The Gorge Is My Gym

GORGE WIND FORECAST

If you’re still seeing yesterday’s and it’s after 9am, try opening this in an incognito window

SHORT-TERM gorge wind forecast

Hi friends! Today’s not quite the cooldown we were looking for, but the Gorge wind forecast has enough to get us on the river! Lesser westerlies are in the cards on Tuesday, but we’ll return to our regularly scheduled 20+ mph on Wednesday. It’s likely we’ll be plagued by atmospheric instability Tuesday through Thursday – expect gusty and unreliable conditions (perfect for paddling, the sport that doesn’t care about wind quality!). Friday’s forecasts continue to suggest a cooler system will drop down from Alaska and drive stronger westerlies. Fingers crossed this forecast holds – the Euro ensemble certainly likes our chances! Ok, before I really dive in, I want to express my deepest gratitude to the guy who hooked me up with an amazing new DW SUP board for a really good price. I so appreciate your generosity and kindness and will pay it forward!

Monday started with pressures of 29.80/29.78/29.76 and a cold low approaching off the coast. Wind wasn’t doing much at all as I started typing, but it was already at 17-20 (Viento to the Hatch) by the time I finished. As this system approaches with cool air, and the desert heats up, we’ll see the wind build. By late morning, Stevenson-Rufus should be at 20-23mph. In the afternoon, the cold front pushes rain into the western Gorge. Ahead of this front, wind speeds should jump dramatically. We’re expecting gusty 25-28+ from Stevenson to Rufus by mid-afternoon with the potential for 27-30mph. Viento tends to over-perform in this situation, and the Hatch tends to be very gusty. Looking at the sounding model, there is some potential for surface-based instabilty; if it manifests, the wind won’t cooperate. Don’t vote for that, okay?

As the rain pushes farther east (to Hood River, and also from Wishram to Biggs) late afternoon, the wind does too. We finish up with 27-30mph from Viento to Threemile. Expect very gusty conditions in the Rufus section, but hey, at least the current is down! River flow over the last 24 hours was 160-242kcfs (184-212 at Rufus). River temp was 59.0F. High temp forecast is 71F in Hood River and 86F in the desert – that huge difference is really going to help wind speeds this afternoon! One last thing – this is not an ideal setup. Sometimes the big wind associated with these cold fronts doesn’t pan out, and there doesn’t see to be a lot of logic to when it’s good / not good. So, it’s possible the wind could end up being a lot lighter than the forecast above. For the highest chance of success, get right ahead of that incoming cold front for a 60-90 minute near-guaranteed blast.

RIVER FLOW FOR SITES BETWEEN AVERY (EAST OF THE DALLES) AND RUFUS: CLICK HERE FOR JOHN DAY DAM FLOW.

RIVER FLOW FOR SITES BETWEEN STEVENSON AND DOUG’S BEACH (WEST OF THE DALLES): CLICK HERE FOR THE DALLES DAM FLOW

LONGER-TERM gorge wind forecast

Tuesday sees us under cool air aloft with showery conditions at the surface. We start the day with 7-10mph west of The Dalles and 10-13mph east of The Dalles. Afternoon wind builds to 19-22mph from Lyle to Rufus with 10mph or less to the west and east of that zone. High temp: 65-68F.

On Wednesday, we’ll have a bit of a chaotic setup: wind aloft will be easterly, and wind at the surface will be westerly. This results in widespread instability with possible disruption to the wind. Even so, we’ll have high pressure offshore and a deep heat low in Montana combining for synoptic-scale assistance for the westerlies. For now, let’s call it 24-27mph from Viento to Mosier in the morning with 18-22mph east of Mosier all the way to Arlington. Afternoon: mid 20s as far east as Doug’s with teens to the east. This is highly likely to change!

Significant instability is forecast by about 70% of the euro ensembles for Thursday, which isn’t a great sign for wind. That said, the models also call for more wind than Wednesday. So… we shall see. All eyes then turn to Friday when an approaching trough/cold front combines with a heat low in the desert and offshore high pressure for a potentially nuking west wind day. If you trust in the Euro, solid westerlies continue through at least Saturday. Let’s leave it there for now. See you on the Nch’i Wana this afternoon!

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BARE BONES HOOD RIVER WEATHER FORECAST

High clouds this morning. Increasing clouds later with a chance of rain after 5pm. Temps start in the low 60s and rise to the low 70s. Light west wind early. Strong later. 15% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be cloudy with showers then partly cloudy. Temps start in the mid 40s and rise to the mid 60s. Light westerlies. 98% chance of rainbows. Wednesday might be rainy early, and it might not. It will be cloudy. We might see thundershowers in the afternoon. Temps start in the mid 40s and rise to the low 70s. Moderately strong to strong westerlies. 18% chance of rainbows.