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Monday. Chance of freezing rain. Chance of pineapples.

DSC_7842
It’s hard to believe it from looking out my window, but it’s sunny and clear on Mt. Hood. Clouds will move in this afternoon and we’ll see a few flurries tonight. The snow level is at the surface this morning with 5000′ temps just below freezing. The snow level will rise to 4000′ this afternoon and drop to 2500′ overnight. Wind today will be S 15 early and SW 20 in the afternoon. Continued after the chart.


Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
4a-8a 8a-12p 12p-4p 4p-8p 8p-4a
Today
0′–>4000′–>2500′
Tomorrow
2500′–>6500′
The next day
6500′–>8000′


 

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…


Tomorrow starts out partly cloudy or clear with low clouds, becomes cloudy in the evening, and sees precip after 10pm. The snow level will be 2500′ in the morning, rising to 6000′ as the front edge of the heavy precip hits, and rising further to 6500′ around midnight. We’ll see .7” water value between 10pm Tuesday and 4am Wednesday, and that’s likely to fall as rain. Wind will be SW 15 early and SW 35 after 7pm.


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Wednesday looks cloudy and rainy all day long with the rain tapering off after 4pm and the sky clearing after midnight. The snow level will be 6500′ early, rising to 8000′ in the afternoon. We’ll see 1.7+ rain between 4am and 4pm, followed by another .2-.5” rain after 4pm. Wind on Wednesday will be SW 25-35 all day.

Thursday looks dry and warm with the free air freezing level at 9000′ early and 7000′ in the afternoon with strong SSW wind. Friday morning sees .5-1.0” water value that will likely fall as snow. Saturday looks very warm and wet. However, the wet currently looks like it will stay north of us, thank goodness, because it’s inches of pineapple-scented liquid. Sunday looks colder with significant snow possible. That’s your long-range forecast, subject to change.
 

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Gorge Wind Forecast

It’s positively nuking right now at Rooster, with the iWind/IKite sensor reading 52mph. Stevenson this morning was at 25mph. Stevenson will pick midday, and both beaches will back off this afternoon, with Rooster dropping to 30-35. You’ll probably find enough wind to get on the water in Hood River today too if you have a foil. Brrr. Expect easterlies at 30-35 tomorrow morning and 40-45 tomorrow afternoon. Wednesday looks like 30-35 and Thursday looks like 35-40. These wind speeds will come into play in the weather forecast as well.

For those of you curious why the east winds have been so much stronger the last few days than they were at the beginning of the cold snap, here’s your explanation. At the beginning of the cold snap, the cold pool was much deeper, and cold air was spilling over the Cascades (that’s why Timberline had to shut down all their lifts on at least one day). As the air warmed at high elevations (the inversion), the cold air was forced to cross the Cascades through the Gorge. So, more air trying to get through less places (the Gorge and other gaps – I bet it’s been nuking in Enumclaw too), means stronger wind.

For those of you wanting to watch the wind speeds at Stevenson, you can check the town’s weather station.
 

Random Morning Thoughts

I’m struggling to come up with positive random morning thoughts today because I’m worried about the weather for my commute through the Gorge tonight and Wednesday morning. Watching the radar image, I’m also worried about my commuting around in Portland this evening. Worrying, of course, isn’t making my situation any better, so perhaps I’ll just sit down and make a contingency plan.

Those can be very helpful. If we don’t clarify our intentions and plans when thinking about a difficult or upsetting situation, we’ll ruminate about it. Rumination is troubling – it’s the style of thinking most associated with developing depression (for reals). So, if you notice yourself ruminating, perhaps try something different: If you’re worried about freezing rain, for example, perhaps you can make an if-then plan.

(Do you hear me talking to myself?)

Sure, the possibilities are endless for whatever situation you might be worrying about. But if you want to feel better and be more in the present so you can enjoy life (it’s short, you know), you’re going to have to break that cycle of contemplating the endless possibilities. Try something different other than rumination. Try writing the worries down and letting yourself stop thinking about it for 10 minutes. Then an hour. Then half a day. Worrying won’t help. Taking steps to clarify your thoughts and let go of them just might.

K. I’ve just created a task for myself. I’d better get on it. Pick your current worry and join with me, and let’s bring the world’s anxiety level down just a bit!

Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist. I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues.
 

Gorge Weather Forecast

This is clearly the most interesting and most stress-inducing part of the weather forecast today. We’re under the Nothing here in the Gorge this morning. As the day goes on, the Nothing may break up, but if it does, it will be replaced by high clouds. Temps today will be in the upper 20’s early and the low 30’s this afternoon, and that’s where things get problematic: there’s a slight chance of precip, especially in the western Gorge, between 4pm and 4am, with the heavies rain possible around 10pm. With temps this cold, any precip that does fall will fall in the form of freezing rain (the incoming system has a freezing level of 6500-8000′). So, if you can avoid making a trip to Portland, do so (I cannot). East wind. No rainbows.

If we avoid the freezing rain tonight, tomorrow during the day should be all good – dry with temps in the low 30’s early and upper 30’s (says NOAA – I’m not so sure) in the afternoon. Precip starts around 10pm, becoming heavy after midnight. So, here’s the deal: weather models tend to warm up the Gorge much quicker than reality. They’re currently predicting we’ll be above freezing, and I’d love for that to be the case. But… with models also predicting strong east wind, there’s a decent chance we’ll see freezing rain tomorrow night. Just in case, don’t make plans to drive the Gorge tomorrow night after 8pm or Wednesday morning. East wind. No rainbows.

Wednesday morning depends on what happens Tuesday night. Temps are currently predicted to be in the mid 30’s in the morning and upper 30’s in the afternoon. If those are off by a couple degrees, Wednesday morning will be a s**tshow, with lots of ice and continuing pouring rain all day. We’re really going to have to see what the models and gut instinct say tomorrow… assuming I can get back from Portland tonight to write tomorrow’s forecast!

Thursday looks dry. Friday morning looks wet. More wet systems come through this weekend.
 

White Sprinter Van of the Day

Barcelona.Carol
 

Road and Mountain Biking

What’s there to say? It’s cold and many of the trails aren’t on the list right now due to freeze-thaw conditions. I did get an email from someone saying Lewis River was clear of snow with just a few downed trees and that Old Man Pass was clear enough to drive. So, there’s an option. Also good: Nestor Peak, maybe, and Gorge 400 (although it has trees down). In road biking news, it’s slick and cold. That’s why the ultimate riding at this time involves riding gravel roads, either on your gravel bike, road bike, or mountain bike. Hey, it’s a workout, and it means that the Gorge remains your gym..
 


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Upcoming Events

It’s Monday, and that means there are all sorts of fun free things to do. At 1pm, there’s Tai Chi at the Mt. Hood Town Hall. At 6:30pm, there’s Yoga at Samadhi, Yoga at the Town Hall, and Zumba at the Parkdale Community Center. Coming up tomorrow, there’s pickup touch rugby at the ball fields next to Jackson Park at 5pm, there’s yoga at the Mosier Senior Center at 7pm, there’s Zumba at the Parkdale Community Center at 6:30, and there’s meditation at Yoga Samadhi at 6:30 with the monks from Pacific Hermitage. They’ll all be gone for 7 weeks starting in a couple weeks, so if you want to experience this loveliness, you want to do it this week or next.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

By Temira

Temira Lital is a recreation and travel weather forecaster based in Hood River, Oregon. Temira uses they/them pronouns. They're also a mental health counselor. Temira bikes, skis, windsurfs, paddles a SUP, swims in mountain lakes, and loves gardening. Most recently they've taken up SUP foiling. Temira is powered by La Croix, protein, and beets.