5/26 Forecast 6:12 am - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning Gorge sports fanatics! Hopefully you had a great Memorial Day weekend!

Windsurfing and kiting were both stellar yesterday, with strong, steady winds and big swell in the corridor. Honestly, after a series of windy but choppy days, I was starting to wonder why I thought windsurfing was so fun last year. Now I remember. Yesterday was … quite nice.

It’s going to be another windy day today. A smattering of marine clouds meandered into Portland overnight, as a front approached, giving us an early .09 gradient. As of 6am, we have low pressure at the coast, (not a great setup for gorge wind) but high pressure will build as the day goes on, causing gradients to increase. I’m going with 18-22 this morning from Hood River to Mosier, building to 25-28 this afternoon from Stevenson to Arlington.

Remember that this is a frontal passage, and this setup favors Stevenson (longer lived winds), Doug’s (sometimes, and sometimes not), Avery (almost always), and Arlington. Quite often, the corridor only sees 90 minutes or so of wind during these weather events (and it’s almost always steadier at the Hook and White Salmon bridge than at the Hatch).

To know that, someone must be just a little OCD… I wonder who?

AT this point, graphical models suggest 17-21 in the central Gorge as a trough sets up at the coast and high pressure takes root near BC. Honestly, I’m surprised that models are showing that much. I think 14-17 is more likely, as it’s going to be near 80 in P-town tomorrow.The coast will be windy tomorrow. The north coast sees 15-20, the central sees 20-25, and the south gets 30-plus tomorrow, with a four foot swell. Those aren’t big waves, but hey, you don’t need waves to boost big air with a kite!

Thursday and Friday look pretty light in the Gorge, but windy at the coast.

Mountain bikers, I have fabulous news. Mitchell at Dirty Fingers Bike Repair reports a Forty-Four Road fiesta! Surveyor’s Ridge, 8-mile, and Kniebel Springs are all open and cleared of fallen trees. There’s a little snow left on Kniebel, but nothing to keep you from riding the trail!

Boaters, the Hood’s at 5.2 feet, the White Salmon’s at 5 feet, the Little White’s at 800 cfs and the Wind River’s at 790 cfs.

Whatever you do today, and wherever you end up, have an awesome time at it!