The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning Gorge sports fanatics!

It’s the start of another busy, windy weekend in the Gorge.

Today will be the lightest wind day of the next three, as high pressure crushes gradients and keeps windspeeds in the slalom and kite-friendly range. A light start gives way to slowly building westerlies. By early afternoon, we’ll see 14-17 in the corridor, building to 17-21 by later in the day.

Tomorrow starts off with upper teen winds through the corridor. Winds build as the day goes on, hitting the 23-26 range by afternoon. Depending on when a shortwave hits the coast, we could see even stronger winds late afternoon, as much as 30 if we’re really lucky!

That shortwave crosses Oregon tomorrow night, and combines with high pressure off the coast Sunday morning for strong westerlies through the Gorge. Mid twenties is the minimum we’ll see on Sunday, building as the day goes on.

The long term forecast through Tuesday looks windy as well, so don’t leave town if you like windsurfing or kiting!

In other news, today is the Seismic Skate Systems slalom race down the east side of the twin tunnels trail. If you’re a spectator, head over. If you’re road biking, today’s a good day to ride somewhere else. Other weekend events include… probably on Saturday, the windsurfing Blowout race. Check VMG events dot com for more information. On Saturday, The Neverending Story plays at Jackson Park. On Sunday there’s a swap meet at Windance.

Whatever you do today, have an awesome day!

There’s nothing like sleeping in. Really sleeping in.

It’s another light wind start in the Gorge this morning. As the day goes on, temperatures soar, hitting 88 in Portland and 96 in The Dalles. That should be enough thermal gradient for another round of afternoon thermal wind through the corridor. Watch for 16-19 today, probably starting mid afternoon.

Tomorrow looks similar, with Portland at 91 and The Dalles at 98. I’ll say 17-21 late tomorrow afternoon is a reasonable call.

The wind picture gets better on Saturday afternoon, as a shortwave approaches. Timing is going to be key with this, but I think we’ll see 23-26, maybe better, late Saturday. A big marine push Sunday makes strong winds a distinct possibility.

Don’t forget that the Windsurfing Blowout is either Saturday or Sunday. That’s 17 miles downwind from Stevenson to Hood River. Sign up now at VMGevents.com. Also on Sunday is the Windance Swap meet.

In other news, This evening is Post and Pint at Diryt Fingers Bike repair, along with the Hood River Triathlon and Big Winds’ standup paddle races at the Event Site.

For something totally different, don’t forget The Neverending Story at Jackson Park on Saturday night. It’s the best cheesy 80’s movie ever, and I’m looking forward to seeing all of you there to yell “Falcor” and “atreyu”.

And finally, if you’ve been wondering what your rec report girl looks like, take a look at the current Hood River News.

And whatever you do today, have an awesome day!