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

Good morning!

This week’s forecast is brought to you by the Sandbar Café, located at the east end of the Event Site, and open daily during the summer from 11am to 7pm. Back in the day, if you didn’t have food at the Event Site, you starved. Now you don’t have to. Instead of begging for food from Canadian RV-driving windsurfers, you can wander over to the Sandbar Café for fish tacos, burgers, wraps and, yes, beer: $2.50 tall boys. Coming up tonight at 6pm at the Sandbar, Daphne Willis rocks you with her amazing voice. Go check it out!

At 5am this morning the wind was blowing in the 15-18 range near Hood River. If you want to hit the water, go early, as the wind will fade early today. High pressure builds across the Cascades, giving us nearly calm conditions this evening. If you’re near the Event Site this evening, Daphne Willis plays at the Sandbar Café. I’ve heard she has an amazing voice, and since the show starts at 6pm, it’s probably worth swinging by to check it out.

After the light westerlies today, high pressure builds over the coast and an upper level low sets up near California for east winds in the 16-20 range at Stevenson, Home Valley and Rooster Rock tomorrow. Due to the east winds this weekend, the CGKA kiteboarding blowout is postponed until further notice. As of right now, Sunday looks like a very light day, with minimal easterlies in the morning and minimal westerlies in the evening.

Coming up tomorrow, there’s a free Goya demo day sponsored by Windance. Given the east wind forecast, that will probably happen at Stevenson, but check with Windance to make sure, as I was unable to get confirmation of that from the shop yesterday. After you get off the water tomorrow, head to Windance for the shop’s annual windsurfer party, starting at 6pm, with an appearance by Francisco Goya.

If you’re desperate to sail or kite, head somewhere between the north coast and Florence for 20-25+ knots with a 6 foot short-period swell today and tomorrow. Sunday looks lighter at the coast.

Switching gears, if you have a tandem bike, there’s a tandem-only ride leaving 10-speed coffee in Hood River at 5:30 tonight. And speaking of biking, the Race Across Oregon, a 522 mile race with some mindblowing solo riders, starts tomorrow from the Hood River Inn, with start times between 5am and 9am.

Mountain bikers, today is your last day to get in comments for the revised Coyote Wall / Catherine Creek management plan. Do not forget. You can contact Kay Kucera for the proposed text of the email.

Boaters, the White Salmon’s at 2.3 feet and the Klickitat’s at 1140 cfs.

That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just happen to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors. This week it’s fish tacos and tall boys for 5 people, donated by the Sandbar Cafe. Thank you for using this report, and thank you for your support!

7/22 forecast

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by the Gorge Surf Shop at 13 Oak Street in downtown Hood River. The Gorge Surf Shop has the best windsurfing gear: Fanatic and Tabou boards, and Gaastra and Maui Sails, with sails starting at just $199. Why should you shop there? Because all the employees are well-educated hardcore windsurfers who can use their brainpower to make sure you end up with the right gear. Swing by and say hello to Darko, Transatlantic, Garrison, Recently and Slice, and maybe, if you’re lucky, Scotty will give you a nickname of your own!

It’s going to be a windy day in the Gorge today. The 5am gradient was already .15 from Portland to The Dalles with another .07 out east, and the wind was already blowing in the upper teens. You pretty much have your choice of where to go today. Strongest wind this morning will be from Stevenson to Hood River, building to the 28-32 range at the Hatchery. In the afternoon, the wind fills in at Maryhill and Arlington, with averages right around 30 mph.

As high pressure builds over the Northwest tomorrow, the wind backs off. We’ll likely start off with west winds in the upper teens, but those winds will slowly fade through the day. Even if it isn’t windy, Daphne Willis plays at the Sandbar Café at the Event Site tomorrow night at 6pm, so you’ll still have a good reason to spend some time on the waterfront.

Coming up this weekend, the weather warms up and the wind switches directions. East winds in the 22-26 range blow in Stevenson and at Rooster on Saturday, likely continuing Sunday. The organizers of the CGKA blowout are debating a course of action at this time. Stay tuned for more information.

On Saturday, windsurfers are invited to check out the latest boards and sails from the Goya line. The demo was scheduled to take place at Doug’s, but I have a funny feeling it might move west… waiting for confirmation from Windance on that. On Saturday afternoon, there’s a windsurfer party at Windance, with BBQ, beer, and Francisco Goya. That list is not necessarily in order of importance.

If you’re a dirt biker, listen up: East Side, Pine Mont and Middle mountain trails are now under a regulated use closure due to fire danger. West Side Trails are still open, but remember that your bike still needs an ATV sticker and a spark arrestor. I actually don’t know what ATV stickers and spark arrestors are, but that’s what the email said, so I’m throwing it in here.

If you happen to have a tandem bike, there’s a tandem-only ride leaving 10 Speed Coffee in Hood River at 5:30 tomorrow evening. And speaking of road biking, the Race Across Oregon, a 522 mile race with a few solo riders (George, for one), starts Saturday from the Hood River Inn, with start times between 5am and 9am.

Somehow I was confused yesterday morning about what day it was. So, today is your chance to chance to give your input on a proposed trail from Wyeth to Hood River. That’s from 3:30-7 p.m. in the Hood River County Commission chambers, 601 State St. This is an open house to discuss the Historic Columbia River State Trail Plan, which will lay out the last 11 miles of the trail between Hood River and Troutdale. The public – that’s you – is invited to participate in the planning process, provide input and view the plan in progress.

That’s it for today. Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just happen to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til May 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors. Thank you for using this report, and thank you for your support!