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The Forecast
Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Your favorite beach
Dawn
Patrol
9am-
11:30a
11:30a-
3pm
3pm-
dusk
Rooster Rock
cool
clouds
chill
buns
Steven’s Locks
5-10
5-10
5-10
5-10
Viento
30-35
G20-30
G17-20
G17-20
Swell-Hood River
G17-20
G17-20
G17-20
G17-20
Lyle to Doug’s
G17-20
G17-20
28-32+
28-32+
Rufus, etc.
28-32
28-32
32+
32+
Roosevelt & Arlington
28-32
22-25
28-32
28-32
Patrol
11:30a
3pm
dusk
Gorge Wind Forecast
Vastly different weather is in the offing through the weekend, and for the most part, that means lots of wind. Very strong offshore high pressure combines with passing weather systems and relatively warm temps in the desert to keep the westerlies flowing.
Looking at Tuesday’s details, we see marine clouds past Hood River, strong offshore high pressure, a passing cold front, an inland cold upper low, and excellent gradients to start the day: 0.12 (pdx-dls) and 0.15 (dls-psc). Viento is reacting to the cold front’s passing with 30-35 at dawn. Probably best not to count on that. Look east instead. You’ll find 28-32 from Maryhill to Arlington to start the day with 18-21 between Stevenson and Celilo. Midday wind dips to 22-25 east of Rufus, falls to 7-10 at Stevenson, and holds at gusty 17-20 between Viento and Bingen. Everything levels out this afternoon in classic cloudy-west style: expect 7-10 at Stevenson, gusty 17-20ish to Bingen (or perhaps Mosier), and 28-32 from (Mosier?) Lyle to Arlington with 20-26 at Threemile. It’s entirely possible, given the strong synoptic-scale support, that speeds could bounce into the 30-35+ range between Rowena and Rufus. Be prepared: leave no small gear at home. River flow is 105kcfs. River temp is 71F. High temp forecast is 70F for Hood River and 73F for Rufus.
Inland pressure rebounds somewhat on Wednesday giving wind speeds a nudge downward. Partly cloudy sky starts the day in the western Gorge along with westerlies at 13-16 all the way from Viento to Arlington. Don’t chase the wind eastward. Midday westerlies will be 7-10 in the east (and won’t build) with 14-17 from Stevenson to Mosier. Afternoon: 20-23 from Mosier to Avery. High temp: 81F.
Looking at Thursday, we see a solid marine push combined with afternoon heat in the desert and very strong offshore high pressure. Reality is likely to outperform the models, and those models already suggest a windy day. Early wind will be 5-10 at Stevenson, 16-19 from Viento to Moiser, and 10-13 east to Arlington. Pick any spot – it’ll be one of those days. Midday wind will be 20-23 at Stevenson, 24-27 from Viento to The Dalles, 20-23 at Rufus, and 13-16 at Arlington. Wait for the heat to build in the Columbia Basin, and you’ll find 27-31 from Mosier to Rufus with 24-27 east of there to Threemile. High temp forecast is 83F for Hood River and 87F for Biggs.
Models contain a fair bit of spread for the weekend, but the general picture is for solid westerlies and below-normal temps. If you want to track the changes in the forecast, here’s today’s extended forecast guess: 25-29 Friday, 21-24 Saturday, and 26-29 on Sunday. Wow. That’s a stretch of good wind. Enjoy!
Coast, Jones, Coast
Coast (north/central/south, waves. Wind direction north unless otherwise noted. Swell forecast from NWS.) Tuesday: LTW/LTNW/N30-35, NW swell 7′ at 8 seconds. Wednesday: NW5/N5-15/N30-35, NW 7′ @ 9. Thursday: NW5-10/NW10-15/N30-35, NW 8′ @ 9. Jones Tuesday: 8-11. Wednesday: 17-20. Thursday: 13-16. Sauvie’s Tuesday: 7-10. Wednesday: 9-12. Thursday: LTV.
Mt. Hood Weather forecast
On vacation unless some wintry weather happens.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Mostly cloudy sky this morning will become partly cloudy in the afternoon. Temps will be in the upper 50’s early and near 70 later. Moderate westerlies. No rainbows. Wednesday starts partly cloudy and turns clear. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and low 80’s in the afternoon. Moderate westerlies. No rainbows. Thursday will be mostly cloudy and then partly cloudy. Temps will be in the upper 50’s early and low 80’s later. Moderate to strong westerlies. No rainbows. Cooler temps are predicted for the weekend.
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
SDS (Whoopdee, Underwood), BLC, HFM, DGS, and Kreps Land (Hospital Hill) are now closed until the end of fire season. It is also vital that people respect this closure to maintain positive relationships between the landowners and trail users. DNR land in Eastern Washington (Buck Creek / Nestor Peak) is all closed to recreation due to fire danger.
Open trails: Post, Falls Creek, Lewis River, Sandy Ridge, Columbia Hills, Gorge 400, Plains of Abraham / Ape Canyon. 44 Road: Eightmile, Fifteenmile, Bottle Prairie, Dog River, Superconnector, Cedar, Knebal, Cooks Meadows, 450 to the top, Gunsight, Underhill. Siouxon has reopened. Huffman: not sure.
Maple Road in Post Canyon is closed. DO NOT drive past the closed signs. If you do so, you will jeopardize TRAIL access for the entire summer. This is the road that runs to the west, just north of the Binns/Riorden intersection. Also, the trail from the bottom of Post Canyon to Seven Streams Staging Area is now closed. It’s on private land. Respect the closure.
Local Events
IFPL 3 restrictions west of Highway 35 went into effect on 7/16. No more motorized use in Post Canyon trails. Mountain View Cycles women’s ride is every Thursday, bottom of Post at 5:30pm. They have an all-genders ride at 6pm on Wednesday, end of the pavement on Post Canyon Road. Their shop road ride leaves at 9am on Saturday for a 2 hour ride. 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. Oregon E-Bikes has ladies’ rides at 7:30am Sunday and Monday. The Small Boat Group does paddles every Thursday evening at 6pm at the Hatchery.
Other weekly events. Normally on Tuesday night there’s meditation with the Pacific Hermitage Monks at 5:15 (1 hour) and 6:30 (30 minutes followed by a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. In-person meditation is on “pause” due to the recent Covid surge. It will happen on the Pacific Hermitage YouTube page at 6:30. Triathlon practice with the Tri Club is Tuesday at 6pm at West Mayer State Park. Sailboat races happen Wednesday night from the Hood River Marina. There are also lesser races on Friday nights. Cheno’s workout is every Saturday at 10am at the Ferment Lawn in Hood River ($10). Families in the Park starts August 5th at Jackson Park and runs for several weeks on Thursday evening.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
