The Gorge Is My Gym

GORGE WIND FORECAST

today’s gorge wind forecast

Hi friends! High pressure builds inland today for a two-day warm spell and a one-day no-wind spell. We’re back to westerlies in the Gorge wind forecast, potentially very strong westerlies, starting late in the day on Wednesday. Strong wind persists Thursday. We’re left with ridging and heat and easterlies on Friday. Looking at the weekend, we’ve got good potential for very strong wind both days as strong offshore high pressure combines with an inland heat low for big to ginormous cross-Cascade pressure gradients. It’s a good thing we’ve got Friday squished in there as a rest day!

Tuesday’s a great day to rest from wind sports, because there won’t be much wind at all. Light/variable conditions this morning turn calm midday. Stevenson then picks up to 15mph this afternoon, and Iwash (Rooster) Rock rises to 10mph. From mid-afternoon on, we’ll have easterlies at 5-10mph from Hood River eastward. River flow over the last 24 hours was 124-186kcfs, river temp is 58.3F, and high temp forecast is 82F with mostly clear sky.

tomorrow’s gorge wind forecast

You might be fooled into thinking Wednesday will be a no wind day if you made a forecast based on initial conditions. Don’t be fooled. A trough approaching the coast shunts the hottest air into the desert. This sets us up for a strong thermal gradient in the afternoon. Morning, however, delivers a short burst of easterlies at 20-25mph at both Iwash and Stevenson – that’ll be a true dawn patrol. Easterlies will be gone by late morning. Models suggest westerlies will build to 25-28+ from Stevenson to Hood River and then to Doug’s late afternoon. They keep building; the evening session looks like 27-31 from Stevenson to Rufus. Caveat: models currently are consistent with this timing, but that doesn’t mean reality will agree. We often see the wind come in a few hours later than expected with this setup. That said, there’s room for some delay, and we should see a fun Wednesday afternoon. High temp: 89F and sunny.

extended Gorge wind forecast

Thursday sees that trough move inland and high pressure build off the coast. This cools us down by almost 20 degrees, but still leaves plenty of cross-Cascade pressure and thermal gradient. Dawn Patrol looks like 27-31 east of The Dalles with gusty 20-23 from Stevenson to Doug’s. The current forecast calls for the Stevenson-Mosier zone to drop to 17-20 with Lyle to Arlington rising to 29-32 in the afternoon. High temp: 71F for Hood River with clouds into midday and 78F for Arlington, where it should be sunny all day.

On Friday, high pressure briefly returns and sets us up with easterlies that might be strong enough to get some of you on the river. The heat low shifts inland on Saturday, and strong, cool NW flow develops thanks to a very strong offshore high. This is a nearly-ideal setup and is likely to result in very strong west wind focused near Hood River. Models keep strong westerlies around on Sunday. The only caveat to this is some uncertainty about high temps on Saturday, which could result in a somewhat different (but almost certainly still windy) outcome. Ensembles call for westerlies of some sort to continue next Monday and Tuesday, but they’ll likely be less strong. All-in-all, I’d call that a pretty good seven days with (thankfully) some rest mixed into the picture. See you on the Nch’i Wana!

BARE BONES HOOD RIVER WEATHER FORECAST

Mostly clear with a few clouds today. Temps start near 50 and rise to the lo w80s. Calm wind most of the day. Light easterlies in the afternoon. No rainbows. Wednesday will be clear. Temps start in the mid 50s and rise to the upper 80s. Calm wind early. Strong westerlies later. No rainbows. Thursday will be partly to mostly cloudy early and mostly clear later. Temps start in the mid 50s and rise to the low 70s. Moderately strong west wind. No rainbows.