confidence forecast other than the fact that it will be windier east of The Dalles than west of The Dalles. River flow yesterday was 190-232 kcfs, river temp is 63F, and high temp forecast is just 65F with high humidity. Going out east? Consider stopping for fabulous Indian food at the Amayah’s cart just east of the gas stations at Biggs.

Saturday kicks off with westerlies at 12-15mph all through the Gorge, all the way from Stevenson to Arlington. You’ll be best served staying west of The Dalles. The metro area starts with some marine clouds. That allows desert heating to outpace the west side. By late morning, we’ll have 18-21 from Stevenson to Mosier. Afternoon westerlies rise to 22-25 from Stevenson to Doug’s. High temp: 78F.

Sunday starts off pretty much calm, but we should see a nice afternoon bump thanks to a hot day in the desert. As of this morning, we’re expecting 18-21 from Stevenson to The Dalles from mid-afternoon on into the evening. Monday’s forecast is currently low to mid 20’s. Every single member of the ECMWF ensemble calls for very strong wind on Tuesday, and they repeat the strong wind forecast for Wednesday. Fingers crossed that this forecast holds

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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/LTN/N10-15, W swell 2′ at 12 seconds. Saturday: 10-15/20-25/30-40, W 4′ @ 13. Sunday: 15-20/25-30/3-40, NW 6′ @ 8. Jones Friday: LTW. Saturday: 11-14. Sunday: 16-19. Sauvie Island Friday: LTN. Saturday: 11-14. Sunday: 16-19.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

On vacation until fall unless something extraordinary happens.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds and (blessed!) rain this morning stick around. Models don’t agree on how long or how much it will rain. Temps start near 60 and end in the mid 60’s. Muggy. Moderate westerlies. 5% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be mostly cloudy then mostly clear. Temps start in the mid 50’s and rise to the upper 70’s. Muggy. Moderate westerlies. No rainbows. Sunday will be clear and will add some convective clouds. Temps start in the mid 50’s and rise to the mid 80’s. Muggy. Calm wind early. Moderate westerlies in the afternoon. 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! Jeremy Riggs is teaching a flatwater SUP foil clinic today. He’s teaching a downwind foil clinic tomorrow. Not free, but helpful if you have any inkling of attempting this sport. 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 above 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

Post is clear of snow to the top. Dog River and Surveyor’s are clear per my friend who rode them on 5/27. Bottle Prairie, 8 Mile, and Super Connector are open and already dusty. Super Duper Connector is open. There is still snow on a short section of Surveyor’s between the Cooks Meadow intersection and Dog River. Nestor Peak is clear of snow. Falls Creek isn’t even close! 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: I was wandering around my garden yesterday and notice there’s some tomato pruning that needs to happen. That inspired me to ask ChatGPT, “How do I grow giant tomato plants?” The AI says: fertilize regularly, prune the lowest leaves (to prevent disease), put plants at least two feet apart, water deeply and infrequently, and mulch to prevent spores in the ground from getting to your plants and also to keep the soil moist. Lastly, use companion plants such as dill, marigolds, nasturtiums, sweet alyssum, and others. Plants like company too.