Categories
Forecast

7/29 Gorge wind and events


The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.

Before you read on, please remember that this report (wind, snow and events!) is brought to you free of charge. Nobody pays me to do this unless you do! If the report saves you time, money, keeps you in the loop, or just helps you have more fun, please take the time to










make a donation. It’s not expensive, not like some other wind forecasting services. It’s accurate, unlike the free choices out there. So donate… $12 minimum donation (or ½ of what I’ve saved you in gas and time!) gets you on the mailing list and in the running for prizes. And your donation keeps the forecast coming almost every day for everyone. Donate, or someday this service won’t be here! Thank you for your support!

I do have some nice business sponsors who give away prizes for my email recipients, people who’ve donated. This week’s is Celilo Inn. When you’re visiting The Gorge, you need a place to stay. Hood River’s a little short on hotel rooms and vacation rentals, as you may have noticed. There’s another option: The Dalles, up-and-coming with yummy food and fun bars with a we-live-here-not-just-vacation-here vibe. Where do you stay? Celilo Inn on the east hill above town, with spectacular views of the river and the dam and locks. Suite rooms with views of the Columbia. Big pillow-top mattresses. A pool. A fire pit. A mini gym. Adventure packages with whitewater rafting and wine tours. And it’s not just for tourists: Celilo Inn can give you locals an escape from the crazy summer bustle of Hood River. We’re giving away a couple of nights to people who’ve donated $12 or more. See… another reason to support this report.
.
It’s really quite nice outside this morning. 61 degrees. Clear sky, at least here in Hood River. Looks like there are clouds to the west of my place. That sets us up for another windy day. The 6am gradient was .09, and it was already 20mph at the Hatchery. So, let’s call it 18-23 this morning, with a short burst of 23-26 possible late morning, but mostly just 20-24 all day long near Hood River, filling in to Mosier, Doug’s and Rowena in the afternoon.

A weak weather system moves through tomorrow, giving us solid clouds in the western Gorge. A 21-24 start to the morning picks up to 24-28 by midday, with the strongest wind at Doug’s and Maryhill in the early afternoon. Depending on the timing of the weather system, we could see the wind die out and get gusty as it passes, before rebounding late in the day as high pressure builds in behind. Tuesday looks windy too, both here and at the Coast, where you’ll find 20-30 with a 2 foot south swell at 15 seconds. I know, 2 foot sounds tiny, but that 15 second period could make for some fun head-high sets.

A bit further from home today, it’s the Northwest Trail Alliance’s Helensfest, mountain biking at St. Helens on Smith Creek, Ape Canyon and the Boundary trail. They were out doing work on Ape Canyon yesterday, so it should be in perfect shape if you ride it or hike it this week.

So what I meant to say yesterday is that the Moth sailboat Nationals are going on in Cascade Locks, and that Moths are one-man, not two-man boats. And, apparently the races were cancelled because there just weren’t that many boats interested in racing. So my apologies to those of you who went to check it out. When I checked recently, the races were still on, so… what can I say? Also today, it’s the continuation of the Wildside Relay with surfskis and outrigger canoes making their way from Stevenson to Bingen. And while you’re down in Stevenson or Cascade Locks, swing by the Bluegrass Festival in Stevenson for even more fun.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira










Categories
Forecast

7/28 Gorge Wind and Events

Before you read on, please remember that this report (wind, snow and events!) is brought to you free of charge. Nobody pays me to do this unless you do! If the report saves you time, money, keeps you in the loop, or just helps you have more fun, please take the time to










make a donation. It’s not expensive, not like some other wind forecasting services. It’s accurate, unlike the free choices out there. So donate… $12 minimum donation (or ½ of what I’ve saved you in gas and time!) gets you on the mailing list and in the running for prizes. And your donation keeps the forecast coming almost every day for everyone. Donate, or someday this service won’t be here! Thank you for your support!

I do have some nice business sponsors who give away prizes for my email recipients, people who’ve donated. This week’s is Celilo Inn. When you’re visiting The Gorge, you need a place to stay. Hood River’s a little short on hotel rooms and vacation rentals, as you may have noticed. There’s another option: The Dalles, up-and-coming with yummy food and fun bars with a we-live-here-not-just-vacation-here vibe. Where do you stay? Celilo Inn on the east hill above town, with spectacular views of the river and the dam and locks. Suite rooms with views of the Columbia. Big pillow-top mattresses. A pool. A fire pit. A mini gym. Adventure packages with whitewater rafting and wine tours. And it’s not just for tourists: Celilo Inn can give you locals an escape from the crazy summer bustle of Hood River. We’re giving away a couple of nights to people who’ve donated $12 or more. See… another reason to support this report.
.
Yesterday was a pretty ridiculous windy day on the river, with head-high swell working its way down the Columbia. I think I was tired from the windsurfing, because I didn’t wake up until 8:30 today. Anyway, the wind today won’t be quite like yesterday, sadly. It’s an interesting picture this morning: high pressure has moved inland, but there are still some low clouds over Hood River and there’s still a .09 gradient between Portland and The Dalles.

So, I think we’ll still see 10-15 to start through much of the Gorge. By midday, we should have 15-18 from the Hatchery to Doug’s, picking up to 17-21 this afternoon.

We were counting on a weather system to come in tomorrow to make the wind stronger, but that system is going to hold off. So now, tomorrow looks like a 17-20 start, picking up to 21-24. Monday now looks quite windy, with 22-26 to start, picking up to 26-30 by midday, with the strongest wind in the Hood River to The Dalles section.

All this wind is great news for a couple of events in the western Gorge. At Cascade Locks this weekend, it’s the Moth National Championships. Moths are two-man planing sailboats that can go over 30 mph, so make a point to check that out. I think the world speed record is 30.8 knots. That’s fast in a sailboat. Can you imagine flipping one of them at those speeds? Also today and tomorrow, it’s the Wild Side Relay, with outrigger canoe and SurfSki racing from Stevenson to Bingen. If you’re doing other stuff in that section of the river, be careful, as those canoes and surfskis are hard to see.

If you didn’t hear already, today’s the last day of the Hood River County Fair. Tonight’s, a great chance to see meteors after midnight, with the Delta Aquarids meteor shower, and tomorrow, it’s Gorge Farm Day, by GorgeGrown, with a tour of local farms and ranches and vineyards. Also this weekend, the Columbia Gorge Bluegrass Festival in Stevenson. They do a cool thing there: workshops where you can try all sorts of instruments and get instruction.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira