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!