Monday: the dreaded upper level low…

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Gorge Wind Forecast

A broad area of low pressure dominates the weather picture for the next week or so. Along with this comes fronts and lows and various other dynamics that make for gusty and unreliable westerlies. That doesn’t mean no wind. It just means inconsistency.

Monday sees low pressure settled over the Northwest. Thanks to a weak afternoon thermal gradient, we’ll see afternoon westerlies. Until early afternoon, the wind holds at 7-10 in the western Gorge and 11-14 or so east of Rowena. After 2pm, once peak heating happens, the wind picks up to 17-21 form Mosier to Celilo with 10-13 or less east and west of that section of river. River flow is 265kcfs, river temp is 59F, anad high temp forecast for Hood River is 65F.

The overall picture looks similar on Tuesday, but a heat low moving north from Nevada adds some oomph to the westerlies in the afternoon. Morning wind will be just above light and variable: 0-10 at Stevenson, 10-13 from Viento to The Dalles, and 5-10 east to Arlington. Around midday, the wind picks up to gusty 20-23 under mostly cloudy sky between Hood River and The Dalles. Either side of that: 10-13. The desert really heats up compared to the western Gorge thanks to the influence of a NV/ID based heat low; late afternoon westerlies pick up to gusty 22-26 and hold through evening. High temp: 67F.

Wednesday sees a similar setup to Tuesday. More sunshine means a bit more instability in the afternoon. Watch out for negative impacts on the wind field. That said, the day starts with 0-10 from Stevenson to Mosier with 14-17 from Lyle to Boardman. Midday: 10-13 from Stevenson to Bingen with 21-24 from Mosier to Arlington. Models suggest significant tightening of gradients in response to desert heat in the afternoon, but reality is likely to underperform due to lack of offshore support. Even so, we have a shot at gusty 24-28 from Mosier to Threemile in the afternoon with 10-13 west of Mosier. High temp: 70F.

Models hint at active weather for the second half of the week through the weekend. Offshore low pressure, aka the dreaded “upper level low” dampens the gradients. Associated rainfall dampens the region. More than likely you’ll have better luck with mountain biking (brown pow!) than windsports for the second half of the week. Enjoy all that the Gorge has to offer!  

Coast, Jones, Sauvie’s

Coast (north/central/south, waves. Wind direction north unless otherwise noted. Swell forecast from NWS.) Monday: WNW10/WNW10/LTV, W swell 6′ at 10 seconds. Tuesday: NW5-10/W5/LTV, W 5′ @ 10. Wednesday: W5-10/W5/LTV, W 4′ @ 9. Jones Monday: LTW. Tuesday: W 5-10. Wednesday: 7-10. Sauvie’s Monday: N5-10. Tuesday: W15-20. Wednesday: W10-15.  

Mt. Hood Weather forecast

On vacation unless some wintry weather happens.  

Hood River Weather Forecast

Cloudy weather sticks around all day. Sprinkles aren’t out of the question, but they’re not likely either. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and mid 60’s later. Light westerlies. 2.5% chance of rainbows. Tuesday looks mostly cloudy. Afternoon sprinkles are possible. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and upper 60’s later. Moderate westerlies. 11% chance of rainbows. Wednesday will be partly cloudy with afternoon or evening showers possible. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and near 70 later. Light to moderate westerlies. 18% 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.  

Cycling

From the 44trails.org website… Open trails: Eightmile, Fifteenmile, Bottle Prairie, Dog River, Superconnector, Cedar, Knebal, Cooks (to 1.5 miles above the 4410 road), 450 to the junction with 15 mile, Underhill. Post Canyon: the trail from the bottom of Post Canyon to Seven Streams Staging Area is now closed. It’s on private land. Respect the closure. Surveyor’s Ridge: clear of snow and trees. Other 44 Road Trails: clearing in progress. Cows are out on Hospital Hill. No parking at the corral. No dogs on the trails. No exceptions. Please respect the wishes of the landowners – they let us use their land, and in return, we respect their rules! New Whoopdee: open. Other news: Mountain View Cycles women’s ride is every Thursday, bottom of Post at 5:30pm. Dirty Fingers has the Post n’ Pint on Thursday evenings at 5:30pm from the shop. They also have the women’s Post n’ Pinot Wednesday evening at 5:30pm from the shop.  

Sprinter Van of the Week!

  Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!  

Local Events

Not much happening thanks to the pandemic…   Have an awesome day!