Hi Low

Well darn if it didn't happen again... another record "high low" temperature this morning. The low only got down to 64 degrees, which broke the old record of 61 degrees set in 1992. That's THREE "high low" records set this June. Global warming? Nah... merely "natural cycles"... stay tuned...

Anyway, most of the forecast models call for a warming trend next week, which might just bring about something that we haven't seen for a few years: a hot dry 4th of July.

The golden zucchini are kicking into high gear; time to get the neighbors and co-workers involved in sharing the harvest.

2 Days of Summer

We get summer-like weather today and tomorrow, and then... summer actually begins Thursday June 21 at 11:06 am. Longest day of the year! Yeehaw...

Unfortunately, the weather then takes a un-summer-like downturn on Thursday thru the weekend (who'd have guessed?). For the most part, weekend downturns have been the rule this Spring (see previous posts). But still.... it's all good... it's all weather.

Lots of great local events happening this summer; check 'em out at the Hood River Chamber site.

And Again

Another "high low" record set today. This morning's low of 65 shattered the old record of 60 degrees set in 1986.

Temperature Record

The past 4 week pattern of cool, cloudy weekend weather followed by sunny warm weekday weather has finally changed. In fact, it was so warm overnight that we set a new record today for the "highest low" temperature for June 2. This morning's low of 62 degrees surpassed the previous "high low" of 59 degrees set in 1968. For folks interested in such things, Hood River's official daily records are here.

The past week presented a classical heat wave event for this area. More often than not, the warm temps move west to east beginning on the Coast, then to the Willamette Valley, then the Mid-Columbia around Hood River, then east to The Dalles, followed by eastern Oregon. And as the heat moves east, the calm to easterly winds change to westerlies and moderate the heat.

Possible thunderstorms Sunday and then the week turns cool, cloudy, and hopefully rainy.

Hood River (specifically our wind sports and housing) made the New York Times...

Third Time's The Charm

That is, if you consider rainfall on a weekend charming. Not a lot of rain, about .30 inches so far at our house, but if the weekend has to be cool and cloudy, at least we got some rain out of it.

And we needed some rain. We've had about 10 inches of precip since Jan 1, which is about 4 inches less than normal. Doesn't seem like a huge deficit, but I can't remember the last time I had to start watering the lawn and yard in late April rather than early June. The soil is very dry, as I learned last week when I had to dig a post hole in the lawn (for a clothes line). Bone dry all the way down to 12 inches, which is as far as I got before encountering a rock the size of.... the size of something I didn't want to explore any further.

This is the 3rd weekend in a row where the weather took a downturn while the weekday weather turns great. Next weekend is Memorial Day weekend, and we shall see if the pattern holds.