CROWN POINT, Ore. -- Hurricane force winds that peaked at 77 miles-per-hour funneled through the Columbia River Gorge Friday afternoon.
The sunshine and high winds drew a crowd at the Vista House.
"We were just happy it was sunny. We didn't know it was a hurricane," laughed Amy Ciszewski, who is on vacation from Issaquah, Washington.
The winds threw her car door open, and loose paper went flying.
"My coupons and my recent parking ticket that I got flew out the door. It's somewhere down in the river now” Ciszewski joked.
Joseph Lehner drove to the Vista House from Portland because he suspected the winds would be impressive.
"This is actually a pretty good day," Lehner said, as he leaned into the wind, trying to catch air. "The ultimate goal is to catch a really good gust of wind jump and see how far you can go."
Cars in the parking lot were jostled by the wind.
"The whole car was going up and down. Just sitting in it was kind of like being on a ride," said Annalisa Kronman, visiting from San Francisco.
According to KOIN Chief Meteorologist Bruce Sussman, gusty winds are expected to continue at times throughout the Gorge this weekend.
