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Before you read on, please remember that this report (wind, snow and events, year round, almost every day – WOW!) is brought to you free of charge. It’s my hobby, but it’s valuable to you, and I put it out here free so you can make the most of your free time. But there are five times as many people using the forecast for free as there are making donations. We all know windsurfers and kiters and skiers can make a small donation to keep a good thing going. So we’re trying something through Labor Day. You can get this forecast as an email for $12. That gets you in the running for a few prizes here and there, and from now on it’ll give you consistency (on the 98% of days I write a forecast. Admit it, that’s pretty amazing for one chick working by herself!). Here’s the scoop: If I get donations totaling $15 or more on a given day, I’ll post a forecast the next day. If not, only the people on the mailing list get the forecast. Thanks for understanding that I have to make a living, and thank you for your support!
Tomorrow’s forecast status: 
6:24pm. Sorry for the late update. Got distracted by a looooong bike ride. Long bike rides make for a happy forecaster.
Today’s sponsor: The Trek Dirt Series for Women. On August 11-12, the Trek Dirt Series and Mountain View Cycles will team up to host a two-day women’s specific mountain bike instructional camp right here. You’ll learn all kinds of mountain bike technical skills so you can be a better, more confident rider. It’s a super inspiring and supportive environment, the coaching is individualized and professional, and the weekend is just plain fun. I’ve never heard a bad thing about the Dirt Series, and I’ve heard tons of great things. If you have the time and can afford it, you should sign up. The deadline is noon on Friday.
My pick for this afternoon and evening is the family-friendly May Street Block Party in Hood River, happening from 3-7, with $1 swimming at the pool from 1-5, the farmers market, and live music. If that’s not your cup of tea, there’s standup paddle Thursdays brought to you by the Gorge Kayak School and Windance, with free demos and lessons from 6-8. The Dirty Fingers gang was making noise about running some sort of shuttle for today’s shop ride, but they didn’t answer their phones when I called last night, so I have no information. Call them today if you’re curious. For more of a sure thing, meet at 5pm at Disco for a slow-paced road bike recovery ride.
Today we have one of those not-so-great dynamic weather setups. Early this morning, northerly upper flow and some clouds in Portland are making for .07 gradient and 14-17. Models suggest the wind will fade midday, but I think it will hold in the “light west” category, picking up to 17-20 at Stevenson late afternoon as a weather system approaches and holding at 14-17 near Hood River.
Tomorrow looks quite a bit windier, and as long as that weather system causing today’s trouble clears the area by morning, it should be steadier too. Westerlies tomorrow should hit 25-29 from Stevenson east to Maryhill, with the strongest wind near Hood River mid-morning. As of this morning, Saturday looks like light west wind in the Gorge and Sunday looks like no wind (but then, when I looked last night, Sunday looked like light west wind, so it’s really too far out to make a call). Either way, the weekend looks warm, with highs near 90.
A heads up for tomorrow and Saturday: the Event Site is hosting a private event and will be closed for windsurfing, The organizers will be allowing kiters to use the beach for Sandbar access. This gives everyone a chance to check out the new launch at the White Salmon Sandbar, and that gives you a chance to help with the White Salmon Sandbar cleanup from 2-5pm on Saturday.
This weekend is my summer favorite, the Perseid meteor shower. It’s also the Wild Woman trail marathon, Movies in the Park (Wizard of OZ Friday at Cascade Locks, and Toy Story 3 at Hood River Saturday), a chance to make your own ice cream at the Parkdale Library from noon-2 Saturday. Sounds like a perfect excuse to ride road bikes to Parkdale. And of course, the Trek Dirt Series, a two-day mountain biking camp for gals.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
