Wednesday: another windy day… =)

The best snow forecast for Mt. Hood. The best wind forecast for the Gorge.

Thank you for using this forecast. Like it? Find it useful? Support it (and me!) by sending some cash my way. What’s it cost to support me and get the email version? Not $99 a year. Nope. Not $49. Just $19.99 or more gets you a year. People are added to this list on Thursday and Sunday. My day job is crisis mental health, and I don’t have time on other days. Thanks for your patience! Click below to contribute. Thank you!!

Auto-renewing subscription. Easy. Awesome. Set and forget!

Thank you for contributing and keeping this forecast going! Not ready to subscribe? No problem – please share this forecast with all your friends too! I appreciate your support!

The Forecast

Your favorite beach	Dawn Patrol	9am- 11:30a	11:30a- 3pm	3pm- dusk
Today’s Gorge Wind – these are ranges for the average speed, not a predicted wind range. =)
Rooster Rock	cloudy	day	buns	go away
Steven’s Locks	G21-24	G21-24	G21-24	G23-27
Viento	G21-24	G21-24	G21-24	G23-27
Swell-Hood River	G21-24	G21-24	G21-24	G23-27
Lyle to Doug’s	24-27	24-27	28-32	28-32
Rufus, etc.	28-32	28-32	28-32	28-32
Roosevelt & Arlington	28-32	28-32	28-32	28-32

Gorge Wind Forecast

Yesterday took a bit longer than expected to materialize, but materialize it did in the eastern Gorge. Winning location: Arlington, where about six of us had a ginormous 40mph session to ourselves. We had to leave because we were tired, not because it stopped! Today will be more welcoming for more folks as average speeds are down about 10mph from yesterday. Still plenty windy! Moderate westerlies are planned Thursday and Friday followed by a windier day for the eastern Gorge on Saturday.

Much cooler air, evidenced by marine clouds past Hood River, infiltrated the Gorge last night. Thanks to the ginormous pressure gradients yesterday, that cool air made it all the way east to Idaho. Heat lingers in the Washington desert and in central Oregon. That’ll help us later. We kick off the day with pressures of 30.15/30.01/29.92, for gradients of 0.14/0.09. We also have offshore high pressure, and a stable airmass. These are good things! Gradients and marine clouds indicate you’ll have your best results Mosier eastward. Indeed… we start the day with gusty 15-25 west of Mosier and 25-35 average speeds from Mosier (probably) to Threemile (definitely). The western Gorge, west of Mosier, perhaps west of Lyle, will linger in the gusty 21-24 range under partly cloudy sky for most of the day. Head a bit east, Mosier-or-Lyle eastward, for 25-29 this morning and 28-33 this afternoon. Sweet spot? Probably Roosevelt/Arlington again, but potentially Maryhill to Rufus as the air mass is more stable than yesterday. River flow yesterday was 137-193kcfs, river temps is 64F, and high temp forecast is 66F.

Thursday kicks off with westerlies at 13-16 or so all the way from Stevenson to Arlington. Models indicate marine clouds will burn off and leave the western Gorge well-situated. Midday westerlies rise to 17-20 from Stevenson to Mosier. Afternoon: 20-23 from Hood River or Mosier to Doug’s with 14-17 from Viento to Hood River and 17-20 at Stevenson. High temp: 75F.

A cold front approaches on Friday and nudges the wind upwards in the afternoon. The start: a bit more mellow. We should see 15-18 from Stevenson to Mosier early in the morning. Afternoon wind, with thermal help and a nudge from this offshore system, rises to gusty 21-24 from Stevenson to Doug’s and then shifts a bit east. Hang out between Hood River and Rufus for gusty 23-27. West of there: mid teens. The Executive Session should add Arlington at 23-27.

Models like the idea of upper 20’s east of The Dalles on Saturday as cold air pours into the western half of the region. Sunday and Monday are looking like low 20’s east of Mosier, but that’s subject to change as there’s some model spread that far out. We’ll look more as we get closer!

FORECAST SPONSORED BY / AWESOME COMPANIES TO SUPPORT

Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast

Wind speed in knots. Direction Northerly unless otherwise noted for Coast. Westerly for Jones. Northerly for Sauvie Island. North/Central/South, waves. Wave forecast provided by NWS. Wednesday: 15-20/15-20/35+, NW swell 7′ at 10 seconds. Thursday: 10-15/15-20/35+, NW 5′ @ 9. Friday: 5-10/10-15/30-35, NW 2′ @ 8. Jones Wednesday: 11-14. Thursday: 15-18. Friday: 16-19. Sauvie Island Wednesday: NW 11-14. Thursday: N12-15. Friday: 10-13.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

On vacation until fall unless something extraordinary happens.

Hood River Weather Forecast

Partly cloudy sky sticks around all day. Temps will be in the mid 50’s early and mid 60’s later. Moderate westerlies may become strong in the evening. No rainbows. Thursday starts partly cloudy and ends with a few high clouds. Temps start in the upper 40’s and rise to the mid 70’s. Moderate westerlies. No rainbows. Friday will be partly high overcast. Temps start near 50 and rise near 80. Moderate to moderately strong westerlies. No 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! Coming up Sunday, there’s a swap meet at Windance. It’s the Backyard Half in White Salmon on Saturday. The Pray for Wind party is at Kickstand on Saturday.

Regular weekly events: NK Studios in Bingen has a donation-based yoga class at 7:30am every Tuesday. Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. There’s meditation with monks at 5:15pm (an hour) and 6:30pm (30 minutes plus a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, there’s a run from Pine Street Bakery. On Fridays at 2:30pm, there’s a free meditation and stretching class at Yoga Samadhi. On Saturday at 9am, there’s a by-donation outdoor group fitness on the 2rd floor deck above Ferment Brewing.

Regular bike rides (thanks to the Hood River Area Trail Stewards for collecting). Tuesday is Mountain View’s ride. Meet at 5:45pm on Post Canyon Drive where the pavement ends. Wednesday is the Evo/Kickstand all-ability, no-drop Post Canyon ride. 5:30 from the shop or join along the way. All abilities welcome. Thursday is Mountain View’s women’s ride. 5:30pm, Seven Streams Trailhead. No drop. Thursday is also the Dirty Fingers Post and Pint. 5:30 from the shop or later at Family Man. This is hardcore, race-pace. Saturday morning is the Mountain View road/gravel ride. Two hours. 12-14mph average speed. Starting May 6th, Oregon Ebikes has the women’s ride at 8:30am. Meet at Seven Streams parking lot for a 1.5 to 2 hour ride.

Cycling

How much rain do you need to make brown pow out of dust? Somewhere between 0.1” and 0.25”. Maybe late this weekend or early next week! Post is clear of snow to the top. Dog River and Surveyor’s are clear. Bottle Prairie, 8 Mile, and Super Connector are open and already dusty. Fifteenmile is rideable. Super Duper Connector is open. There is still snow on a short section of Surveyor’s between the Cooks Meadow intersection and Dog River. Nestor Peak is clear of snow. The USFS website says that Lewis River is open and clear. Falls Creek isn’t even close! The Forest Loop above Trout Lake is open as is the mixed surface Sleeping Beauty/8810 loop.

Cows are in on Hospital Hill. That means dogs are no longer allowed. Even if your dog is cool. Even if you’re a local. Even if … you get the picture! Hospital Hill is private land. Please respect the wishes of the landowners – they’re generous enough to let folks use that land, and dogs have been shot there before. Please don’t ride muddy trails, or you’ll do permanent damage. Always remember to consider gravel riding! If you’re parking at Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.

Valuable Advice for Gardeners Inhabiting Neighboring Areas

All that weeding you’ve (I’ve) been putting off will get done in the next week or so! Weeds (especially those that haven’t gone to seed) are nitrogen for your compost. Mix them in with some browns, and you’ll have a hot, quick pile fired up in no time at all!