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| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | picnic | blanket | sandy | buns | |
| Steven’s Locks | 5-10 | 13-16 | 20-24 | 24-27 | |
| Hatchery/Wunderbar | 10-13 | 16-20 | 24-27 | 20-24 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | 10-13 | 20-23 | 24-27+ | 24-27+ | |
| Rufus, etc. | 10-13 | 20-23 | 24-27+ | 24-27+ | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | 10-13 | 13-17 | 18-21 | 21-24 | |
Gorge Wind Forecast
Yesterday was pretty spectacular, both in terms of the conditions on the river and the way in which the Gorge outperformed the weather models. A bit of hindcasting revealed a compact little low that moved into eastern Washington as the driver of the super-strong flow. As for the clouds unexpectedly clearing back near Hood River, that was just good fortune and further proof that forecasting is an inexact art. So, generally speaking, the next three days look quite windy as clouds in Portland and desert sunshine combine with weak weather disturbances for strong west wind.
Friday’s starting off with gradients of .07 and .03 (source: airports). As the desert heats up and a weak front approaches, the wind will build. We’ll start with 5-10 in the west and 10-13 east of Hood River. By noon, we should have 21-24 from Swell to Rufus with 12-15 at Stevenson. By mid-afternoon, the wind will pick up to 24-27 from Stevenson to Rufus with 27-30 possible Lyle to Avery. Arlington will likely stay in the 21-24 range. Swell will probably die off early afternoon as the front’s approach does whatever it does to destabilize flow near Swell. River flow is 232kcfs and temp is 66 degrees.
Low clouds and a chance of sprinkles in the western Gorge start off Saturday, when you’ll find a Swap meet happening at Luhr Jensen and free Gazelle E-bike demos at Big Winds. The wind will be 5-10 in the west and 12-15 east of Hood River, giving you a chance to enjoy these altern-activities in the morning. A weak disturbance moving in during the day will likely keep the western Gorge cloudy, impacting wind quality. In theory, anyway! That said, we’re looking at 26-29 Saturday afternoon from Swell (maybe) or Hood River to Rufus with 22-25 at Arlington and cloudy, gusty 14-17 at Stevenson. It’s worth mentioning that the Euro is predicting stronger wind than these numbers.
Sunday also looks windy: 5-10 in the west and 10-13 east of Mosier to start. Afternoon wind on Sunday builds to 24-27 from Stevenson to Rufus and 16-20 near Arlington. Monday currently looks to max out at 26-29ish with periods of 30-33 possible from Lyle to Rufus, but honestly, that’s a really long ways out to be forecasting and may not be all that reliable. Models disagree on the rest of the week, but generally speaking, they’re predicting lower to mid 20’s rather than upper 20’s.
BONUS: Jones Friday: X. Saturday: 7-10. Sunday: 16-19. Sauvie’s Friday: 10-13. Saturday: 14-17. Sunday: 12-15. Coast (north/central/south). Friday: X/5-10/25-30, W swell 4′ at 10 seconds. Saturday: W5/10-15/30+, W 4′ @ 9. Sunday: 10-15/15-20/30+, W 5′ @ 8. If models are correct, the south coast will remain windy through Tuesday.
Random Morning Thoughts
Windsports carry the potential for crazy-making. As much as we forecasters would like to be precise and accurate all the time, it is almost always impossible to nail down the location of the best wind and swell.
This can result in FOMO (fear of missing out), regret, frustration, and jealousy (as well as Oxford commas). A common manifestation of this is one’s reaction to the phrases, “Dude, you should have been here an hour ago,” or “The Wall went off today – where were you?”
For most of us, the natural reaction is to experience some sense of loss about missing out. We can cultivate another emotion alongside this to reduce our suffering. Notably, there is no word for this emotion in English. In Pali, it’s ‘mudita’: happiness about the happiness of others.
You can try this right now. Can you be happy for the folks (including ZodiacMan who flipped his boat) who got the ginorma-swells at The Wall yesterday? You might also be upset that you weren’t there, but see if you can cultivate some genuine happiness for the joy experienced by your friends and wind community members. Now notice something: that feels better than regret, doesn’t it?
You can use this emotion in lots of situations. If you do this regularly, you will find ‘mudita’ arising all by itself. Someone will tell you a good thing that happened to them, and you will automatically celebrate with them. Sweetness, for sure. See, the brain is just waiting for you to train it to be happier. The power for change rests within you. May you be happy. Have an awesome day.
Mt. Hood Mountain Weather Forecast
For Friday, the mountain starts partly cloudy and turns clear. Free air freezing level (FAF): 9000′ early, rising to 14,000′ after midnight. Wind: NW 10-15. Saturday looks clear to start and cloudy in the afternoon with a chance of sprinkles overnight. FAF: 13,000′. Wind: NW 15 rising to WNW 20. Sunday looks cloudy and windy with drizzle during the day. Snow level 13,000′. Wind: WNW 20-25.
Gorge Weather Forecast
It’s partly cloudy this morning and will get a bit less cloudy later and more cloudy overnight. Temps will be in the upper 50’s this morning and mid 70’s later. Strong west wind. No rainbows. Saturday starts off with low clouds and sees increasing clouds during the day. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and upper 70’s in the afternoon. Strong west wind. No rainbows. Sunday starts with low clouds and turns clear. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and mid 70’s in the afternoon. Strong west wind. No 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 Week
Click here for the White Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Road and Mountain Biking
High Prairie down to 450 is open, according to Strava. I received a report from Dirty Fingers that multiple known people have ridden Gunsight. The Mt. Adams Country Bike Tour is next weekend – fully supported riding in Trout Lake, including a 105 mile loop and a $10 family loop.
Upcoming Events
The Fort Dalles Fourth celebration continues in The Dalles today. Hopefully there are no robberies today! To fuel up for the party, or warm up for it, do the 4 mile Kickstand Coffee Run at 7. Complete it, and the coffee shop will give you a cup of coffee and a donut.
Tomorrow’s the Mt. Adams Country Bike Tour in Trout Lake, with everything from an 11 mile family ride to a 105 mile endurance ride, all supported with food and water. The Rocket Run Footrace is tomorrow in The Dalles at 6:30, there’s a trail run in Post Canyon at 8, and if that’s not enough running, the Pride and Prosper 5k is at Hood River’s Waterfront Park at 10:15. Big Winds has free demos of Gazelle ebikes from 10-5. There are two swaps this weekend: Saturday at Luhr Jensen and Sunday at Windance.
Click here for the full events calendar.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
