Your wind forecaster (me) is doing a three-day meditation and yoga retreat this weekend. That’s going to make it impossible for me to do the forecast for the next couple of days, so my apologies for that. The unfortunate piece of this is that, much like last weekend, models are in disagreement, predicting both wind and rain on Saturday, and not agreeing about the overall weather picture model-to-model on Sunday. So, my apologies, but this is a good opportunity for me. Continued after the chart…
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | sandblast | your | tan | lines | |
| Steven’s Locks | light | light | 5-10 | 13-16 | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | 7-11 | light | 15-18 | 15-18 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 10-13 | light | light | light | |
| Rufus, etc. | 10-13 | light | light | light | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 10-13 | light | light | light | |
|
|||||
Gorge wind forecast, continued…
Okay, with that out of the way, on to the very guessy wind forecast. Friday is starting off with partly cloudy sky, light gradients, and light wind on the river. Models suggest that the upper level low bouncing around to the south of us will keep the wind relatively light today, at least until late this afternoon. Expect 7-11 through the whole Gorge this morning, with the exception of cloudy Stevenson. Looks like the wind will fade midday to 5-10, going glassy east of The Dalles. The wind picks up to gusty and unreliable 15-18 from Stevenson to Mosier, possibly to Doug’s too, this afternoon after 2pm or so.
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Looking at Saturday, we’ll have an upper level low pressure system sitting in eastern Oregon and a couple more sitting in BC. There will also be high pressure out in the Pacific. The OR low pressure system will send waves of rain from the east to the west during the day, starting early in the morning. This, of course, makes the wind nearly impossible to predict. Here’s what the models are saying: 13-16 in the western Gorge all day with 26-30 east of The Dalles all day. Given the amount of rain predicted by the GFS, I just don’t see that much wind materializing, especially not in the eastern Gorge close to the low pressure system. So there’s your forecast. I have no clue what’ll really happen, same as whatever day last weekend ended up being pouring rain all day long.
Now, on to Sunday. If we could trust the GFS completely, I’d have a reliable forecast for you. Unfortunately, the GFS and NAM are disagreeing on the exact picture. We’ll probably see gusty westerlies in the 20-23 range, strongest and steadiest east of The Dalles with showers and rainbows in the western Gorge. Well, there you go. That’s your nearly-useless weekend forecast. Sorry about that. It’s spring.
Saturday also looks very hard to predict. Models say we’ll see a lot of wind, but they also say we’ll see a lot of rain. If you remember last weekend, you’ll remember that we had a similar situation. So, let’s call it rain and unpredictable wind in the morning. The afternoon looks to dry out a bit as that low pressure system moves east. Gusty 24-28 east of Mosier, or perhaps east of The Dalles, seems possible, perhaps even likely. Sunday currently looks like 15-18 in the morning and 28-32 in the afternoon, with the strongest wind east of Mosier.
The North Sports Yard Sale, May 21st
On May 21st, from 9 am to 3 pm North Sports in White Salmon, WA is having a blowout yard sale of the coolest water sports equipment on the market. Inflatable kayaks, inflatable SUP boards, paddles, and MORE. All items are used or samples. No kites, sorry! You will not be able to beat these prices! Everything must go! If you are an outdoor water enthusiast and want the best value, come to North Sports, located at #1 North Shore Drive SE, in White Salmon, on May 21st from 9 am to 3 pm. Get here, then get on the water.
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Jones Friday: 13-16. Jones Saturday: 10-13. Jones Sunday: no. No wind at Sauvie’s through Sunday. Coast: no sailable northerlies through Sunday. Swell, in case you want to surf. Friday: W 8′ at 10 seconds. Saturday: NW 7′ ‘at 9 seconds. Sunday: NW 6’ at 8 seconds.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Timberline received 5” of new snow on Friday. Another round of precip will hit Mt. Hood on Saturday morning. With the snow level hovering between 5500′ and 6000′, this should result in 2-3” of new snow with NW wind at 30-40mph.
Random Morning Thoughts
In a strange twist, the topic of mortality and living a good life has come up in two different learning contexts for me in the last week. Many of you are probably living a good life, and it’s still worth contemplating what your own impending death means to you. Life, as we all know, is short. We can speak of this topic in clichés, brushing it aside with a quick “yeah, yeah, I know we all die.”
But when we really understand that each second we live brings us a second closer to our death, our life may change. It’s not that we necessarily do more or less. We don’t necessarily change the things we are doing. But it’s quite likely, understanding that each moment is precious, that we’ll find each moment more beautiful. We’ll love more fully, interact more kindly, and see the awe lurking under the surface of our banal existence.
It’s pretty damned wondrous that we’re alive at all – just this one little planet in this section of the universe is all we know about so far. We’re each a tiny piece of an incredible miracle. You’ve only got so many years. Understand that on a deep level, and live well. Have an awesome day.
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist. I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues.
Gorge Weather Forecast
Friday looks partly cloudy with a few sprinkles possible in the mountain in the afternoon. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the upper 60’s in the afternoon. Light west wind. 1% chance of rainbows. Saturday looks cloudy with rain from 5am on. In an interesting twist, the rain will be coming out of the SE, and should be heavier in Hood River and The Dalles than in Cascade Locks. Temps Saturday will be in the upper 40’s early and the mid 60’s in the afternoon. Moderate west wind. 38% chance of rainbows. Sunday looks partly cloudy and sprinkly according to my favored forecast. However, another forecast has a different idea, so who the F knows? Anyway, Temps will be around 50 in the morning and in the mid 60’s in the afternoon with moderate west wind and a very high chance of rainbows.
For weather specifically directed at travel through the Gorge, please visit Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
I went for a short lap in Post Canyon Friday, and the dirt was very good. It was so good I set some PR’s. Looking at the weekend dirt forecast, we should see rain on Saturday, enough to make it slick and muddy for the Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning period in Post Canyon. Other locations that drain better should ride better. Road biking should be quite good today too, at least before 2pm or so, when the west wind will pick up a bit. Remember that there is a bike race in Post Canyon Saturday and Sunday and another bike race on the Dog River trail on Sunday. One more thing: Knebal Springs is now open.
Upcoming Events
Our weekly Friday events include the Kickstand Coffee donut run, 4 miles of jogging that earns you a free cup of coffee and a donut. There’s another group run, without donuts and coffee, at Post Canyon tomorrow morning at 8am. Post Canyon is also hosting a bike race Saturday and Sunday this weekend, so be prepared for lots of traffic out there, and Dog River trail has a race on Sunday. In conjunction with the Cascadia Dirt Cup, Dirty Fingers has a “Halls of Justice” superhero party from 6pm to 10pm on Saturday evening.
Coming up tomorrow, North Sports in Bingen has a huge yard sale with all sorts of watersports gear including standup boards, paddles, and kayaks. That’s happening from 9 to 3. There’s a swap meet happening on Sunday at Windance from 8 to noon.
Coming up Sunday, there’s community yoga at 9am at Samadhi. There’s ping pong at 10am at the Hood River Armory. There’s community meditation at Flow at 11am, pickleball at May Street Elementary at 1pm, pickup touch rugby at 3pm at the Mosier School, YogaFaith at 4pm at Pure Yoga in The Dalles, and if that’s not enough, now there’s pickup Ultimate Frisbee at Westside Elementary at 5pm.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
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