Columbia River gorge winds (Vancouver, Camas: how much, house, to live in)

[cdelena]

I see the Vancouver weather forecasts often predict substantially higher winds 'near' the gorge. Just how close is 'near' the gorge? Is it within a 1/4 mile, 2 miles, or more?

We are considering a couple of properties that may be close enough to be subjected to more wind which could be a real negative.

Any words of wisdom?

[rambrush]

Portland is on 1 side river Vancouver on other side, Columbia Gorge is very well known in regards to the winds that coming howling down the columbia from the Dalles and on upwards towards Hermiston-Umatilla.

[the dufferz]

Originally Posted by cdelena

I see the Vancouver weather forecasts often predict substantially higher winds 'near' the gorge. Just how close is 'near' the gorge? Is it within a 1/4 mile, 2 miles, or more?

We are considering a couple of properties that may be close enough to be subjected to more wind which could be a real negative.

Any words of wisdom?

Run forrest run!

If you don't want heavy gorge related wind, don't be anywhere that is even related to the gorge. I would say that you would need to be lets say 20-50 miles away maybe, but it also depends on where along the gorge it is and stuff.

[Brett]

The worst of the winds are in the Gorge itself, but many fine communities (some of which I am thinking of relocationg too) are near the gorge and not as windy. I would not want to live IN the Gorge (ie Hood River, The Dalles, Bingen) but towns such as: Carson, Cook, Washougal (off the river) and Husum have great weather, and you can get to the Gorge easily.

[cdelena]

Here is an example:

Sunday: Sunny. Windy. Highs 40 to 45. East wind 15 to 25 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph late in the afternoon. Near the gorge...east wind 25 to 35 mph with gusts to 45 or 50 mph. Decreasing late in the afternoon..

I think Brett is telling me that locations locations off the river are not greatly affected. I am looking at a location two miles off the river in Camas and one just a half mile from the river in Vancouver, and am trying to understand just how much more wind those locations experience compared to one another mile or two north.

[Brett]

if they are in the river valleys off the gorge they will be shielded from the winds. Not so much on the ridges.

[RodFarlee]

For what it's worth, winter (cold, easterly) gorge winds tend to hit the Oregon side harder than the Washington side. The exit of the gorge is pointed west-southwest, directly towards Troutdale, which it hits harder than Camas, and then Portland, which is affected more than Vancouver.

[diggitydot]

I grew up in the Gorge. When the winds get really ripping, they can affect communities all the way into Portland and Vancouver. But normally, you'll see the east wind only affecting areas either inside the gorge itself or within a few miles to the west of the mouth of the gorge.

In Oregon, that's usually areas like Corbett, Gresham, and Troudale. But the east side of Portland has been known to be affected, too.

In WA, towns like Washougal, particularly areas nearest the Columbia River or on the south or east ends of town are heavily affected by the winds. My mom's house regularly has ice only on the east side of her home where the freezing rain hits it. Some years the ice is so thick on her garage door that the weight prevents it from opening. (She's on the east end of Washougal, right near the mouth of the Gorge.)

But the winds aren't really that huge of a deal. I kind of miss them now that we're out of town. It isn't a huge ordeal and certainly not something that would make me exclude a property from my home search. But I love the gorge, so I guess you should probably take that with a grain of salt.

[klpeake]

We were in WA over the last 2 days and found the perfect house on Mt Norway in Washougal, but the wind was sooooo bad that we are now questioning our decision to move to Washougal. We only started looking at Washougal last month and so I don't know that much about the area, especially that area in northern part on Mt. Norway. Does anyone live up in that area and can give me the low down on the wind situation up there? We talked with a neighbor that said that there is no wind during the spring, summer & fall, but in the winter the wind picks up. Plus it doesn't blow when there is rain, so that would knock out quite a bit of time.

Was the wind extra strong on Friday the 29th?

[RodFarlee]

Re: Washougal wind 12/29/06
I'm not in the area, but NWS Troutdale (3 miles SW of Washougal) reported wind E21G35 (wind from the east averaging 21 mph, average gust 35 mph), with the peak gust 41 mph recorded at 7 am and declining through the day. Also, the jet exiting the gorge was turned NW due to the regional pressure gradient (hitting WA side harder than OR).
The average windspeed at Troutdale in December is 13.3 mph, and these strong easterly winds occur only in winter. I couldn't find a wind histogram, but a perusal of the records suggest similar winds occur roughly 1 day out of 3 in winter.