The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

The weather was calm early this morning, but that won’t last long. Blue skies will give way to rain later today.

The quick weather switch is powered by a winter-like storm off the Oregon coast. That storm is taking a northerly track, which means lots of wind for speedsailing at the coast, but not much in the Gorge.

We’ll see light east winds until midday followed by a quick switch to west winds. This setup makes for tough forecasting, but I think we’ll see super gusty mid-twenties westerlies in the corridor starting mid-afternoon, filling eastward towards dark. It could get very exciting on the river for tonight’s Hood River Yacht Club sailboat races, as there could be huge gusts through the corridor. Then again, we might see nothing at all, but the first scenario is much more likely.

Tomorrow brings 13-15 mph westerlies from Stevenson all the way to Arlington, with more rain and lowering freezing levels. The snow level drops to 3500 feet by tomorrow morning, and won’t budge until Sunday. Best chance for powder skiing is Friday into Saturday.

Coming up this weekend on Saturday, there’s a work party at Beacon Rock, and 2nd Wind’s season opener party at the Horse and Hound pub in Hood River. It must be opening weekend, because on Sunday, it’s the Big Wind beach bash, with lots of free demos. Also on Sunday, Columbia Gorge offroad association has a work party at Kingsley.

Boaters, the Hood’s at 4.8 feet, the Whitie Salmon’s at 4.4 feet, the Little White’s at 672, and the Wind River’s at 601cfs.

One final note: shuttered libraries suck.

Have a great day!

Temira

Good morning Gorge sports fanatics!

There’s some wind on the Columbia this morning with a solid pressure gradient. Portland to The Dalles is .07, and The Dalles to Pasco is at .11. Strongest, steadiest wind today will be at Arlington early, and from Doug’s to Arlington in the afternoon, where westerlies will blow in the 23-27 range. In the western Gorge under the clouds, we’ll have gusty 14-17. Rain showers through the gorge will limit wind quality today.

Tomorrow starts off light, but some easterlies might pick up as a system rotates off the coast. If you’re a speedsailor or a port-tack wavesailor, head to the coast for gale-force south winds.

West winds return to the Gorge on Thursday. Also on Thursday, snow levels drop to 3500 feet or so, with about 4-6 inches of snow falling.

Out on the biking trails today, the dirt is in excellent shape. The rain sprinkles we’ve been getting along with the thunderstorms have been keeping the dust down. If you’re a Post Canyon fan, you want to ride it today, as we’re going to see a lot of rain on Wednesday and Thursday, and that will likely shut down post for a couple of days. If you want to ride Surveyor’s (or at least what’s open), ride it today or tomorrow, as that’s going to see a few inches of snow on Thursday and Friday.

If you’re a dirt biker, tonight is the Columbia Gorge Off-Road Association’s spring meeting at the Hood River Library at 6pm. Speaking of the Library, don’t forget to drop off your ballot today (it’s too late to mail it). CGORA also has a work party up at Kingsley this Sunday at 9am. Check their website, cgora.com for more details. Many thanks to Rick for the heads up.

Speaking of Rick, Mr. Rick Strahl returns from Maui on Thursday… look out Gorge! Ad speaking of “look out Gorge,” 2nd Wind’s kite season opener party is this Saturday evening at the Horse & Hound, aka the English Pub. I am not sure if shot-skis are involved in kite parties, but I’m sure there will plenty of chaos, ‘cuz 2nd Wind throws a killer party (and they’re a great shop too)!!!

Boaters, the rivers came up a little bit yesterday. This morning, the Hood’s at 4.7 feet, the White Salmon’s at 4.3 feet, the Little White’s at 527 cfs, and the Wind River is at 606 cfs. I’m really hoping all this rain gets me a trip on the Wind River this weekend…

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

Temira