Marine Weather and Tide Forecast for Hood River, OR

DISCUSSION
Tonight through Sunday...Relatively quiet weather expected these next few days, with mostly sunny skies and seasonable fall-like temperatures. An upper level trough over much of the western US continues to dig south with an upper level low over southern Oregon dropping into central California on Tuesday. This will bring offshore flow with east to northeast winds across the area through Tuesday night. East winds strongest out of the Columbia River Gorge through this evening with gusts up to 30 mph possible.
Clear skies tonight will allow for optimal conditions for radiational cooling, but only in areas sheltered from the east winds. Therefore, Frost Advisories have been issued for temperatures falling below 38 degrees overnight across much of the southern Willamette Valley, as well as parts of the Tualatin Valley, and northern Clark County in Washington. Not all locations within the advisory will see temperatures that cold, but still a good idea to cover or move sensitive plants indoor. A Freeze Warning remains in effect for the Upper Hood River Valley where overnight temperatures are likely to drop to around 28-32 degrees. Elsewhere, east winds will maintain slightly warmer temperatures overnight.

By early Wednesday, the upper low shifts east across the Great Basin, allowing for more north to northwesterly flow across the region. Weak upper level ridging begins to nudge over the Pacific NW by the middle of the week. This ridge is expected to flatten out through the end of the week, and will likely allow a weak front to push across the area late Thursday into Friday. Not much rain is expected with this front as there is generally less than a 20% chance of a tenth inch of precipitation. Mainly, increasing clouds will bring slightly cooler afternoon temperatures on Thursday.
Generally expect highs this week to remain fairly seasonable, with temperatures ranging from the upper 50s to mid-60s.

There is relatively good model and ensemble agreement for a frontal system to push across the region sometime later Saturday or Sunday, with a decent amount of rainfall possible. Probabilities for 1.0 inch of rainfall through Sunday night are 50-70% along the coast and around 20-30% inland.

AVIATION
VFR conditions across the region are expected to continue through the overnight. Winds remain from the east as low pressure slips southward into northern California. Sustained winds 10-15 kt with gusts 20-25 kt are expected to continue into tonight before the pressure gradient weakens over the area. Winds decrease to around 10 kt late tonight before increasing from the northeast again Tuesday morning.

KPDX AND APPROACHES...VFR conditions expected through the TAF period. Easterly winds 10-15 kt with gust 20-25 kt expected through the evening. Winds die down late tonight to around 10 kt from the northeast. /19

MARINE
Low pressure continues to drop southward, supporting northeast flow through Tuesday. Winds 15-20 kt with gusts to 25 kt will slowly weaken overnight as the pressure gradient loosens.
Winds over the northern waters are expected to drop below Small Craft criteria this evening and the central and southern inner waters later tonight. The central and southern outer waters hang on to gusty winds through Tuesday afternoon. Winds turn northwesterly on Wednesday to around 10 kt.

Seas 9-10 feet at 10 seconds will continue to drop overnight to around 7-8 feet at 9 seconds. Seas continue to drop to 4-5 feet at 8 seconds on Wednesday, persisting through Friday.

While the weather pattern remains a bit uncertain for this upcoming weekend, model guidance for wave height has improved. On Saturday, there is moderate to high confidence for seas around 8 to 10 ft. The latter half of the weekend into early next week shows a large range for potential wave heights. The high end scenario (10% chance) pushes waves to 18-20 feet while the low end scenario (10% chance) is closer to 10-12 feet. /19

PQR WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES

OR...Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM PDT Tuesday for ORZ104-108-109-116>118-124-125.

Freeze Warning from midnight tonight to 9 AM PDT Tuesday for ORZ121.

WA...Frost Advisory from midnight tonight to 9 AM PDT Tuesday for WAZ204>206-208.

PZ...Small Craft Advisory until 11 PM PDT this evening for PZZ252-253.

Small Craft Advisory until 5 PM PDT Tuesday for PZZ272-273.