The Gorge is my Gym

It’s still glass central here in the Gorge, where fishing and wakeboarding and waterskiing and model plane flying and paragliding and standup paddleing are at the top of the outdoor fun list today.

Models are disagreeing over this afternoon. One says light west wind and one says light east wind. I’m splitting the difference and going with very light winds all day long today. At the very best, we’ll see 10-15 westerlies late this evening, but don’t count on it.

Tomorrow brings stronger east winds as the thermal through stays west and high pressure shifts east. I’m thinking we’ll see 17-21 mile per hour easterlies, maybe a bit better.

It’s looking like west winds will return on Thursday, but the timing is a little problematic. An upper low sends a marine push our way, but it might not happen until late afternoon on Thursday. If it’s too late, it’ll blow all night and we’ll have plenty of west wind on Friday.

The coastal forecast still looks good for the next couple of days. It’s 20-25 in the north and 25-30 at the central coast today. Tomorrow looks like 10-15 in the north and 15-20 on the central coast. Both days have a 7 foot swell rolling in.

There’s not a lot going on the next two days, or at least I haven’t heard from you about your event. If you’ve got a sporty happening (or outdoor screening of a cheesy 80’s movie, or a bigfoot festival) you want mentioned, drop me an email.

Sixteen out of sixteen (or so) isn’t a bad windy streak for August, so you’re probably ready to give your arms a break, right? If not, get your ski boat on the water (or call the beautiful and feisty Cathy Carter, strongman Scotty Freeman, handsome Dr. Krishna, the super-nice and always smiling Dan “Red” Bubb or anyone else with a boat), because we’re looking at glassy perfection for a couple of days.

The thermal trough works to get established over western Oregon and Washington, setting up very light gorge gradients today. With high temperatures pretty much equal on the east and west sides, there’s not going to be much breeze today. At best, we’ll see east winds in the 10-15 range down at Stevenson this afternoon (and I really wouldn’t advise waiting around hoping that happens)

Tuesday looks lighter as hotter air settles in. At this point, it looks like we’ll see slightly stronger easterlies on Wednesday.

A better call for wind the next few days is the coast. The webcams showed a flat ocean this morning, as the predicted swell takes its time getting here. Even so, NOAA still says 4 feet today at 7 seconds.

The forecast is for 15-20 in the north today with 20-25 at the central coast. Tomorrow looks windier, with 20-25 in the north and 25-30 at Florence. A fresh 7-foot Northwest swell should roll in tomorrow, for a perfect combo of wind and waves.

In other news, tonight, as on every Monday night, there’s free tai chi at six at Wilson Park in Hood River. And if you’re looking for a workout, take your bike out for a spin. Light wind makes for great biking!