Support it with a contribution!
Thank you for using this forecast. Writing it takes 60-120 minutes a day; I can only keep it going with your generous financial support. Make a contribution or subscribe and get it in your inbox with bonus material. What’s that cost? Not $99 a year. Nope. Not $49. Contribute $19.99 or more, and you’re on the list for a year. People are added to this list on Thursday and Sunday. Thanks for your patience! Click below to contribute and keep the forecast going for everyone, nearly every day.
Click here to use your PayPal
Venmo: @theGorgeismyGym
Snail Mail: Temira Lital, PO Box 841, Hood River, Oregon 97031
(note: I am not a non-profit entity. The only way to accept credit cards with a user-defined amount is to use the ‘donate’ button. Thanks for understanding!)
Auto-renewing subscription. New! Awesome!
The Forecast
Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Your favorite beach
Dawn
Patrol
9am-
11:30a
11:30a-
3pm
3pm-
dusk
Rooster Rock
overcast
sky
buns
cry!
Steven’s Locks
5-10
12-15
22-25
26-30
Viento
21-24
21-24+
27-31
30-35*
Swell-Hood River
21-24
21-24+
27-31+*
30-35*
Lyle to Doug’s
12-15
15-20+
30-35
30-40*
Rufus, etc.
LTV
building
30-35*
30-40*
Roosevelt & Arlington
LTV
LTV
building
30-40*
Patrol
11:30a
3pm
dusk
Gorge Wind Forecast
Complicated weather today won’t stop the westerlies, but you’ll want to make informed decisions before you pick a place and time. On Friday, you’ll be shifting to the eastern Gorge to chase the wind, and you’ll likely be doing the same on Saturday. Sunday: probably the Corridor. Temps will be down around 75-80 degrees through the weekend. Adjust your wetsuit selection accordingly! Also: asterisks on today’s wind table mean this: *only if thunderstorms don’t disrupt this forecast.
The wind is off and running early on Thursday morning. Gradients were 0.12 (pdx-dls) and 0.00 (dls-psc) at 6am and westerlies were 18-21 or so between Viento and Hood River. East of there: variable to 13. West: 5-10. Westerlies rise to 25-29+ between Viento and Mosier by mid to late morning with 22-25 from Lyle to Doug’s and light/variable wind in the eastern Gorge. We’ll then see an upper low move into south-central Oregon. Cooler air and higher pressures result on the west side. Gradients go wild. A complicating factor here is the potential for strong thunderstorms in the far eastern Gorge and instability all across the region. Basically, get on the water as soon as it’s windy enough for you, because the instability carries the potential for serious disruption of the wind.
That said, models call for 30-35 from Viento to Rufus from noon onward with 26-30 at Stevenson. But wait – there’s more. If we can avoid the thunder, we’ll have the strongest wind of the day in the evening: 30-40 between Mosier and Arlington with gusty 20-25 west of Mosier as cool air pours in from the west. Keep an eye on the radar and satellite images today. If you see strong thunderstorms headed northward from Central Oregon, consider skipping the eastern Gorge and staying west of Avery (or so) for lesser thunder chances. River flow is 101kcfs. River temp is 71F. High temp forecast is 83F for Hood River and 95F for Arlington, where a Red Flag Warning has been issued. Biggs: 91 with a wind advisory and red flag warning.
Moving on to Friday: a cold front swings through and drags clouds into the western Gorge. Clouds stick around all day, and some rain may fall in the morning. Westerlies start at 10-13 in the west and 19-23 east of The Dalles. Afternoon: 8-11 in the west and 22-25 from The Dalles to Arlington.
Some slight instability will be around on Saturday. Gustier wind results. Dawn Patrol will be just 12-15 in the west and 8-11 in the east. Midday: max wind of 18-21 from Viento to The Dalles with 12-15 in the east and 5-10 at Stevenson. Late in the day, westerlies should build to 24-28 from Mosier to Threemile. Sunday: 20-23. Temps hold around or below 80F in Hood River through the weekend.
Coast, Jones, Coast
Coast (north/central/south, waves. Wind direction north unless otherwise noted. Swell forecast from NWS.) Thursday: WSW5-10/LTW/N10-20, W swell 5′ at 10 seconds. Friday: LTW/LTN/N25-30, W 4′ @ 10. Saturday: LTNW/LTNW/N25-30+, W 4′ @ 9. Jones Thursday: 12-15. Friday: LTW. Saturday: LTW. Sauvie’s Thursday: NW9-12. Friday: calm. Saturday: NNW 8-11.
Mt. Hood Weather forecast
On vacation unless some wintry weather happens.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Smoky sky with some high clouds gets increasingly cloudy with a slight chance of thunder later. Temps will be in the low 70’s early and low 80’s later. Muggy. Moderate westerlies build to strong/very strong wind in the afternoon. No rainbows. Friday will be cloudy with light drizzle or sprinkles possible in the morning. Temps will be in the low 60’s early (open windows) and mid 70’s later (open windows, finally!). Light westerlies. 43% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be partly cloudy. Temps will be in the upper 50’s early (open windows) and near 80 later (closed windows). Light 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.
Cycling
SDS (Whoopdee, Underwood), BLC, HFM, DGS, and Kreps Land (Hospital Hill) are now closed until the end of fire season. It is also vital that people respect this closure to maintain positive relationships between the landowners and trail users. DNR land in Eastern Washington (Buck Creek / Nestor Peak) is all closed to recreation due to fire danger.
Open trails: Post, Falls Creek, Lewis River, Sandy Ridge, Columbia Hills, Gorge 400, Plains of Abraham / Ape Canyon. 44 Road: Eightmile, Fifteenmile, Bottle Prairie, Dog River, Superconnector, Cedar, Knebal, Cooks Meadows, 450 to the top, Gunsight, Underhill. Siouxon and Huffman Peak are “temporarily closed” due to wildfire last year.
Maple Road in Post Canyon is closed. DO NOT drive past the closed signs. If you do so, you will jeopardize TRAIL access for the entire summer. This is the road that runs to the west, just north of the Binns/Riorden intersection. Also, the trail from the bottom of Post Canyon to Seven Streams Staging Area is now closed. It’s on private land. Respect the closure.
Local Events
IFPL 3 restrictions west of Highway 35 went into effect on 7/16. No more motorized use in Post Canyon trails. Mountain View Cycles women’s ride is every Thursday, bottom of Post at 5:30pm. They have an all-genders ride at 6pm on Wednesday, end of the pavement on Post Canyon Road. Their shop road ride leaves at 9am on Saturday for a 2 hour ride. Dirty Fingers has the Post n’ Pint on Thursday evenings at 5:30pm from the shop. They also have the women’s Post n’ Pinot Wednesday evening at 5:30pm from the shop. Oregon E-Bikes has ladies’ rides at 7:30am Sunday and Monday. The Small Boat Group does paddles every Thursday evening at 6pm at the Hatchery.
Other weekly events. Tuesday night there’s meditation with the Pacific Hermitage Monks at 5:15 (1 hour) and 6:30 (30 minutes followed by a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. In-person meditation is on “pause” due to the recent Covid surge. It will happen on the Pacific Hermitage YouTube page at 6:30. Triathlon practice with the Tri Club is Tuesday at 6pm at West Mayer State Park. Sailboat races happen Wednesday night from the Hood River Marina. There are also lesser races on Friday nights. Cheno’s workout is every Saturday at 10am at the Ferment Lawn in Hood River ($10). Families in the Park starts August 5th at Jackson Park and runs for several weeks on Thursday evening.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!