Given the downpour I drove through to get home last night, I was sure Mt. Hood would receive 6-9” of snow (I predicted we’d get 4-6”). Instead, when I woke up this morning, I saw that Meadows and Timberline were both reporting just 3” of new snow. Why? Well, this system must have come in warmer than expected; T-Line received .5” water value, and that should have been enough for 5” of new. Instead, just 3” fell. There’s not much more precip in the forecast today, so not much hope for more accumulation. Continued after the chart.
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4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a |
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| Today 1500′–>0′ |
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| Tomorrow 0′ aka “the surface” |
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| Thanksgiving 0′ aka “the surface” |
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…
The snow level will be 1500′ this morning, slowly dropping to 1000′ in the afternoon and to the surface by tomorrow morning. We’ll see light snow flurries for much of the day, decreasing in the afternoon and ending overnight. Total precip today will be .1-.2” water value, for, at best, a couple inches of new snow. Wind today will be light and variable in the morning, turning to the NE midday, and building to NE 30 by the evening.
Tomorrow morning starts off clear and cold with the free air freezing level at the surface. Temps at 5000′ will be in the low 20’s. It’ll warm up a little in the afternoon, with temps rising to the upper 20’s. Wind tomorrow will be nasty: NE 50. Easterly winds are difficult for all the resorts, but especially for T-Line. They tend to get completely shut down in these conditions. That said, we don’t know yet if the resorts plan to run lifts on Wednesday, so… just keep the possibility of wind standby in your mind.
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Thursday looks clear and warmer with the free air freezing level remaining at the surface. Temps at 5000′ will be in the upper 20’s early and low 30’s in the afternoon. The wind will continue to be a problem, blowing NE 45 early and E 40 in the afternoon.
Friday looks sunny and cool, with the free air freezing level at the surface early and at 500′ in the afternoon. Temps at 5000′ will be in the upper 20’s all day. The wind will slowly start to back off, blowing ENE 45 early and NE 25 in the afternoon.
There’s now no precip in the forecast until late next Tuesday, at the earliest. That system has been slowing way down, but it has not been cooling off; at this point, it looks to hit with the snow level around 6500′. But you know how those long-range forecasts are… let’s just wait and see what really happens.
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Gorge Wind Forecast
Fortunately for us, there’s not much gradient through the Gorge today. If there were an easterly gradient, we’d likely be looking at very icy roads. Instead, it’s just still and gloomy. Expect light and variable wind this morning building to E 13-16 late this afternoon. Tomorrow brings east wind at 25-30. Expect easterlies at 35-45 on Thursday and 30-35 on Friday.
For those of you wanting to watch the wind speeds at Stevenson, you can check the town’s weather station.
Random Morning Thoughts
Thanksgiving, and more generally, the holidays, bring up a lot of emotions for people. People without families struggle to find a cohesive community. People with families struggle with the family dynamics. Despite this, we all long to spend the holiday in happy connection with people we love.
Therein lies the problem. We create expectations about what the holiday should be: great food, awesome company, peace, love and understanding. Thanksgiving, we think, should provide us with fulfillment across many domains. That’s a lot to ask of a poor little holiday!
It may be more helpful to reflect on what Thanksgiving can really provide you. You can probably count on a good meal. Can you count on your Thanksgiving compatriots being kind, loving and awesome? Maybe not, or maybe not for the entire evening. Take what you can get, at least for this year. Relish the delightful bits of the holiday. Between now and next year, you can work to create even more of what you’re after.
This approach, of course, can be generalized. One holiday cannot provide all our emotional needs. Neither can one person, one workplace, or one group of friends. Seek out what you want and need across many domains, and you’re likely to find yourself more content than you would be otherwise. Plus, you’ll meet all sorts of awesome people and get to try all sorts of awesome things. Have an awesome day today!
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
It’s gray, drizzly, and dark this morning as an upper low and a Nothing settles over the Northwest. On-and-off light drizzle will continue for much of the day under cloudy sky with a slight chance of the clouds starting to break up late in the day. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and the upper 30’s this afternoon. Light wind. No rainbows. Snow level 1500′.
Tomorrow will likely start off with a Nothing, becoming clear in the afternoon as the atmosphere dries out under the influence of continental high pressure. Temps will be in the upper 20’s early and the low 40’s (maybe) in the afternoon. Building east wind. No rainbows.
Thanksgiving starts off clear and frigid with temps in the low 20’s. NOAA says we’ll see highs near 40. I say hmph to that. East wind. No rainbows. Repeat on Friday.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
I suspect the biking today will be cold and wet and muddy. I also have reports of freezing rain (sleet seems more likely, but I’m just reporting) around 1500′. So much for all the pretty hoarfrost, but don’t you worry: it’ll be back next week. In other words, today is not a good day for biking, unless you’re on the trainer at the gym. Moving on to the next several days… we’re going to struggle with the freeze-thaw. The ground is now wet, and that’s conducive to making for fragile trail tread. Please ask yourself the following: “Was it below freezing last night? Is it above freezing now?” If the answer to both those questions is “yes”, then do not ride trails exposed to the open air. Only ride under the canopy.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear.
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Riverside Grill Thanksgiving Dinner
Enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at Riverside Grill at the Hood River Inn so you can play hard on Thanksgiving Day! Delicious plated dinners served from 11:00 am to 8 pm. Menu includes Thanksgiving Turkey dinner with yummy trimmings, Prime Rib, Columbia King Salmon or Vegetarian Thanksgiving, with appropriate side dishes. (Gluten-free or other dietary restrictions always happily accommodated!) Reservations are recommended. Call 541-386-4410 or visit www.riversidehoodriver.com for the complete menu. Happy Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Events
Coming up this evening, there’s pickup touch rugby at 5pm at the ballfields next to Jackson Park. There’s free Zumba at the Mt. Hood Town Hall at 6:30. There’s community yoga at the Mosier Senior Center at 7pm. As always on Tuesday night, there’s meditation with the monks from Pacific Hermitage at Yoga Samadhi at 6:30 (my favorite, and sure to change your life in a positive way). After that, you can enjoy $12 Prime Rib at Cebu. There’s another community meditation tomorrow morning at 8:15am at Flow Yoga.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
