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Friday: drizzle, wind, and the first swap meet of the season on Sunday!

The best snow forecast for Mt. Hood. The best wind forecast for the Gorge.

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The Forecast

Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Your favorite beach Dawn
Patrol
9am-
11:30a
11:30a-
3pm
3pm-
dusk
Rooster Rock cloudy day stay away!
Steven’s Locks 5-10 5-10 7-10 7-10
Swell-Hood River 7-10 7-10 7-10 7-10
Lyle to Doug’s 7-10 7-10 11-14 11-14
Rufus, etc. 10-13 14-17 20-23 20-23+
Roosevelt & Arlington 10-13 14-17 20-23 20-23+

Gorge Wind Forecast

With weather this active, lots of changes are to be expected. Today’s multi-day forecast is no exception to that rule. Friday sees an upper level low off the coast of Vancouver Island. It declines to come onshore and leaves us with lackluster surface gradients. The day starts with gusty westerlies at 5-15 or so all through the Gorge. We’ll see a slow build east of The Dalles after 10am or so. Westerlies gradually climb to gusty 20-23 from The Dalles to Threemile. 23-26 is possible but not all that likely. West of The Dalles, intermittent drizzle keeps the wind lighter, perhaps 11-14 at best. River flow is 167kcfs, river temp is 54F, and high temp forecast is 64F under mostly cloudy sky.

A stronger low pressure system takes aim at the Oregon Coast on Saturday. It was previously scheduled to come inland midday and drive strong westerlies. So much for that. Timing has shifted, and that low isn’t predicted to come onshore until late Saturday, a day I apparently neglected to mention in yesterday’s forecast. Lordy. Anyway, we start with light/variable wind on Saturday. After 2pm or so, the wind picks up to W 10-13 east of The Dalles. Add in quite a bit of rain and a high temp in the upper 50’s.

That low moves onshore on Saturday night and sends the wind readings upward on Sunday morning. Don’t forget the swap meet at Lot 1, and don’t forget to renew/activate your CGW2 membership to support river access in the Gorge. Dawn Patrol will be 25-29 from Stevenson to Arlington with 22-25 east to Boardman. Offshore high pressure and desert heat lend a hand during the day. Midday wind should build to 28-32 from Mosier to Rufus with 12-15 west of Mosier. Actually, we could see very gusty 21-24 west of Mosier as well. Let’s wait ’til Sunday morning for the cloud line to make a better call. Your best bet will be the afternoon, when you’ll find 28-32 between Lyle and Arlington with Threemile a bit lighter at 22-25. High temp: 59F.

Things calm down a bit on Monday, Memorial Day. The current forecast is 22-25 between Stevenson and The Dalles, maybe at Avery too. I’ve got my eye on this one as a good Viento downwinder day.  

Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast

Coast forecast (north/central/south, waves). Swell forecast provided by NWS. Wind direction northerly unless otherwise noted. Friday: SW10/LTW/LTN, W swell 5′ @ 8 seconds. Saturday: Variable to 35 as a low comes onshore, combined season 12′ at 8 seconds Sunday: W10-20/W10-20/N10-15, W swell 8′ @ 9. Jones Friday-Sunday: no more than 7-10mph. Sauvie’s Friday: W10. Saturday: LTV. Sunday: W 10-15.  

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – Special Bonus Memorial Day Weekend Forecast

Starting this evening (it’s Friday), the snow level drops low enough for a late-season forecast. By Friday evening, it’ll be down to 5500′, and it will fall to 5000′ by Saturday morning. In that period, we’ll see about 0.1” water equivalent (WE) for up to 1” of wet new snow. Wind: SW 20 Friday evening falling to SW 10 Saturday.

Saturday starts with snow, transitions to rain, and turns back to mixed precip after midnight. The snow level will be 5000′ early, 6000′ in the afternoon, 6500′ in the evening, and back to 5500′ overnight. About 0.2” WE is forecast during the day, for a trace to an inch of new. Another 0.8” WE is forest overnight, but that will fall as rain at 5000′ switching to snain after midnight. Wind: SW 10 in the morning, SW 15 in the afternoon, and WNW 35 overnight.

Sunday into Monday looks snowy. The snow level will start at 5500′ but quickly fall to 4500′ around sunrise and 4000′ in the afternoon. It holds through Monday morning. About 0.8” WE is forecast during the day with moderate NW wind. That should give us 7-11” dense snow. Another 0.2”-0.4” WE is forecast overnight, for another 2-4” new. Wind: WNW 25 early becoming NW 35 around sunrise Sunday, WNW 25 in the evening, and WNW 15 into Monday morning. Snow totals above 6500′ could be up to 1.5 feet. 5000′: up to a foot. After this, it’s back to warm and sunny weather next week. Enjoy the late-season snow!  

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds and drizzle are the forecast for much of today. Dry period: 9am-2pm. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and mid 60’s later. Light westerlies. 87% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be cloudy and increasingly wet. Temps will be in the upper 40s” early and upper 50’s later. Light and variable wind. 2% chance of rainbows. Sunday will be mostly cloudy with light rain early. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and upper 50’s later. Strong westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows.

Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.  

Local-ish Events

Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!

CGW2 has a swap meet on Sunday, 5/29 at Lot 1 near the Hood River Event Site. $10 for sellers. They can arrive as early as 7am. Buyers come at 8am. CGW2 needs volunteers to help set things up.

Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. The Small Boat paddlers have a group paddle on Sunday at 11am at the Event Site. The Dirty Fingers Sunday Service rides happens at 9am – this week is the last one. They are fast-paced. If you are not, bring a buddy. The ride is followed by bike race viewing and beer drinking at the shop. Post and Pint happens Thursday evenings at 5:30 when Post is not too wet to ride.  

Cycling

There was an event on 5/22 on Dog River trail, which suggests it may be open. That’s not confirmed. A good portion of the Eldorado Trail (below the intersection with Riorden Hills Road (near the top, below the clearcut) is closed starting today for at least the next few days. Do not enter that area for your safety. Courtney Road (the road that goes up above Syncline) is closed until October. Do not attempt to use it to access trails. Starting now, you will need a parking pass to park at Post Canyon. This money will support trails. Hospital Hill: cows are out – no dogs allowed. Underwood: do not enter areas that are closed due to logging operations.  

Sprinter Van of the Week!

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Have an awesome day!

By Temira

Temira Lital is a recreation and travel weather forecaster based in Hood River, Oregon. Temira uses they/them pronouns. They're also a mental health counselor. Temira bikes, skis, windsurfs, paddles a SUP, swims in mountain lakes, and loves gardening. Most recently they've taken up SUP foiling. Temira is powered by La Croix, protein, and beets.