The Gorge is my Gym

The heat low shifts eastward this afternoon, keeping Portland just below 100 degrees and driving Hood River and The Dalles back into the 105 range.

Light east winds this morning fade later, becoming light westerlies towards sunset as marine clouds filter in from the coast. Your best bet for wind today is at Jones Beach, where cooler air at the coast combined with scorching heat in Portland will drive 20-25 in the very scary shipping corridor at the kinda scary sandy beach. .

Don’t expect spectacular wind tomorrow, but expect better than stifling nothingness. Portland gets low 90s and the Dalles nears 100, giving us a 10 degree thermal gradient. Tomorrow starts off with 12-15 mile per hour west winds or so, holding in the 17-20 range or so for a good part of the day. Best winds will be from Stevenson out to Mosier.

West flow continues this weekend, but I’m not really sure about wind strength yet. There’s a possibility of some thunderstorms over the weekend, which could throw a bit of a wrench into the forecast.

Other than that, today bring two events for you crazy people. The miserably hot and dusty (their words, not mine) Post and Pint is on for 5:30. Meet at Dirty Fingers. The Hood River weekly Triathlon is on for 5:45. meet at the event site. Sane people can enter the Big Winds standup paddle races at the event site this evening.

Stay cool, and wahtever you do today, have an awesome day!

If you’d like to follow the heat in real-time today, check out Larry’s Hood River Weather website: http://webpages.charter.net/hoodriverweather/weather.htm

With the heat low centered over western Oregon, some light east gradients develop today. At 6am, we had 5 one-hundredths, giving us a light breeze in Stevenson. Windsport magazine is trying to throw a windsurfing un-contest today. Bring whatever gear you have: race gear, freestyle gear, retro gear, longboard gear… doesn’t really matter – events will be made up on the spot. if it picks up into the teens, head on down to Bob’s Beach

Light easterlies hold today and tomorrow. We’ll see a light breeze this morning, building to 15 or so later. Tomorrow looks like 15-18 or so in the morning, fading as the day goes on. West winds likely return Friday, with 15-18, maybe a little better, in the Corridor. Those Friday westerlies will be thunderstorm-dependent, meaning if you see big climbing clouds and a threatening sky, give up on the wind.

In an ironic twist, today’s most exciting event, the Hood River Weather Website potluck, has been cancelled due to excessive heat. You’d think the weather geeks (myself incluced) would want to celebrate the record high temps, but no…

If you’re looking to torture yourself tomorrow, you can forget about the Dirty Divas ride. It’s cancelled due to the heat. However, tomorrow is the hot, dusty and miserable Dirty Fingers Post and Pint ride. Mitchell says that only mutants and crazy people are welcome this week, due to excessive heat. If you come on this ride, something is clearly wrong with you (he had a specific suggestion, but I’m not going to include it here!). See you there! That same insane crowd is welcome at the Hood River Triathlon tomorrow night, and sane people can join the Big Winds’s standup paddle races tomorrow.

But whatever you do today, have an awesome day, and let’s enjoy record-breaking heat. (sorry, that’s the Japanese speaker in me coming out) If you figure out how to enjoy 107 degrees, let me know.