I just checked Timberline’s website, and they are planning on Bruno and Pucci daily from 9am-4pm. Do check their website before you head up, as we’re expecting strong NE wind the next few days, and that tends to impact lift ops at Timberline. Mt. Hood Meadows has plans to run Buttercup, Easy Rider, and the Nordic Center on Friday, Saturday and Sunday for what they are calling a “preview weekend”. Continued after the chart.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…
In response to my question about hiking in the resort, I was told this: it’s okay outside the Buttercup / Easy Rider area. However, you are on your own, there is no patrol assistance, and the snow depth at mid-mountain is just two feet, meaning there are lots of hazards and obstacles (these things are sometimes called “features” by the jibber crowd). Snow conditions outside the groomed area are dust-on-crust.
The weather on Mt. Hood this morning is cloudy down low and windy and partly cloudy up high, with occasional light flurries. We can expect a clearing trend today as the atmosphere dries out, leaving us with clear, sunny weather on Mt. Hood for the next several days, or perhaps longer. The free air freezing level (FAF) will be at the surface (0′) this morning and 500′ this afternoon with 5000′ temps in the upper teens early and the mid 20’s this afternoon. The wind will pick up to NE 40-50+ by midday.
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Tomorrow looks sunny and windy. The FAF will be at the surface early and at 500′ in the afternoon with temps at 5000′ in the mid to upper 20’s all day. Expect NE wind at 35 tomorrow morning and 30 tomorrow afternoon. Friday, Saturday and Sunday also look sunny with temps in the upper 20’s with decreasing east wind.
Models (which tend to struggle with the breakdown of these cold/dry air patterns) are predicting the next weather system to arrive Tuesday morning with the snow level at 6500′. It’s likely that arrival, much like the arrival of many flights or Amtrak trains, will be pushed back some.
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Gorge Wind Forecast
Continental air hasn’t quite made its way into the desert yet. Well, maybe it’s in the desert, but it’s not in the Gorge. In terms of wind, that means it’s blowing N 20 at Arlington and NE 25 at Maryhill, where oddly enough, it’s 9 degrees warmer than here in the Gorge. Anyhoo… we’re headed into an east wind pattern, and given the depth of the cold pool, those easterlies will also spill over the Cascades, lessening the strength in the Gorge but making for cold, windy conditions in the Cascades.
So, expect building east wind today through the whole Gorge, likely hitting the upper teens from Hood River to The Dalles with a slow rise from zero wind to E 25-30 at Steven’s Locks and Rooster Rock. Thanksgiving looks like E 30-40 at Rooster with E 30-35 at Steven’s Locks. Repeat that on Friday. The wind may back off a bit to E 25-30 on Saturday, probably continuing on Sunday.
For those of you wanting to watch the wind speeds at Stevenson, you can check the town’s weather station.
Random Morning Thoughts
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I’d like to talk a bit about soup stock. You see, many of you will have a turkey carcass in the house tomorrow. If turkey’s not your cup of tea, you may have a duck, chicken, ostrich, peacock, or quail carcass. If you end up the lucky owner of these sorts of leftovers, you’ll be in a great place to make soup stock.
Cooking up soup stock is easy: just throw some bones, carrots, onions and celery in a pot and simmer for a few hours. You can add herbs, take out the vegetables, or spice it up with anise and other flavors in preparation for homemade Pho. If you make Pho, please give me a call. It’s my second favorite soup after real Japanese ramen. Anyway…
The difficult portion of stock-making arrives when you go to cool down the stock. Putting a large pot of hot liquid in the fridge will heat up your other food. Buying bags of ice to make an ice bath is expensive. Luckily this year, Thanksgiving coincides with a cold snap. In other words, if you get your soup stock ready by sunset, you can put it outside at night to cool. By morning, your creation will be down below 40 degrees, officially in the safe zone.
I am almost certain that “put the soup stock outside to cool it down” is not an option on the food handler’s card test. However, it seems like a pretty reasonable option to me. So, go ahead. Cook up a big pot of soup stock tomorrow. The Gorge is your refrigerator. Have an awesome day.
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
I didn’t want to go outside to check the sky coverage this morning. I wasn’t quite ready to feel the cold air. It does appear to be partly cloudy, so you can expect sunshine today. That makes sense, given that a cold, dry continental airmass is about to pay us a visit. Expect temps in the low 30’s this morning and the upper 30’s this afternoon. We’ll likely see relatively strong east wind during the day, even in Hood River, as that air mass makes itself at home like relatives settling in on your couch for the holidays.
Thanksgiving starts off clear and f’ing cold, with temps in the low 20’s. NOAA says we’ll see temps in the upper 30’s in the afternoon, but I think that’s optimistic. Either way, it’ll be sunny with easterlies. Friday looks just like Thursday, weather-wise. So do Saturday and Sunday. Next chance of precip is Tuesday morning, and if nothing changes between now and then, it’ll come in as freezing rain. That said, models tend to break down cold, dry high pressure way too fast, so the precip has a good chance of arriving later in the week.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
Our trail selection has become rather limited with the freeze-thaw coming into play. The two trails that handle this best are Nestor and the Gorge 400. Syncline, Whoopee, and areas of Post not under the canopy are highly susceptible to trail damage right now. Remember to ask yourself this: “Was it below freezing last night? Is it above freezing now?” If so, please don’t ride exposed trails. Stay under the canopy.
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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
Tonight is Wednesday. There’s ping pong at the Hood River armory at 5:30. Tomorrow, of course, is Thanksgiving. You can try going to the normal Thursday events, but I suspect they’ll all be canceled. In the spirit of giving and exercise, the Mosier School has their annual Turkey Trot fundraiser tomorrow at the Twin Tunnels (west end). The race, 3k, 5k, 12k, starts at 10am. I almost forgot: there’s meditation at 8:15am today (Wednesday) at Flow Yoga.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
One reply on “Wednesday. Cold, sun, shredding and soup stock.”
Rode the Syncline yesterday. Was very good until the private road/orchard trail portion. At that point (1pm) it was sun exposed and riding on the trail would have done damage. Love the trail report.