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Random Morning Thoughts
Know what’s more awesome than what I said was awesome yesterday? A monster of a storm slamming into Mt. Hood while I’m getting paid to report on it. My. Job. Is. Awesome.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
What a storm we have coming in today! We’ll see the snow level drop rapidly today, from 6000′ or so at 5am to 4000′ at 7am, 3000′ at 10am, 2000′ at 4pm and 1500′ overnight. We’ll see massive snowfall today. Yay! Very heavy snow brings 1” of water value (WV) this morning between 4am and 9am for 4”-6” of heavy, wet snow, followed by a lighter round of snowfall bringing .5-.7” WV between 10am and 4pm for another 5-7” of snow. Then… yes, there’s more… Another 1.5-1.7” WV between 4pm and 4am Sunday for 16-20” of fluffy new powder. Again: Best. Meadows. After. Dark. EVER. Assuming we can run lifts. Wind will be increasing to SW 65 this morning as the cold front passes, holding through the day, and then going to a vicious W 55-65 after 4pm as an upper level low passes to the north of Mt. Hood.
Sunday looks very snowy as well. The snow level will be 1500-2000′ early, 3500′ by 10am, 5000′ by 1pm and slowly rising to just above freezing between 5000′ and 8000′ in the afternoon. We’ll see 1-1.5” WV between 4am and 4pm, for 10-16” of new snow, possibly followed by .1-.3” of sprinkles in the afternoon, or possibly we’ll just sneak by with warming temps and clouds. Either way, the avy danger is going to be off-the-charts on Sunday. And… the wind will be W 50 early, rising to WNW 55-60 after 10am. Wicked. More wicked than today’s wind.
Monday may start off with a few sprinkles, but most likely it will be partly cloudy, becoming clear. Temps will be just above freezing between 5000′ and 9000′ early, with the free air freezing level rising to 8000′ in the afternoon. Wind will be WNW 50 early, 40 midday and 25 in the evening.
Tuesday-Thursday look warm, with the freezing level well above 5000′, and dry.
Gorge Weather
As I said yesterday, it’s going to be a wet and windy weekend in the Gorge. We’ll see temps in the low to mid 40’s today with lots of rain this morning, followed by a bit of a break mid-morning and another round of heavy rain this afternoon. Expect very strong west wind today.
Tomorrow also looks very wet and very west-windy, with temps in the low 40’s early and upper 40’s late. Monday might start off with a few sprinkles, but likely it will just be low-cloudy, with strong west wind early becoming light in the afternoon.
Gorge Wind Forecast
Nuking. That is the word that best describes the wind for the weekend. It will be strongest east of The Dalles, but the western Gorge will also see gusty, sometimes-strong west wind. We’ll see a quick rise to 30-40 this morning east of Lyle, a brief “lull” midday into the 20-25 range, and a 35-45 blast this afternoon.
I’d recommend Arlington today, as it handles these dynamic setups best, and I’d recommend the afternoon session for the steadier wind. The first round is frontally driven, and the second is driven by an upper level low, and the latter tends to bring better wind. Tomorrow looks very similar, with another double-punch of morning 30-40, midday lull, afternoon 30-40. Monday starts with 26-30 and backs off to light wind in the afternoon.
Road and Mountain Biking
Definitely not a day to take the TT bike out to Rowena. Or any bike, for that matter, unless you like a 30mph headwind for the return home. It’s a great day to ride your trainer.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.
Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events
Today is the Cold Lap cyclocross ride with the folks at Dirty Fingers. 3 o’clock at the shop. On Sunday, there’s ping pong at the armory at 3pm and (wind-affected) rugby at 3pm at Mosier School.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
