Wednesday: the heat is on, and the wind comes back…

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	E10-15	E10-15	switch	W5-10
Stevenson	E10-15	E10-15	switch	W13-16
Viento	E10-15	E10-15	switch	W13-16
Swell (CLOSED) -Hood River	LTE	E5	switch	W13-16
Lyle to Doug’s	LTV	LTE	switch	W11-14
Rufus, etc.	LTE	LTE	calm	calm
Roosevelt & Arlington	LTE	LTE	calm	calm

Gorge Wind Forecast

Good morning, Wind Johnnies! (That’s a term of endearment) Hopefully you found a cool place to hang out yesterday, and hopefully you’ve got your swimming hole staked out today. If we’re lucky, we’ll have just enough wind this afternoon to get in the river and cool off. Remember that SR-14 is still closed between MP 56 (west end of Cook-Underwood Road) to MP 65 (Hood River Bridge), meaning Swell and the Hatchery are closed (they’re in an active fire zone anyway). Back to the wind… once it returns, it’s not going anywhere for a good long while!

Wednesday starts with pressures of 29.92/29.95/29.92 for gradients of E 0.03 and E 0.02. For a few hours this morning, we’ll have easterlies at 10-15mph, strongest at Stevenson. The east wind will pick up to as much as 5mph near Hood River for a little while. Sometime between noon and 2pm, when you’re desperately seeking a place to swim (it’ll be 97 degrees today), the wind turns westerly at Rooster and starts to push inland. Models like the idea of a slow build to 14-17 from Stevenson to Mosier with 11-14 or so from Lyle to Doug’s for the Executive Session (after 5pm). River flow yesterday was 115-171kcfs, river temp is 69F, and high temp forecast is 97F.

Cooler weather on Thursday combines with a heat low in the desert and offshore high pressure for a windier day. As of right now, it doesn’t look nuking on either the deterministic model nor the ensembles, but the ensemble is for The Dalles and can underestimate wind near Hood River. Also of note for Thursday is the presence of atmospheric instability. That often keeps wind speeds below model predictions. Ok… Dawn Patrol should be 21-24 from Viento to the Hatch or the Hook. A quick rise to 23-26 from Stevenson to Mosier is likely mid-morning with 18-22 from Lyle to Doug’s. Instability knocks the wind down to 19-22 from Viento to Mosier in the afternoon. Stevenson and the Lyle-Doug’s stretch hold at 23-26. High temp: 91F.

Much cooler weather on the west side combines with wickedly hot weather in the desert (100ish near Pasco) on Friday for a big day on the river. Dawn Patrol: 25-28 from Viento to Mosier with 20-23 at Stevenson and 20-23 from Lyle to Arlington. Yup, the eastern Gorge wants to play too! More wind is better, right? How about 27-31 from Stevenson o Mosier by late morning? Afternoon wind dips to 24-27 from Stevenson to Mosier, rises to 29-33 from Lyle to Doug’s, perhaps to Rufus, and holds at 20-23 near Arlington. High temp: 86F.

Weekend westerlies should average 25mph or more. The ensembles really like the idea of a big day on Monday. We’ll be keeping a close eye on that one. Stay cool out there today!

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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. Wednesday: 15-20/10-15/20-25+, NW swell 5′ at 8 seconds. Thursday: LTNW/LTNW/N25, NW 5′ @ 9. Friday: LTW/LTW/N10-15, NW 5′ @ 9. Jones Wednesday: 22-25. Thursday: 24-27. Friday: 20-23. Sauvie Island Wednesday: 11-14. Thursday: 14-17. Friday: 10-13.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

On vacation until fall unless something extraordinary happens.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clear (hazy) sky this morning adds some high clouds to the north this afternoon. Temps will be in the low 60’s early and upper 90’s later. Light easterlies this morning. Moderate westerlies this afternoon. No rainbows. Thursday will be clear in the morning and partly cloudy in the afternoon. Temps will be in the mid 60’s early and low 90’s later. Moderate westerlies early. Moderately strong westerlies in the afternoon. No rainbows. Friday will be mostly clear. Temps start in the low 60’s and rise to the mid 80’s. 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! 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 Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9am, Max from GoFoil will be teaching flatwater foil pop-up technique. He hopes to also teach bump classes in the afternoon on those days should the Hatch reopen.

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.