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

Good morning,

First off, I want to give my condolences to the friends and family of Jon Johnson, who passed away from a stroke Tuesday at Doug’s Beach. Jon and his wife Marilyn were longtime owners of the Inn at the Gorge, until a couple of years ago, and had been sailing in the Gorge since the 1980’s. I’ve been asked by one of their friends to pass along thanks from Marilyn to everyone who helped out at Doug’s… if you were there, know that you did your best, and that Jon passed away on a good day of windsurfing. May we all go so easily, wearing our favorite sporting gear, at our favorite beach, trail, mountain or river. And may we all be here for many more years, and not pass away in our prime, as Jon did.

And now, the forecast, in Jon’s memory… so you damn well better get out and windsurf for him today!

Cloudy skies in the western Gorge this morning combine with a passing weather system and sunshine in the desert for continuing west winds today. Although early morning gradients and windspeeds were light (.07 gradient and winds around 10-12mph), winds will pick up later. By midday, we’ll see upper teens from Hood River to Arlington, building to the low twenties this afternoon.

Tomorrow looks windier, as high pressure rebuilds along the coast. Winds start out light tomorrow, but slowly build into the 23-27 range east of Hood River in the afternoon, with 15-19 from Viento down to Mosier.

At this point, the weekend is looking at least windy enough for kiting and slalom sailing, with maybe a 50/50 chance of stronger westerlies on Saturday. The first few days of next week look hot, with the first 90 degree temps of the year headed this way. Not a good sign for wind, but a great chance for you to get a tan…

If you want mountain biking tonight, it’s Post and Pint night at Dirty Fingers. Meet at the shop at 5:30 for a Post Canyon lap followed by social hour at the shop. Don’t forget that tomorrow morning is the Dirty Divas women’s-only ride, and it’s Hospital Hill this week. If you want to join, give Discover Bikes a call.

Finally, if you’ve been waiting patiently for Ape Canyon and Plains of Abraham, it’s really close. There’s still some snow at higher elevations, but all the fallen logs are cleared from the trail. The information on the Gifford Pinchot website isn’t very clear, so the first person to give me a first-hand report gets a fresh-baked tray of brownies.

Oh, and one last thing, the Maryhill Festival of Speed, a 5-sport event including downhill skateboarding and street luge, is on through Sunday at the Maryhill loops road. Go check it out!

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

Temira

p.s. If you think this forecast is valuable, or you’d like to subscribe to the email version and win cool prizes (like $50 at Sophie’s Restaurant, this week’s sponsor), click on the donate button below for a suggested donation of $10. Thank you for your support!

Good morning!

This week’s report is brought to you by Sophie’s Restaurant in Hood River, located at 1810 Cascade Street, where you can dine outside in the sunshine, now that summer’s finally here. Sophie’s serves awesome food with fabulous local ingredients (like Oregon King Salmon and porcinis), so go check it out.

Yesterday’s nuclear-force bonus hour was a nice surprise yesterday, but I don’t think we’ll see a repeat today, as low pressure off the coast beats down gradients. Even so, we started with .07 pressure gradient from Portland to The Dalles this morning, and that should hold today for enough wind to get on the water. With the marine layer just east of Hood River, strongest, steadiest wind will be from viento down to Mosier this morning, filling in to Doug’s and Rowena in the afternoon. 18-22 is the call for today, all day long, with a chance for mid-twenties if we get lucky.

Tomorrow looks a little lighter than today, as a low pressure trough off the coast combines with a passing front to minimize morning wind. We will see afternoon westerlies in the 17-21 range tomorrow.

Friday looks a little better for wind, as the North Pacific High takes over at the coast for a summer-like setup in the Gorge. That’s high pressure at the coast and low pressure in the desert, for a static weather situation and steadier, stronger westerlies. The very early call for the weekend (likely to change) is wind through Sunday, and then hot weather (90ish) early next week. With the NPH on the coast, it should stay windy at the beaches, even if the wind dies in the Gorge.

Friday’s also first Friday in Hood River, and it’s going to be a big one. Oak Street will be closed, and 2nd Wind Sports will be throwing a huge and free party and kiteboarding movie premiere at the Horse and Hound pub.

Boaters, the White Salmon’s just below 3 feet and the Klickitat’s at 1980 cfs, and don’t forget, if you’re a Hood River resident you can practice your roll at the pool for just three bucks on Tuesday and Thursday evening and Saturday morning! If you’re not from Hood River, it’s $5 or $6 (can’t remember, but it beats learning to roll in the Columbia)…

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

Temira

p.s. If you think this forecast is valuable, or you’d like to subscribe to the email version and win cool prizes (like $50 at Sophie’s), click on the donate button below for a suggested donation of $10. Thank you for your support!