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The Forecast
| Your favorite beach | Dawn Patrol |
9am- 11:30a |
11:30a- 3pm |
3pm- dusk |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rooster Rock | muggy | weather | sticky | buns | |
| Steven’s Locks | LTW | LTW | 10-13 | G16-19 | |
| Swell-Hood River | LTW | LTW | 10-13 | G16-19 | |
| Lyle to Doug’s | LTW | LTW | 10-13 | G13-16+ | |
| Rufus, etc. | LTW | LTW | 10-13 | 10-13 | |
| Roosevelt & Arlington | LTW | LTW | LTW | LTW | |
Gorge Wind Forecast
We made it through the hot and sticky and not-windy weather yesterday, and we have one more day of hot-and-sticky (but kinda windy) to survive before stronger wind and cooler weather arrives. Nuking westerlies show up Friday and strong westerlies persist in the eastern Gorge Saturday. Models hint that a Sunday morning Dawn Patrol will give way to calm wind in the afternoon. After that: our first round of extended offshore flow (east wind) for 2-3 days. One more thing: I still have a helmet that I found floating in the Columbia near the White Salmon Bridge on Monday. Please reach out to me if you’d like it back!
Thursday morning starts off with pressures of 29.95/29.91/29.93 for westerly 0.04 west of The Dalles and easterly 0.02 east of The Dalles. So, naturally, you’ll want to stay west of The Dalles today! We’ll see light wind this morning, less than 10mph, with 10-13mph possible at Viento. By 11am or so, we should have 8-11mph from Stevenson to Hood River. Westerlies slowly build into the evening. They’ll finally land at gusty 16-19ish from Stevenson to The Dalles. Rufus: 10-13. East of there: calm. River flow readings are 110-154kcfs, river temp is 71ish, and high temp forecast is 94F and muggy. Fingers crossed for enough wind to get on the river this evening!
Friday brings very strong west wind. Do not leave home without your smallest gear, and consider making a deal for some smaller gear from a smaller person. Cool air surges into the west side and keeps high temps around 80. Desert heat continues with a forecast high of 97F in Pasco. Strong high pressure settles in offshore. How windy will it be? Let’s start with Dawn Patrol: 22-26 from Viento to Mosier (maybe Stevenson too) with 15-18 from Lyle to Avery and 10-13 in the eastern Gorge. Midday: 27-31 from Stevenson to The Dalles with 20-23 east to Arlington. Afternoon: 29-33+ from Stevenson to Arlington with 25-29 at Threemile. Of note – models suggest marine clouds will surge into the western Gorge after 5pm. This will knock down the wind for the western Gorge executive session. Consider driving east. Hints: 1) Bring your smallest gear. 2) Never leave wind to find wind (says Bart). 3) Ride with a buddy and keep them in sight, and consider a PFD and helmet. High temp: 81F in Hood River, 90F in Arlington.
Saturday starts with deep marine clouds in the western Gorge and sunshine in the desert. This shifts your dawn patrol and daytime sailing to the east. Dawn Patrol: 24-28 east of The Dalles to Threemile with gusty 19-22 in the western Gorge. That’s actually the forecast all day long, at least for now. High temp: 74F. Models suggest a brief upper-teen dawn patrol on Sunday with a quick drop into the single digits as high pressure builds inland. Hopefully that will change. We’re then looking at warming temps and easterlies for 2-3 days to start next week. Must be getting close to fall, eh? Have a great few days on the river!
Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast
Coast forecast (north/central/south, waves). Swell forecast provided by NWS. Wind direction northerly unless otherwise noted. Thursday: 10-15/15-20/30-35, NW swell 5′ at 8 seconds. Of note: per Mark Nelsen’s blog, water temps are in the mid 60’s at the north coast and mid 50’s central coast on down. That’s really warm, especially the north coast, and should trigger a surf trip! Friday: NW5/NW10/N30-35, NW 5′ @ 8. Saturday: NW10/NNW10-15/N35-40, NW 7′ @ 9. Jones Thursday: 21-24. Friday: LTW. Saturday: 10-13. Sauvie’s Thursday: 15-18. Friday: 15-18. Saturday: 11-14.
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – On vacation until next fall
Hood River Weather Forecast
Thursday will be sunny all day with some clouds around Mt. Adams. Temps will be in the low 60’s early (open windows) and mid 90’s (eat watermelon) later. Muggy. Light wind early. Moderate westerlies in the afternoon. No rainbows. Friday will be sunny all day. Clouds move in around sunset. Temps start in the low 60’s (open windows) and end in the low 80’s (breathe a sigh of relief). Muggy. Nuking westerlies. No rainbows. Saturday starts cloudy with temps in the upper 50’s (aaaaah). There’s a slight chance of drizzle. The day ends in the mid 70’s (windows open, finally!). Moderate westerlies. 1% 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.
Local-ish Events
Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know! Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. The Small Boat paddlers have a group paddle at 6pm on Thursday at the Hatchery. Post and Pint happens Thursday evenings at 5:30. The women’s Post-and-Pinot ride is Wednesday evening at 5:30.
Cycling
As of Monday, 8/17, the following trails are closed due to fire danger: Hospital Hill, Underwood, Whoopdee, and andy lands Owned or Managed by American Forest Management, Broughton Lumber Company, DGS Timber, Green Diamond, Kreps Ranch, Kreps Family LLC, Lupine Forest, Manulife Forest Management, Twin Creeks Timber, and Western Pacific Timber, LLC in Klickitat, Skamania, Stevens, Yakima, Hood River and Wasco counties.
Other news: some nice Hood River folks went and cleared the Smith Creek trail by St. Helens. That loop is now open. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure of anything being closed. No report yet on Boulder Lakes or Gunsight, but I’m sure someone will email me after changing this. Caveats: the road connecting Plains of Abraham to Smith Creek closes at noon Monday-Friday and will not be open to bikers during that time. Courtney Road (the road that goes up above Syncline) is closed until October. Do not attempt to use it to access trails. If you’re riding Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
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Have an awesome day!
