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The Forecast
CoronaChat
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | beach | closed | no | buns | |
| Steven’s Locks | 5-10 | 13-16 | 21-24 | 26-30 | |
| Swell-Hood River | 17-20 | 21-24 | 26-30 | 26-30 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 10-13 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 26-30 | |
| Rufus, etc. | 10-13 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 26-30 | |
| Roosevelt & Arlington | 10-13 | 17-20 | 21-24 | 26-30 | |
Gorge Wind Forecast
First, a public service announcement. All Oregon (Viento, Rowena) and Washington (Doug’s, Hatchery) State Parks are closed at this time. All Port of Hood River waterfront access is closed at this time, although the walking path is open. The Army Corps has closed all parks (The Wall, Rufus, Roosevelt). They have also closed boat ramps. Swell City is closed. It’s best not to go – especially if you don’t live in the Gorge. Please follow legal guidance to stay home, save lives.. If you’re local and getting on the water somehow, follow Maui rules: rig quickly, get in the water, and leave as soon as you are done. No hanging out. Maintain at least six feet space on land and on the water. Do not place yourself directly upwind or downwind of anyone. Don’t go harder than 50%, and keep your focus at 100%. This is not the time to get injured.Tuesday brings another round of westerlies, but with lots of moving pieces, it’s likely the wind will be gusty; offshore high pressure at 1034mb combines with a trough dropping down from BC this afternoon, and another near the coast, for an increase in wind throughout the day. It starts with gradients of .10 and .02 and westerlies at 17-20 in the west and 10-13 out east. By midday, we’ll have 21-24 from Stevenson to Hood River with 10-13 farther east. Hold out for the afternoon, and you get gusty 26-30 from Stevenson all the way to Arlington. River flow is 136kcfs and temp is 50 degrees.
Wednesday starts with clouds in the west and gusty 21-24 from Swell to The Dalles. Eastern Gorge stretches start at 12-15. It appears that pressures will build inland in the afternoon turning the eastern Gorge easterly. Models suggest light wind in the afternoon in the west too, but last time we had that setup, it didn’t play out that way. Given the continuation of offshore high pressure, I’m throwing out a guess of 21-24 all day in the west. Maybe that’ll be totally wrong.
Thursday’s easier – easterlies. Expect 10-15 or 15-20 from Rooster to Viento. Easterlies pick up to 10-15 through the entire Gorge by late morning. Friday starts with E 15-20 in the west and turns calm everywhere in the afternoon. The general pattern changes starting this weekend; offshore high pressure falters and is replaced by low pressure. That ends the possibility of high-quality westerlies and sets us up for short-lived, frontally-driven wind.
Jones, Sauvie’s, and Coast forecast are on break to discourage travel.
Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
All the mountains are closed, the forest is closed, and neither in-bounds nor out-of-bounds snowsports are available at this time. Some of you will be tempted to go out backcountry skiing. Take a look at this sobering article about a recent BC rescue and consider carefully if you want to put others at risk. Remember, Timberline, Skibowl, and Meadows are all closed to uphill traffic at this time. This is to comply with Kate Brown’s executive orders. It’s the law, folks. Obey it!If you could get to the mountains, you’d find spectacular corn snow. Instead, you’ll need to sit down and visualize it and enjoy your memories of your last spring skiing sessions. For Tuesday, thin high clouds stick around all day. Mid-level clouds join in the afternoon and stick around all night dropping some mist on the mountain. That starts around 8pm, giving the slopes a total of 0.05” to 0.1” of drizzle overnight. The snow level will be 6500′ early, 9000′ in the afternoon, and 7000′ overnight. Wind: N 25-30 in the morning, NW 30-35 in the afternoon, and N 20 overnight.
Mist continues to fall through 8am or so on Wednesday morning. The sky clears midday, clouds up in the evening, and clears overnight. The snow level will be 7000′ early, 6000′ in the afternoon, and the free air freezing level will fall to 4000′ overnight. Just a trace of drizzle falls in the morning. Wind: N 20 early, NNW 20-25 midday, NE 10 in the afternoon, and NE 25-30 overnight.
Thursday looks clear and somewhat interesting. NE wind will be present, as will a stable layer of air from about 10,000′-13,000′. If that sets up just right, we see a downslope windstorm (super strong wind) on the leeward sides of the mountain – keep an eye on Timberline’s wind meters. The free air freezing level will be 4000′ early, 5000′ in the afternoon, and 8000′ overnight. Wind: NE 25-30+ during the day, E 15-30 in the afternoon, and S 10 after midnight.
Friday and Saturday currently look clear with the FAF around 8000′ plus or minus. It’s possible we’ll see some precipitation move into the region starting Monday or so.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Another day of sunshine is on the docket! Clear sky all day. Temps will be in the low 30’s early and mid to upper 60’s later. Calm wind. No rainbows. Tuesday looks cloudy. One or two raindrops may fall overnight. Temps will be in the upper 30’s early and mid 60’s later. Moderate westerlies early. Strong westerlies later. No rainbows. Wednesday starts cloudy with a couple raindrops, maybe. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and upper 60’s later. Muggy. Moderate westerlies. 1% chance of 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
ALL trails in the Gorge are closed. Hood River County (Post Canyon, Pinemont, HRC forest roads), SDS (Underwood, Whoopdee), and Kreps (Hospital Hill) lands are closed to prevent the spread of coronavirus by incoming hoards of visitors. DNR land (Nestor) is closed per the DNR website and a little tiny sign at the bottom of the Nestor trail. USFS (44 Road trails, Syncline) are closed. State Parks (Columbia Hills, Twin Tunnels) are closed. There were two considerations: protecting medical professionals, and keeping crowds away when the weather is nice. Google Sun Valley’s Covid-19 rate if your are curious what crowds of recreation visitors can do to spread coronavirus.
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Temira