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Disclaimer: This forecast is for entertainment only. Don’t use it to plan your skiing, snowboarding or travel schedule, even though I do. Although I work for Meadows, this forecast is not endorsed by Meadows and does not reflect the views of the resort. Nobody pays me to write this report (unless you make a donation), so please share the link with your friends and help me increase my hits! Thank you!
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Good morning,
Sometimes I like to glance at NOAA’s forecast in the morning. If you can ignore the mid-thirties temps and believe the forecast, Mt. Hood will get 5 feet or more of new snow in the next four days. At higher elevations, this is 100% correct. At lower elevations, we’ll see 4-7” water equivalent over the next four days. Wow. That’s a lot of water value, right?
Today sees the snow level at 4500-5000’ early, rising to 5500’-6000’ by 8am and 7000’ mid-afternoon, falling to 6000’ overnight. Wind will be SW 50-55 today, picking up to 55-60 mid-afternoon. We’ll see .8” water value (WV) by 4pm, for 3-4” of new, followed by a mix of rain and snow starting mid-morning. We’ll see another 2” WV (yes, two inches, not point-two-inches) tonight into Friday morning.
That 2” WV will fall as a mix of rain and snow. The snow level will be 6000’ overnight, dropping to 5500’ around 4am, when we’ll see a transition to all snow. So… higher elevations will see 18-24” of new Thursday night into Friday morning. Elevations under 5500’ will see either very wet snow or rain or a mix. The snow level Friday will drop to 5000’ by 11am, 3000’ by 5pm and 1500’ by 11pm. Wind will be SW 40-45 most of the day, dropping to 20-25 late in the evening. We’ll see 1.5-2.5” WV from 4am-4pm Friday, for 10-16”+ at 5000’ and a LOT of new snow up high. Do not head to the ski resort without a shovel, as you’ll need it to get out of the parking lot.
Precip continues overnight Friday, with another .3-.4” WV by Saturday morning. With a warm blob of air above a cold blob of air in the wee hours, there’s a chance of freezing rain from 2am-10am. If there’s no freezing rain, we’ll get 2-3” of snow. We’ll see another .3-.4” WV during the day, for 3-4” of new snow. The freezing level will be 2000’ early, rising to 5000’ around 11am, dropping to 4500’ at 5pm, and crashing to 1500’ or less around 8pm as the front crosses the Cascades. This dramatic drop in temps will cause some wind chaos: The wind will be SW 40-50 early, dropping to SW 35-40 midday, picking up to 40-45 around 5pm, and then, as the front moves overhead, swinging to a chaotic NW 45-50 at 8pm.
Snow continues Saturday night into Sunday, with .4-.5” WV by 4am, for 5-7” of new snow overnight, followed by .6” WV during the day, for another 6-8”. The snow level will be less than 1000’ Sunday morning, rising to 2000’ in the afternoon. Wind will be W 40 early, swinging to WSW 35-40 at 8am, picking up to WSW 45-50 at 2pm, and holding through the rest of the day.
The active weather pattern continues Monday and Tuesday, with more snow.
Windsurfers and kiters get low-quality, gusty wind, switching back and forth between east and west, with the exception of overnight Saturday, when it’s going to blow 40+ in the eastern Gorge in the darkness. You might catch some leftovers Sunday morning, but go early, because it won’t last all day.
In events, it’s Hood River Appreciation Days at the HRM lodge at Meadows on Saturday, the Dummy Downhill at Skibowl Saturday, and a HRATS work party on a ton of Post Canyon trails on Saturday, with refreshments provided by New York City Subs, 10 Speed Coffee and Dirty Fingers Bike Repair.
Have an awesome day.
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, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til March 2013, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors during the summer season (and the winter if I get off my bum and get some!). If you don’t PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.
