The Gorge Is My Gym

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Gorge Wind Forecast

A round of hot wind is forecast for today (Wednesday) followed by not much on Thursday and a very windy Friday afternoon. The current weekend forecast has leftovers on Saturday morning all through the Gorge with the wind retreating to the western Gorge and dropping to the teens later. Sunday’s forecast is gusty low 20’s centered near Hood River. That’s all subject to change as the details aren’t clear. Next week: a fair bit of variety in model outcomes and no clear consensus yet.

Let’s look at Wednesday. Pressures at 6am were 29.92/29.88/29.89 for .04 pdx-dls and nothing out east. Worth noting – pressures are running behind models predictions. We have a weak weather system forecast to swing through today, which could cause some gustiness to the wind. High temps should reach 90ish in the west and the low triple digits out in the desert and contribute to thermal gradients. One thing worth noting: the deterministic GFS is predicting higher wind speeds than generally suggested by the ensembles. It’s possible the wind will stay in the low, rather than mid-upper, 20’s.

Your Viento Dawn Patrol is in the 13-16 range. Everywhere else is less than 5mph. Models suggest the wind will jump to 19-22 from Stevenson to Mosier by 11am with 10-13 at Rufus. Once the metro area heats up, the wind will shift a bit to the east: 22-25 from Mosier to Avery with 14-17 west of Mosier and east of Avery to Rufus. The plan for this afternoon is gusty 24-27 from Mosier or perhaps Lyle to Rufus, maybe adding Arlington. The wind holds in the upper teens west of Mosier with the possible exception of Stevenson, which could hold overperform at 19-22. River flow readings this morning are 76-160kcfs and will probably be 160ish this afternoon. River temp is 71F, and high temp forecast for Hood River is 92F. Pasco: 102F.

Thursday starts off with light westerlies and doesn’t do much more than that. You could catch an 11-14mph session at Viento around dawn, but that’s it. Models suggest the wind dies off thanks to heat everywhere. High temp: 94F.

Friday looks very windy, which is of course going to happen on the day I leave for a meditation retreat for a week. We’ll start with dawn patrol at 21-24 from Stevenson to Hood river with light/variable wind to the east. By late morning, you’ll find 24-27 from Stevenson to Mosier with 12-15 at Lyle. The real fun starts late in the day as cooler air pushes inland: 27-31+ from Stevenson to Rufus with 13-16 east of Rufus. That should hold through dusk. High temp: 90F and falling quickly in the evening.

Saturday starts with clouds in the western Gorge and lingering westerlies in the low 20’s out east. Don’t drive. The focus of the wind shifts to the western Gorge and the speed falls into the teens. Sunday: if the models hold with what they’re saying this morning, you can expect gusty 21-24 centered near Hood River. After that? Hints of alternating easterlies and westerlies next week, and strong hints of temps below 90 degrees, finally. Enjoy!  

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Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast

Coast forecast (north/central/south, waves). Swell forecast provided by NWS. Wind direction northerly unless otherwise noted. Wednesday: SSW10-15/LTS/LTS, W swell 4′ at 10 seconds. Thursday: LTW/NW5-10/N15-20, W 3′ @ 10. Friday: S10/LTSW/N5-10, W 4′ @ 10. Jones Wednesday: 20-23. Thursday: 13-16. Friday: 10-13. Sauvie’s Wednesday LTV until 5pm. 15-18 > 5pm. Thursday: 9-12. Friday: 17-20.  

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – On vacation until next fall

Hood River Weather Forecast

Mostly clear sky this morning turns clear later. Temps will be in the low 60’s early (open windows) and low 90’s later (close windows). Moderate to strong westerlies. No rainbows. Thursday will be sunny all day. Temps start in the low 60’s and end in the mid 90’s. Light westerlies. No rainbows. Friday will be clear. Temps start in the upper 50’s (very nice!) and end near 90. Moderate westerlies early. Strong westerlies later in the day. 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! Saturday is the Three Corner Rock 50k ultramarathon. Monday is the Roy Webster Cross-Channel Swim. Monday and Tuesday brings sailboat races to Cascade Locks. Sunday is the final CGWA swap meet of the season. Lot 1 at the Hood River waterfront.

Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. The Columbia Gorge Tri Club has a weekly workout at Mayer Park in Rowena at 6pm Tuesdays. 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!