Temira's Gorge Forecast

Hi Everyone,

The iWindsurf maps appear to be down this morning. You can still check the wind by using myIW, or just go to windonthewater.com, my favorite website on the planet. You can also access WOW from your cell phone, and it will use less of your kb's than IW. Anyway...

High pressure built over the Gorge last night, dragging down gradients and weakening winds. We’ll see a gentle build as the day progresses, topping out in the 17-20 range at best. If you want more wind, don’t despair. Tomorrow afternoon, The North Pacific High appears, ratcheting up both Gorge and Coast gradients. 24-28 in the afternoon in the Gorge, and 20-25 at the Central coast. A 7 foot swell makes Florence the call.

 

Winds whistle through the Gorge Saturday as a front passes early. Dawn Patrol (22-26) is likely at Doug’s. or the Hatch, depending on the cloud line. Saturday also holds two windurfing events. CGWA parties on at the Event Site with Beachfest. At the coast, the unofficial, unsponsored, no-litigation-allowed, just for fun, no prizes/no classes Florence Wave Contest takes place at the South Jetty at Florence, also known as the coldest place on Earth.

Yes, I know it's lame to just copy over the radio forecast. But hey, I'm sleepy (the first cup of coffee is sitting in front of me) and sore (Arlington yesterday) and just generally a lazy person (not really) except when it comes to windsurfing at Arlington.

Have a great day!

Temira

It's a lovely liquid sunshine day in Hood River. I haven't got the foggiest (um, no pun intended) idea where the cloud line is, but it's a long ways east of here. Gradients at 6am were .06/.07/.24, suggesting that the desert is the call.

With the upper low passing through southern BC, flow will be south-west today. I'm not ruling out The Wall, but this setup really favors Arlington and Threemile. (Has anyone noticed that I have a strong bias towards Arlington?) Gusty 30ish winds begin early afternoon. Only thing is... dam flow is quite low, at 122kcfs/110kcfs, making for only 12kcfs difference. It's going to take a fair bit of wind to get swell rolling out there...

Then again, 30+ at Arlington will be better than 30+ at Doug's or Rowena, so I'm driving.

Tomorrow looks lighter as a ridge builds over the Northwest. 15-20. Friday sees a surprise appearance by the North Pacific High. Coast winds pick up from Manzanita southwards. Pistol nukes. The Gorge sees 22-26.

At this point, the holiday weekend looks windy. Long ways out to make that call, though.

Finally, Joe M. is showing King of Hearts at the Columbia Center for the Arts tonight. Hilarious French film. $5 donation gets you in. 7:30. Be there or be square.

Have a great day!

Temira

Hi Everyone!

If you looked out your window this morning, you'd think it was a perfect setup for wind. Clouds in the corridor. Silkworm cloud on Burdoin Mountain. Well, guess again. Gradients are only .05 right now, and are not predicted to get much better. High pressure fills in over the Gorge, keeping gradients from climbing much. At least it will be sunny today.

Tomorrow looks windier, as an upper level low crosses to the north. This is going to be one of those semi-predictable wind events. I'm leaning towards Doug's/Arlington again. 25-30 in the afternoon.

Get it tomorrow, because it won't be windy again until the weekend. Yes, it's looking like Labor Day weekend will be windy. It's going to be more of this fluky frontal winds, but that's better than glass!

I'm off to work.

Have a great day!

Hi Everyone,

I have to clean a house early Monday (mostly so I can go to the desert in the afternoon) so I'm giving you what I know now.

I don’t want to talk about yesterday’s lack of wind. This is making me totally meshugah. If you must talk about it, talk amongst yourselves.

 

While you talk, I’m going to tell you about today’s wind. Sprinkles and clouds start the day, but this afternoon looks good. An upper low creeps into the desert and weak high pressure builds at the coast. This isn’t a perfect setup, but it’s a lot better than what we’ve seen lately. By 2pm, we should see 27-32 in the desert.My pick, again, is Roosevelt. I'm not sure what it's going to do at Maryhill... the only way to tell is to look at the sensor before you go. 268-271 degrees tends to be good. I've seen it terrible at 271, however, and great at 272. The peaches are delicious, either way.

 

If you like lots of wind, get it today. High pressure blankets the Northwest tomorrow, halving windspeeds and warming temperatures. We should still see 13-18 for much of the day.

 

Wednesday looks windy again, but I’m not sure about strength, timing, or quality yet. Another unseasonable upper level low crosses BC, driving eastern Gorge gradients.There might even be a bit of high pressure at the coast to give an assist.

 

Paddlers, the Klickitat’s at 4.04 feet, the Whtie Salmon’s at 1.95 feet, and the Little White’s at 285 cfs.

 

Finally, the snow level today is at 7000 feet. Take plenty of clothes if you’re going hiking, backpacking or skiing. There might just be fresh powder at the top of Timberline today… if nothing else, the mountains will look gorgeous tomorrow!

Have a great day!

Temira

Good morning everyone!

Unless you were up at 6am, you missed a beautiful sunrise. I think it was the most beautiful sunrise I've seen in the Gorge. But then again, I don't see many sunrises, not being a morning person.

(I was going to do the forecast while the sunrise was happening, but I fell asleep. Now it's 10:30.)

(And hey, it's pouring rain in Sequim, where they've outlawed rain!)

Winds are finally starting to pick up as the front approaches. It's still a sad picture with only a .04 gradient. It still looks like we'll see wind today, but it's going to be 21-25 this afternoon, gusty, and probably at Rowena.

Tomorrow looks better. The cloudline will be far east. I'll say 18-22 to start. 26-30 mid afternoon at Arlington.

If I drive out there again and the wind dies, I will be very sad.

Have a great day!

Temira

Hello Sailors,

Many thanks to Pablo for the therapeutic suggestion for dealing with Thursday's disappointment. Pablo used to be my wind adviser... he always seems to know when and where it will be windy. A couple of years ago, I'd know I was in the right place if Pablo was there. Now that he has a real - and good - job, he can't be my barometer. Instead, he's my therapist. You'll have to listen to the audio to know. It's posted at Gorgeradio.com... somewhere...

You may need Pablo's advice for Saturday. Not much in the way of wind. Light thermals late if we're very lucky. Otherwise... well... there's free food and music at the grand opening of the Hood River Waterfront Park (4-7 pm), also known as the New Beach. No, not the nude beach. That's at Rooster Rock. Although... Never mind... Ann would kill me...

Sunday looks much better for windsurfing and kiting. An upper level low off B.C. pushes a front our way in the afternoon. This will limit heating in Portland, while the desert remains toasty. Best winds buffet afternoon wind bunnies with averages in the 22-26 range. If this summer's pattern holds, we'll see 2 hours of good sailing in the corridor, followed by less consistent winds at Doug's, etc. Stevenson seems to do well under this pattern as well.

I've placed Monday's forecast in the wait-and-see folder. Theoretically it should be windy, but models aren't looking so hot yet.

Alrighty. One last thing: Free movie at Jackson Park tomorrow night is The Little Mermaid. Starting time is dusk, right around 8:30.

Oh, and the mountain bike trails are in awesome shape after the rain last week.

Have a great day!

Temira