Mt. Hood snow and Gorge wind forecast | The Gorge is my Gym

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 (that means those of you who sail at the point, too)! If the report saves you time, money, or just helps you have more fun, please take the time to

make a donation. Suggested minimum: just $12. Way less than your other bills. That gets you on the mailing list and in the running for prizes. Support your forecaster, or she may decide to pull the free forecast altogether. Kick down! Thank you for your support!

First off, some news from yesterday: ODF announced the regulated use closure for the summer on forest lands. That means ATVs and motorcycles are restricted to dirt roads, except in the Northwest Area, which is still open. Also, all vehicles in the forest must carry a shovel and water or a fire extinguisher. That last bit is something I didn’t know about, but apparently ODF was up at Kingsley yesterday doing enforcement, or at least education. If you’re shuttling Post or headed to Kingsley, carry that shovel and water!

Second, some sad news. I spoke with Henry Buckalew at the Hood River County Forestry Department yesterday. He let me know that logging will begin soon on Seven Streams, as soon as next Tuesday or Wednesday. We knew it was coming, but now it’s here. Make plans to join your local trails organization, the HRATS, at 6pm Monday at Seven Streams staging area for a final Seven Streams ride.

Okay, back to the weather. The hot, dry, windy weather isn’t going to help the wildland firefighters, already battling 5 blazes between Oregon and Washington, but it’s going to make for good windsurfing and kiting over the next several days. We’ve got marine clouds in Portland this morning, a .12 gradient to start, upper teens on the water, and we’ll see low pressure move inland this afternoon. That’ll make it gusty today, and windier in the upper valley than usual, so not a great day for spraying chems or road biking. Expect 18-23 this morning from Hood River to The Dalles, By noon, we’ll have 24-28, possibly a bit more late, from Hood River to Biggs.

Tomorrow starts with dawn patrol and then looks like 24-28 all day in the Central Gorge. Saturday starts off a bit lighter, with 15-18, but very strong high pressure off the coast will send the wind into the mid-twenties in the afternoon. Sunday’s been going back and forth between strong wind and really strong wind. As of this morning, it looks like Sunday will be a nuker in the Central Gorge, filling in out east in the afternoon (sorry, Tonia and KB4C). Monday looks quite windy too, but now not as windy as Saturday. I’m really hoping I get to try out my 2.9 on Sunday…

This weekend is the Oregon Enduro series, so if you’re riding up in Post, be prepared for some trails to be closed due to racing. Also this weekend, Kiteboarding for Cancer, raising money for cancer research and survivor camps. Do your part for this event, and drop off cookies at the Event Site in Hood River between 8 and 11 on Saturday.

If you just want to come have a good time, there will be music and food and racing to watch and cool people (you might get a date with a person who’s nice enough to spend their weekend giving back to the world). Oh, and there’s a beer garden. Come on down and play!

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

Good morning,

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. Suggested minimum: $12. That gets you on the mailing list and in the running for prizes. That’s $1/month You pay more than that in gas driving to the beach or the mountain. I know I’ve saved you that much. Kick down! Thank you for your support!

**Breaking news: the ODF regulated use closure goes into effect this morning. Starting now, through the end of fire season, motorcycles and ATVs are prohibited on forest lands, except on roads. ATVS and motorcycles must have an approved spark arrestor. Cars and trucks traveling on forest lands must carry EITHER a shovel and gallon of water or a 2.5lb fire extinguisher. Thank you for protecting our forest from fires!**

Starting tomorrow afternoon, we’re in for a wild ride, with a week of “Classic Gorge Setup.” That means we’ll have strong high pressure over the Pacific Ocean and some sort of low pressure in the Oregon and Washington desert. With the gradient trying to equalize over hundreds of miles, we end up with strong wind. It’s not about the temps, which will be in the 80’s. It’s about the gradient from way out west to way out east. And that gradient is going to be big. (Unless the outlier models predicting thunderstorms are correct, but I’m just ignoring them.)

But that’s tomorrow. Today we’ll see 15-18, building to 17-20 from Stevenson to Mosier in the afternoon. Tomorrow starts with 10-15, but it’ll build to 22-25 in the afternoon. On Friday, we’ll start with 24-28, so be prepared to grab your garbage cans right after the garbage guys get to them. Saturday looks like 24-28. Sunday brings 26-30, and if the forecast holds for Monday, we’re looking at 30-35+. All the wind this week and weekend should be centralized around Hood River and the Rowena stretch of the river, with the exception of Sunday, when it will be windy everywhere.

Tonight’s a special night in Post Canyon. Families at Family Man has some free lessons and shuttling on Bad Motor Scooter for kids. If your kid is an intermediate mountain biker, bring him or her up to Family Man around 5:30 to get in on the fun. I want to get in on that, because I want to learn about cornering and riding downhill. For those of you who are lost in Post Canyon, there’s now an iPhone app. You can get more information at HrATS.org.

Don’t forget: this weekend is Kiteboarding for Cancer. It’s really not just for wind people. It’s for everyone who hates cancer. So if you want to help out, drop off cookies sometime between 8am and 11am on Saturday at the Event Site. For more information, check out KB4C.org.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira