Yes, it’ll be windy today. 5/11 Forecast

Good morning everyone!

Your ski report today is that Timberline’s open with 3” of new snow. There should be good fresh tracks this morning, but warm temps later today will make the snow thick and gooey and gloppy and bumpy and wet and just not so great later, so get it early.

The best call today is windsurfing or kiting if you’re into those wind-johnny sports. The morning gradient was huge (okay, really big, anyway): .17 from Portland to The Dalles, and the clouds were breaking up in Hood River. That’ll give us 28-32 at Mosier, Doug’s, and Lyle this morning, with a 50/50 chance of the wind filling in to the wall. Give the Corridor until 9:34am or so to steady out, and it will fill in too for a big day at the hatchery, which is wear I’m headed. If you’re joining me, one lane is open on SR 14 today, according to the WSDOT website (how do you say “WSDOT”?).

Westerlies in the 17-20 range early tomorrow morning fade to very light west winds as high pressure builds across the Cascades, brining sunshine to the east and west and the Cascades and everywhere in between. Thursday looks light as well.

With no rain in the forecast, this is a week to mountain bike. Post Canyon is currently the Superbowl of tackiness – that report comes from Dirty Fingers bike Repair, Hood River’s hub of bike repair productivity. Actually, there are a few muddy spots to avoid, but Clint and Maddie reported great conditions last night!

On the rivers, the Hood’s at 4 ft, the White Salmon’s at 3.6ft, the Wind River’s at 607cfs, and the Little White’s at 616cfs.

If you would like to be fed a free buffet dinner and learn about home energy savings, or if you’d like to learn about home energy savings and be fed this evening, come to the NW Natural and Energy Trust Workshop at the HR Library tonight (another reason to vote for the library district). You’ll need to preregister: Email Tonya Brumley, tlb@nwnatural.com or call 541-296-2229 ext 8610, 1-800-422-4012 ext 8610 or register online at energytrust.org under events and education. Thanks to Ron Martin, the free food maestro, for that information. I am sure the food will be good, but the home energy savings will allow you to purchase your own food in the future!

Have a great day today. I’ll see you at the Hatch!

Temira