Gorge Wind Forecast
Hello, this is your forecaster the broken record: we’re starting off today, Monday, with light wind in the Gorge. As a cold front approaches this coast this afternoon, we’ll see gusty westerlies pick up in the Gorge. By 11am, the wind should be 10-13 pretty much everywhere. By 2pm, we’ll have gusty 21-24 or so from Stevenson all the way to Arlington. River temp is 52 degrees, flow at The Dalles is 419kcfs (probably too much for Maryhill), and 965 Chinook made it past Bonneville yesterday.
Tuesday’s weather picture is quite complicated, and that’s going to impact wind quality and reliability, as well as forecast accuracy. A cold front swings onshore in the morning and is followed by an upper level low moving onshore in the afternoon. While this will combine with offshore high pressure for strong gradients, it will also destabilize the atmosphere and bring showers with a possibility of thunder. In terms of wind, this works out to 10-13 east of the rain (Mosier eastward, perhaps?) to start the day. After 11am, gradients will increase, giving us gusty 24-28 east of the low clouds. We could see periods of stronger wind, and we’ll almost certainly see lesser periods if thunderstorms kick off. (continued below the chart)
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | clouds | above, | butts | below | |
| Steven’s Locks | light | 10-13 | 15-18 | 20-23 | |
| Hatchery/White Salmon Sandbar (minus a few for Hood River) | light | 10-13 | 15-18 | 20-23 | |
| Doug’s, Lyle, Rowena | light | 10-13 | 15-18 | 20-23 | |
| Rufus, etc. | light | 10-13 | 15-18 | 20-23 | |
| Roosevelt, etc. | light | 10-13 | 15-18 | 20-23 | |
Gorge Wind Forecast, continued.
That pesky low pressure system moves east on Wednesday and high pressure builds off the coast. The situation doesn’t look ideal, but it does look better than Tuesday. I think we’ll see Dawn Patrol at 20-23 from Swell eastward to Arlington. Models suggest the wind will pick up to 28-32+ quickly from Swell to Arlington. My guess would be that the wind will fade a bit in the afternoon at the far eastern beaches. Also, we may need to wait for low clouds to burn off for the beaches near Hood River to really fire up. Do keep in mind the very strong current – you’ll want to evaluate your skills and the current carefully before you head out.
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Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast
Nothing going through Wednesday at any of these locations. Long-range forecasts suggest a very windy weekend at Pistol River, with the wind likely extending up to the central coast.
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
By this time of year, the Mt. Hood snow forecast usually becomes a few sentences. That is not the case today as a major weather system is headed our way. The snow level today will be 3500′ early, 5500′ in the afternoon, and 5000′ overnight. That’s a bit warmer than yesterday’s model run suggested, so we’ll see less snow. Still, this is a big system. Snow starts up around 5pm tonight. We’ll see 1.3” water value (WV) tonight, for 8-10” of dense snow above 5000′. Wind will be rise to SW 20 in the afternoon and W 30 overnight.
Tuesday looks very snowy. The snow level will be 5000′ early, quickly dropping to 3000′-3500′ and staying there. With very strong orographic enhancement due to strong west wind, we’ll see 1.2” WV during the day, for 9-12” of new snow. Another 1.4” WV is forecast overnight, for 12-15” of additional snow. This seems utterly nuts to me, but that’s what the GFS thinks, and it tends to handle this pretty well. Wind on Tuesday, as I said, will be the driving force behind the heavy snowfall: W 30 early, W 35 in the afternoon, and NW 40 after midnight.
Models suggest clearing by mid-morning Wednesday, but it’ll be interesting to see if that actually happens given the very strong NW flow. The snow level will be 3500′ early, 6000′ in the afternoon, and 7000′ in the afternoon and evening. If the models are correct, the mountain will see just a couple inches of snow in the morning, possibly with some sprinkles in the afternoon. Wind will be NW 40 most of the day, NW 30 in the evening, and N 10 overnight.
Random Morning Thoughts
Most of us daydream. When I daydream, I contemplate a life where I don’t have a huge to-do list hanging over my head. I contemplate having the space to not feel like I “should” be doing something else. I suspect other people have this daydream.
Reflecting on this, I wonder if hoping for this outcome is too much, given my busy life, given all our busy lives. Perhaps an answer lies in letting go of the “shoulds” that don’t bring fulfillment, or finding ways that they become less burdensome.
I know that I spend too much time on my schoolwork. My expectations of myself are so high (for various reasons), that I set aside other joys in pursuit of educational excellence. In what ways do you do this? Some people overcommit to volunteering. Some work crazy-long hours. Some people just keep moving all the time, never stopping. In what ways do you “should” yourself into erasing all your free time? And how can you change this? That’s just my morning thought, as I stress out about my school projects. Have an awesome day!
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist (but I could be 40 graduate school credits from now). 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. One other thing: I plan to keep doing this forecast indefinitely, even when I am a therapist.
Gorge Weather Forecast
Oh what a pretty morning: partly cloudy with plenty of sun and snowy volcanoes. Clouds will increase this afternoon, and rain will fall after 8pm, becoming heavy overnight. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the low 60’s this afternoon. Light wind early, moderate westerlies later. No rainbows. Tuesday looks rainy with periods of showers. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the mid 50’s in the afternoon. Light wind in the morning. Strong wind in the afternoon. 99.95% chance of rainbows. Wednesday looks partly cloudy with a few sprinkles early. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and the low 60’s in the afternoon. Strong west wind. 4% 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
Surveyor’s Ridge is apparently clear of downed trees but not clear of snow, at least the singletrack part of it. Dog River is open. In road bike news, Lost Lake Road is open, but I have no info on Lake Branch or Vista Ridge. Guessing they are still snowy… No dogs are allowed on Hospital Hill due to grazing cattle, and the Rowena Curves remain closed due to a rockslide. The Historic Columbia River Highway Trail is open all the way to Warrendale, with two trees down at a very obvious spot. Happy riding!
Upcoming Events
Today’s free community events include meditation at Trinity Natural Medicine in Hood River at noon, pickup kickball at Daubenspeck Park in Bingen at 6, and meditation at Bethel Congregational in White Salmon at 7. There are three free yoga classes today: 6pm at Samadhi, 6:30 at the Mt. Hood Town Hall, and 6:45 at Pure Yoga in The Dalles. Coming up tomorrow, there’s a free dance exercise class at the White Salmon Grange at 11, and pickup touch rugby at the Hood River Marina t 5:45. There’s also meditation at Yoga Samadhi tomorrow night at 6:30 with the monk(s) from Pacific Hermitage.
Coming up Friday, there’s a free Davinci bikes demo day at Sandy Ridge starting at 10am. My bike is a Davinci, and I think they are awesome. And Sandy Ridge is awesome. This Saturday looks quite busy. There’s a trail work party on the Buck Creek Trail, also known as Nestor Peak, on Saturday. Post Canyon hosts the Cascadia Dirt Cup Enduro Race on Saturday. The Hood River Saddle club has a dressage show, and Trout Lake has the Mt. Adams Endurance equestrian ride.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
