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Good morning,

Dynamic weather systems are really cool… in the winter. In the summer, they can make predicting the wind really tough. As predicted yesterday, it got very windy in Stevenson, but then it never filled in anywhere else. The system causing the trouble is out of the picture now, and the gradient is at .18. It’s clear skies outside my window, and that means it’s a Corridor day today (complete with dawn patrol).

24-27 this morning at the Hatchery picks up briefly to 27-31 mid-morning, with less in Hood River, but still plenty of wind from Hood River out to The Dalles. East of there, expect 17-21. Models suggest the wind will back off this afternoon, but I think we’ll see mid-twenties all day.

High pressure starts building across the Cascades tomorrow, but we’ll still have west wind at 15-18+ early in the morning, fading a bit in the afternoon and switching to east wind late in the day.

On Friday and Saturday we’ll have east wind and heat.

On a more general note, I’ve been watching how the overall weather pattern affects Gorge wind. The last three summers have been La Nina times two and El Nino times one. The wind has been less than stellar from a windsurfing perspective (it’s been a lot better for kiters and slalom sailors). Our final option is an ENSO neutral year, like we have now. If El Nino isn’t great and La Nina isn’t either, then maybe the neutral year will be the epic one!

Tonight’s the busy night this week. There’s the Kayak Shed’s shop paddle on the Lower and Middle White Salmon. There’s Richard Hallman’s slide show on Oregon Surfing at Dog River this evening, with proceeds benefiting the Hood River Waterfront Park. Also tonight, it’s your chance to voice your opinion at the Hood River County Planning Commission’s Barrett Park meeting.

Coming up Saturday, it’s your chance to see Cliff Mass, author of the coolest book ever, the Weather of the Pacific Northwest. Sure, it’s in Portland at OMSI, but it’s going to be worth the drive. And, if enough of us show, maybe he’ll come out here and give us a talk on Gorge weather. Closer to home, there’s a CGORA dirt bike ride on Saturday and free SUP demos on Sunday for moms. And heat. Warm weather. And bike riding. Lots of road biking.

Oh, I almost forgot. The Girls Who Love Dirt had a great showing yesterday. Along with County guys and Rick Higgins from CGORA and token man Jeff Blackman, they put in the 133-140 connector trail in upper Post. It’s not a long trail, but it allows you to link some good riding without ever hitting the road. The trail, according to County guy Douglas, should be open this afternoon.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list for a year, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors during the summer season (and the winter if I get off my bum and get some!). If you don’t PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.

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Good morning,

My friend Kevin told me yesterday that he was going to have an ADHD sports weekend, and I think that’s a great idea… get in as many sports as you can today and tomorrow while it’s warm and sunny. Before you get out and play, head to the White Salmon firemen’s breakfast to fuel up. It runs from 6am to 10am, so both you and I are already late (6am?!?!? On a Saturday?!?!).

If you’re looking for wind, you’ll find it in the western Gorge today, as we get east winds in the 16-20 range this morning at Stevenson and Rooster, fading to 10-15 in the afternoon, and dying by the evening. Near Hood River, the wind will be calm this morning, picking up to 5ish this afternoon. Tomorrow morning we’ll start with light west wind in the 10-13 range from Hood River to Stevenson, filling in to the 20-23 range from Stevenson out to Maryhill late. We may see some disruption in the wind from high clouds and possible thunderstorms late in the day tomorrow.

Today, theoretically, is the first Gorge Cup race of the season. Registration is at the Event Site at 9am, but I don’t think the wind is going to cooperate with those racers today. Mother Nature is playing favorites with bike racers this weekend.

Coming up Monday, cool marine air pushes into the Gorge, setting up a big west wind day by noon, with 28-32 east of the low clouds, probably from Hood River eastward. Tuesday looks at least as windy as Monday, especially in the morning, when we’ll see the first Dawn Patrol of the season. See you at Cheap. I’ll have a spare 2.9 and a spare 3.2 Hot Sails Superfreak for anyone who wants to try them out.

If you’re out driving around today, keep an eye out for cyclists from the Tour de Hood. They’ll be leaving Hood River around 1 and riding to the Dalles over Rowena Crest and then back to the Hood over Sevenmile Hill. Those are casual cyclists. If you’d like to see some racers today, come to downtown Hood River this afternoon and watch the Criterium. If you’d like to ride with me, come do the Lost Lake Loop, because I want to ride my bike between high snowbanks, and I also want to check out the condition of the road.

The Black Dog Dual Sport is this weekend. They’ll be up in upper Post tomorrow, so if you want solitude on your moto, go somewhere else. But don’t bitch about the Black Dog, because it’s a super cool ride, there are 300 people here for it, and they’re out there picking up a bag of trash each day, which makes me (and should make you) feel pretty guilty for all those times you’ve ridden by garbage while out on your bike or moto. =)
Have an awesome day today!

Finally, if you’re looking for something to do tonight, CAST is putting on a free show featuring their top scenes of the last 5 years, a greatest hits of local acting, so check it out. 7:30pm, free, Columbia Center for the Arts.

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the sad-looking link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til April 2012, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.