I'm in computer hell. I just picked up a sweet new laptop so I can do the radio forecast using one computer instead of two. I spent 3 hours (yes, three HOURS) on the phone with HP last night (their customer service speaks English, at least, and is easy to get through to) trying to get my computer to record from a mic without picking up a ton of background noise. No luck. I'm blaming in on incompatibility issues with Windows Vista.
Anyway, there's a bit of wind headed out our way.
First off, an upper level low is lurking off the Washington coast, and that's wreaking havoc on our weather. We haven't seen hide nor hair of the North Pacific High this summer, so the wind's been inconsistent and unpredictable. I had a chat with Mark Nelsen (who used to windsurf, incidentally), the weatherman at KPTV 12. He thinks this is a consequence of La Nina. We like La Nina for the awesome skiing she brings, but I'm not sure how to feel about her when she makes summer winds fluky.
In the meantime, that lurking low sends a cold front our way this evening. Until midday, winds will be light. Starting around noon, winds pick up into the 15-20 range from Stevenson eastward. By late afternoon, we'll have 22-26 from Stevenson out to Arlington. It'll be gusty everywhere under southerly upper level flow. Watch Stevenson, Avery, Celilo and Arlington for steadiest conditions. Winds probably won't be strongest in the corridor, but kiters should get their 15-20 at the Sandbar.
The front crosses tomorrow, bringing clouds, sprinkles and wind. Head east of the cloudline (you're probably going way out east) for 24-28.
High pressure rebuilds off the coast Saturday. Winds will be marginal in the morning and 24-28 in the Corridor in the afternoon.
It's First Friday tomorrow, and that means good art, cool people and free drinks downtown!
Have a great day today!
Temira