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4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a |
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Pull your sense of foreboding out of your back pocket and start reading.
Today will be what it is right now: clear to partly cloudy, with the possibility of some brief and light snow (likely) or rain (possible) in immeasurable amounts. The snow level will hover around 5000โ this morning, rising to 6000โ this afternoon. Winds will be WSW 30-40 early, dropping to W 25-30 by 1pm.
Tomorrow looks partly cloudy early, becoming clear. The freezing level will be 9000โ. Wind will be SW 20-30 early, dropping to 15-20 mid-morning and rising to SSW 20-30 late in the evening. No precip.
Sunday finally brings some snow!!! The snow level will be 9000โ early, falling to 4500โ by 7am and falling to 1000โ by 4pm. Snow starts sometime between 7am and 10am, so thereโs a slight but unlikely chance of a bit of freezing rain first. Anyway, snow falls all day, with .5-.7โ by 10pm for (thank you Santa) 6-7โ of new snow! Winds will be windy: SW 30-40 early, picking up to SW 40-50 by 7am and going to W 35-45 by 1pm.
Hereโs where I started feeling sick to my stomach, and please keep in mind that things can change in the extended models, but this isnโt pretty, so sit down and brace yourself: Mondayโs system brings .5-.7โ of precip with the snow level around 5500โโฆ borderline. However, during the day on Tuesday, weโll see the snow level rise to 6-7000โ with 1โ of water. Same on Wednesday. Thursday and Friday see the snow level at 9-10000โ with 1โ+ maybe +++. These numbers are from the Northwest River Forecast Centerโs model. The GFS is showing higher precipitation amounts. I am now going to go crawl in a dark corner and sulk.
Iโm guessing this is Mother Natureโs way of thumbing her nose at Heather Herbeck and her pray for rain party last weekend. โYou want rain?โ the esteemed Mother asks. โBahahaha, Iโll give you rain.โ Go kayak.
As for the possibility of snow in the Gorge, I think Sundayโs system will start out as snow, but this system is strong enough to wash out the cold air quickly, so snow for the first couple of hours and then a switch to rain.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the link below. For a suggested donation of $10, Iโll add you to the email version of this list โtil November 2012, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors. If you donโt PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.









2 responses to “12/23 Mt. Hood Forecast”
Please explain your incorrect forecasts:
Currently your talking about rain basically all next week.
On Dec 20 you said:
“Friday looks like typical Mt. Hood storm skiing. The snow level will be at 3500โ in the morning, dropping to 1500โ in the afternoon. Snow starts falling around 2am, for 1โ or so by the time ski lifts are turning and another 3-4โ during the day. It will be plenty windy to make nice drifts on leeward slopes”
Not even one flake showed up.
On Dec 21 you said:
Models still show this high pressure system collapsing, with the first strong system hitting Mt. Hood sometime on Tuesday.
On Dec 22 you said:
Coming up next week, snow starts falling Monday afternoon for 6-9โ Monday night.
Ask NOAA the same thing. =) Seriously, Frank, forecasts change, as you well know. A small change in the path of a storm or the strength of a blocking high pressure ridge can make a huge change in the amount of precipitation that reaches Mt. Hood. You can go ahead and cherry-pick previous days’ forecast (although why in the world you’d spend that much time trying to prove me wrong is beyond my comprehension. You must have no life or be a very unhappy man), and there will always be mistakes and changes. The models on which my, NOAA’s, NWAC’s and other forecasts are based are constantly changing, and any prediction more than 24 hours in advance is subject to fine-tuning as models come into agreement. In addition, if you want to criticize my FREE forecast and think you can do better, I suggest you try writing a detailed 3-7 day forecast for Mt. Hood (nearly) EVERY MORNING at 5am. I am happy to have you fill in for me for a week (as long as we publish your name and contact information on each forecast) and see how you do. I’d love some time away from my computer. Thanks for your comment.