Wednesday: big wind for the Gorge

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

Your favorite launch	dawn patrol	morning max	afternoon max	executive session
These are ranges for the average speed reading, not a predicted wind range. =)
Iwash (Rooster) Rock	wet	buns	no	sun
Stevenson	16-19	16-19	16-19	16-19
Viento	20-23	20-23	20-23	20-23
Swell-Hood River	G16-19	G16-19	G16-19	G16-19
Lyle to Doug’s	13-16	16-20+	26-29	raining
Rufus, etc.	11-14	building	30-35	30-35
Roosevelt & Arlington	30-35	30-35	30-35	30-35
River flow last 24 hours: 167-250kcfs		River temp: 57.92F	High temp: 58F

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! All sorts of good things are happening this morning (Wednesday) in the weather world to give us a big day on the river today. Lighter wind, maybe even “not enough” is forecast for Thursday. That’s followed by somewhat stronger wind on Friday, a bigger day on Saturday, and a moderate day on Sunday. Models then hint that we’ll move into a warmer riding scenario (most likely) for less wind to start next week. I’ll be off on retreat from Saturday through Wednesday, and my house sitter will not be filling in the forecast.

There should be plenty of wind for all of you today. Pressures started at 29.99/29.86/29.79 for gradients of 0.13 and 0.07. A low pressure system is dropping into the Columbia Basin courtesy of our friends in Canada, and high pressure is settled in the Pacific. Desert heating will contribute today as well. The only caveat today is the presence of instability which could kick off some random showers and disrupt the quality of the wind at times. So. As always in a post-frontal environment, Viento is overperforming this morning with mid 20’s to start. Other than that, locations between Stevenson and Doug’s are generally up-and-down 15-18. Between Avery and Boardman, iWind (free this week!) are generally in the 25-30 range. We’ll see the wind quickly build to 30-35+ from Mosier to Rufus late morning. As the low moves into the desert, Arlington-to-Boardman is likely to drop into the low 20s or less. Late in the day, as the low shifts east, Arlington should rejoin at 30-33. Threemile and Boardman remain questionable, and probably won’t be as strong as areas to the west. Speaking of the west… between Stevenson and Swell, the wind will likely stay in the 16-19 range much of the day other than helpful periods where squalls move through. River flow over the last 24 hours was 167-260kcfs, river temp is 57.92F, and high temp forecast for Hood River is 58F. Arlington: 59F. Brr.

High pressure briefly takes over inland on Thursday. This knocks the wind down. Lingering dawn patrol wind will be 22-25 from Avery to Boardman with 14-17 from Stevenson to Doug’s. The wind falls during the day and settles in at 11-14 or so from Stevenson to Avery with less to the east. High temp: 68F with sunshine.

A weather system moves through on Friday, probably in the afternoon. After a 14-17ish start, westerlies rise with the frontal approach. Expect big gusts and large holes. That said, the wind picks up to gusty 21-24 form Stevenson to Mosier and 26-29 from Lyle to Rufus. If the timing is just right, there will be an executive session of 28-32 from Lyle to Arlington.

Extended (when things get fuzzy): models generally agree on a relatively strong day for Saturday, perhaps 27-31 focused east of The Dalles. Current forecast for Sunday is upper teens to low 20s, but there’s quite a bit of spread in the ensembles. There’s really too much range in the ensembles to make a clear call for Monday and Tuesday, so we’ll leave it there for today. Have fun out there. Stay warm. Be safe.

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Jones, Sauvie Island, Oregon Coast

North/Central/South coast, waves (swell forecast provided by NWS). Wind forecast for the afternoon. Wind direction N unless otherwise noted. Wednesday: W15-20/W15/N25, NW swell 3′ at 5, 9′ at 10, and SW 2′ at 15. Thursday: LTNW/NW10/N25, W 2′ @4, 6′ @ 9, SW 2′ @ 16. Friday: NW15/NNW15-20/N10-15, W 2′ @4, 4′ @ 7. Jones Wednesday: 14-17. Thursday: 12-15. Friday: 7-10. Sauvie Island Wednesday: WNW15. Thursday: N 8-11. Friday: 11-14.

Alan’s Sauvie Island Wind Sensor

Mt. Hood Weather Forecast

I’m tired. It’s on vacation.

Very basic Hood River weather forecast. Don’t plan your life around this. You really should read Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook

Showers this morning give way to partly cloudy sky this afternoon. Temps start in the upper 40s and rise to the upper 50s. Moderate westerlies. 100% chance of rainbows. Thursday will be mostly cloudy then mostly clear. Temps start in the mid 40s and rise to the upper 60s. Light to moderate westerlies. No rainbows. Friday will be cloudy. Rain arrives overnight. Temps start in the mid 40s and rise to the upper 60s. Moderately strong westerlies. No rainbows.

Local-ish Events

Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!

There’s a work party for the new hike/horse/run trail in Post. Meet 5/25 at 9am at Family Man Staging Area. There’s a plant sale and garden fair with music and vendors at Rockford Grange on 5/19 starting at 2pm. The Cascadia Dirt Cup is in Post Canyon June 1-2. There’s a weekly social for Wind Johnnies (The Gorge Wind Social) at Ferment Brewing every 3rd Monday this summer. The first is Monday, May 20th at 5:30pm.

The Columbia Gorge Junior Kayak Club offers free roll sessions (gear provided) for kids at the Hood River Pool every other Tuesday from 5:30 to 7pm. Visit their website for more deets: https://www.columbiagorgejuniorkayakclub.org/. Amayah’s offers a free meal every First Thursday from 1pm to 4pm. Regular weekly events:. NK Studio’s by-donation Tuesday morning yoga class is back. 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. The Tri Club is done for the season. 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.

Cycling

Cascadia Dirt Cup is May 18/19 in Post. Avoid. Post, Whoopdee, Hospital Hill, Syncline, Columbia Hills, and Nestor are open. Cows are out on Hospital Hill. NO DOGS. That means you, all of you, even your dog that’s [insert adjective]. No dogs. Do not risk access for everyone. No parking at the corral. Whoopdee flowers are in full bloom. Hospital Hill and Syncline have ticks, oaks, and flowers. Columbia Hills is full of flowers and open to your bike. Definitely got a Tack Alert going on out there right now – lots of good dirt. It’s trail-building season. Get on the HRATS mailing list if you’d like to help out.