The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning loyal forecast readers! It’s the end of the July 4th weekend and the beginning of another windy streak in the Gorge.

I am soooo tired. It’s 6am, and I need to go back to sleep. But it’s nuking in the desert… What do I do?!

An upper level trough set up along the coast yesterday afternoon, sending marine clouds pouring into Portland and upping westerly gradients. You high-wind junkies can stop cooling your heels, cuz the cooldown is here. A twenty-degree temperature drop since yesterday sends gorge winds into the I’m-so-happy range today. I’m probably not supposed to do this, but I’m giving you permission to be sick from work today.

We started off with gradients of .10/.13 and .30 and winds in the upper twenties at Doug’s and low thirties at Arlington. As the desert warms today, those morning winds hold steady or even build some. By afternoon, we’ll have 30-plus from Doug’s out to Arlingotn.

The marine layer holds tomorrow, keeping the wind tunnel windy. We’ll see a upper teen start followed by a 23-26 afternoon. The best wind tomorrow will be east of the cloudline, most likely out at Doug’s.

If you’re looking for something else to do today, you could do free tai chi in Wilson Park in Hood River. That’s 6pm, and beginners are welcome. If you don’t make it back from Arlington in time for tai chi, you’re probably too tired for anything else anyway!

Finally, if you’re a mountain biker, High Prarie is snow free with just a couple of trees down, and Ape Canyon is confirmed open and clear of blowdown..

Whatever you do today (that better be windsurfing on a 3.2 if you’re a windsurfer), have an awesome day!

Good morning everyone!

First off, I just want to take a quick moment to mention my friend Paul who disappeared while stand-up paddling near the Hook on Friday. I haven’t spent all that much time with Paul, because he lived in San Francisco, but I loved him dearly. Paul’s one of very few people I really, really liked from the first moment we met. Funny. Hilarious, actually. We shared a very similar sense of humor, and I always looked forward to seeing him when he was in the Gorge. Please keep him and all of his friends in your thoughts while you’re on the water the next few days.

On to the forecast….

High pressure holds sway over the Northwest for one last day today before sliding out of the picture tomorrow. Portland’s going to see mid eighties today while the Gorge bakes in the mid nineties. That temperature gradient will bring solid westerlies. We started off with very light wind and a .05 gradient this morning. We’ll see a slow build of wind today. By afternoon, we’ll have 20-23 in the Corridor. Depending on the evening marine push towards p=town, we could see 23-27 late evening from Doug’s to Arlington.

Break out your sweatshirt tonight to stay warm and put in your earplugs to block the sound of the overnight wind! High temps tomorrow drop 20 degrees, setting up Monday Madness in the gorge. It’s hard to say where the cloud line will end up, but it’s going to be a big day. We’ll have dawn patrol in the mid twenties tomorrow, followed by 28-32 in the near and far east.

The wind continues blowing on Tuesday, with mid-twenties a reasonable call.

And whatever you do today, do it for Paul, and have an awesome day!