Tuesday: hot and not windy. Same-ish Wednesday. All the wind you could wish for starting Thursday… (Hatch and Swell remain closed)

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	sun	on	buns	today
Stevenson	LTE	E10-15	E15	calm
Viento	LTE	E10-15	E15	calm
Swell (CLOSED) -Hood River	LTE	LTE	calm	calm
Lyle to Doug’s	LTV	LTV	calm	calm
Rufus, etc.	LTE	LTE	calm	calm
Roosevelt & Arlington	LTE	LTE	calm	calm

Gorge Wind Forecast

It’s an easy wind forecast for July 4th: not much. Wednesday’s forecast has backed off some. It’s slightly more than “not much”. This is real good news for the firefighters at Tunnel 5. After tomorrow, westerlies stick around for a good long while. However, SR-14 remains closed, and it’s unclear when it (and Swell and the Hatch) will reopen. Thankfully, this is the cooldown you were looking for, and there will be plenty of wind in other locations.

Tuesday won’t be cool by any stretch of the imagination. Nor will it be very windy. Pressures started at 30.01/30.03/30.04 for gradients of W 0.02 and E 0.01. Easterlies kick in midday at 15mph from Rooster to Viento. Briefly. Get on that wind, because it’ll only last a couple of hours. In the afternoon, the wind turns calm throughout the Gorge. River flow yesterday was 89-153kcfs, river temp is 68F, and high temp forecast is 91. Note: the Hood River fireworks have been canceled due to the Tunnel 5 fire.

Wednesday previously had a chance of strong-enough westerlies late afternoon, but that forecast has backed off. As of this morning, here’s the forecast for tomorrow: very light easterlies start the day. They’ll rise to 10mph near Cascade Locks for a couple of hours in the morning before shutting down and switching direction early afternoon. A slow build commences. Westerlies top out at 11-14mph from Stevenson to The Dalles after 5pm. High temp: 95F.

Marine air surges inland Thursday morning and sets up camp in the metro area. Temps in the central Gorge will be down about five degrees, but the heat will continue to build in the desert. Add in just-enough offshore high pressure for a solidly windy day. Viento to Mosier start at 22-25. East of there to Arlington, westerlies should be in the 12-15 range. Same for Stevenson. By mid-morning, westerlies rise to 25-28 from Stevenson to The Dalles. They’ll extend all the way to Arlington in the afternoon. A period of 27-31 is likely from Viento to Swell in the morning before the strongest wind shifts east a bit. In the afternoon, a period of 27-31 is likely between Lyle and Rufus.

As of this morning, Friday looks like 28-32, Saturday 26-30, and Sunday 23-26. That’s the deterministic GFS. The ensembles of the Euro are more optimistic. They actually show strong to very strong wind for at least 10 days. Fingers crossed they’re right! Stay cool today. Happy 4th!

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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. Tuesday: 15-20/15-20/30+, NW swell 5′ at 9 seconds. Wednesday: 15-20/10-15/30+, NW 5′ @ 8. Thursday: LTNW/NW5-10/25-30, NW 6′ @ 9. Jones Tuesday: LTW. Wednesday: 24-27. Thursday: 22-25. Sauvie Island Tuesday: 11-14. Wednesday: 11-14 during the day builds to 14-17. Thursday: 13-16.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

On vacation until fall unless something extraordinary happens.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Smoke from Tunnel 5 should stay west of Hood River today, but elevated smoke from Canada arrives. Temps will be near 60 early and in the low 90’s later. Light easterlies turn calm later. No rainbows. Wednesday starts clear and may add a few high clouds in the afternoon. Temps start in the low 60’s and rise to the mid 90’s. Light easterlies in the morning. Light westerlies in the afternoon. No rainbows. Thursday will be clear in the morning and partly cloudy later. Temps start in the low 60’s and rise to the upper 80’s. Strong to very strong 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! The Kollas Cranmer run is from Odell to Hood River on the morning of July 4th. Starting Thursday, there’s a free weekly wing foil orientation at the Hook from 5:30pm to 7:30pm brought to you by Wylde Wind and Water and CGW2.

On June 24th (sat) at 8:45am will be the final brush and bike party up on the backside of Nestor Peak Trail. This section is pretty cool – it includes the old growth Middle Fork Grove, is up above 3k and doesn’t have poison oak. After the brush work, you can hike to Monte Carlo summit or take advantage of a shuttle ride and pedal all the way to Nestor Peak and down. Meet at Northwestern Park.

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

How much rain do you need to make brown pow out of dust? Somewhere between 0.1” and 0.25”. When’s it gonna happen? Who the heck knows? Did it rain on the 44 trail system over the last few days? Go check it out and tell me! Logging is happening on Hospital Hill on the trail between the top of Roll Baby Roll and the Bench. This means you cannot make a full circle. You could ride Bad Wolf and Millennium as a loop. You can ride Roll Baby Roll and Triple Bypass as a loop. You cannot access Treehugger at this time. Post is clear of snow to the top. Dog River and Surveyor’s are clear. Bottle Prairie, 8 Mile, Underhill, Cedar Creek, Lower Cooks, and Super Connector are open and already dusty. Fifteenmile is rideable. Super Duper Connector is open. Nestor Peak is clear of snow. The USFS website says that Lewis River is open and clear. The Forest Loop above Trout Lake is open as is the mixed surface Sleeping Beauty/8810 loop. 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

You have an unusual solstice-week opportunity. With the clouds and the chance of drizzle and the cool temps, you have a perfect opportunity to sow seeds. Replace your lettuce. Drop in another round of cilantro. Add some arugula. Carve out a little trench for some carrots. Water them, and you might just get away with once-a-day watering through Monday. It’s also a decent time to add some plants to your garden. They’ll prefer this gentle start to a harsh, hot-weather transplant. Happy gardening.