Tuesday: the excellent packed powder groom shredding continues…

The best snow forecast for Mt. Hood. The best wind forecast for the Gorge.

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The Forecast

	4a-8a	8a-12p	12p-4p	4p-8p	8p-4a
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Tuesday 0′->1500′->0′
Wednesday 0′->1500′->0′
Thursday 0′->4000′

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Clouds and perfect packed powder groom continue for the next few days. A pattern shift Thursday leads to a period of heavy snow which may include a short period of mixed precipitation. There’s a lot of model spread starting around that time, but there are hints of snow and cold-enough weather for the weekend followed by warm, wet weather to start next week. Just FYI, I’ve got to work super early tomorrow, so I’ll attempt to get tomorrow’s forecast out tonight.

Looking at Tuesday morning, we’ve got about 3” of fresh powder on the ground and another round of stellar grooming. Just a trace to an inch of snow is forecast in this 24 hour period with continued cold conditions. The snow level will be 0′ this morning, 1500′ this afternoon, and 0′ overnight. Wind will be light and variable.

Wednesday will be cloudy with flurries in the morning, may add some sun breaks midday, and will then turn cloudy with flurries in the afternoon. The snow level will be 0′ in the morning, 1500′ in the afternoon, and 0′ overnight. Just a trace to an inch of snow falls in that 24 hour period. Wind: light during the day becoming W 10 in the afternoon and S 10-20 after midnight.

Thursday starts with flurries, turns dry and cloudy, and then sees the heavens open up overnight. The environmental snow level (determined by 850mb/5000′ temps) will be 0-1000′ in the morning, 2500-3000′ in the afternoon, and may briefly climb as high as 5000′ in the evening before dropping to 3500′ overnight. Read that as: the snow is probably going to be pretty dense. At least 0.5” water equivalent (WE) is forecast, for 4-7” of dense snow. Models still have a wide range, but we can say there won’t be orographic aid. In other words, we shouldn’t see a massiver overperform situation. Wind: S 10-20 in the morning, SSE 15-25 in the afternoon, and SW 15-30 overnight.

Models suggest continued snowfall Friday with increasing wind overnight. The weather generally looks cold enough for snow through Sunday, but there’s quite a bit of spread in how much precip will fall. The start of next week has some potential for Pineapple Express, but model spread is so great (10C spread for 5000′ temps!!!) that it’s impossible to put together a precise, accurate forecast today. We’ll keep watching. In the meantime, get as much as you can this week!

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Gorge Wind Forecast

Easterlies or calm wind stick around through Friday morning, and then there’s a shot at westerlies, at least in the eastern Gorge. For Tuesday, most of the Gorge starts calm. Between Rooster and Viento, you’ll find 10-15 to start. Midday wind rises to 15-20 near Rooster and 20-25 at Stevenson before falling back to 15mph in the afternoon. River flow readings are 77-91kcfs, river temp is 38F, and high temp forecast is 41F. Wednesday will be calm in most locations all day. Rooster and Stevenson could see a brief period of west wind at 5-10 mph in the afternoon. High temp: 45F. Thursday starts with E 25-30 at Rooster and 20-25 at Stevenson. That holds all day. Add on E 10-20 east of Mosier in the afternoon. High temp: 42F. A low (may) cross the Cascades on Friday and kick off moderate to strong westerlies. Cross your fingers if that’s what you’re hoping for!

Jones, Sauvie Island, Coast – Done for the Season

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds this morning add a few sun breaks and perhaps some sprinkles. Temps start in the low 30’s and rise to the mid 40’s. Very light easterlies. 10% chance of rainbows. Wednesday will be cloudy, mostly cloudy, and cloudy again with scattered sprinkles. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rise to the mid 40’s. Calm wind. 4% chance of rainbows. Thursday will be dry and cloudy until the evening, when it will pour or dump snow or both. Temps start in the upper 20’s and rise to the low 40’s. Light easterlies early. Moderate easterlies later. No rainbows.

Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.

Local-ish Events

Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!
Regular weekly events: NK Studios in Bingen has a donation-based yoga class at 7:30am every Tuesday. Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. There’s meditation with monks at 5:15pm (an hour) and 6:30pm (30 minutes plus a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, there’s a run from Pine Street Bakery. On Fridays at 2:30pm, there’s a free meditation and stretching class at Yoga Samadhi. There’s a weekly group paddle to the Event Site on Sunday at 11 am followed by a free pint at the fire pit at Ferment. That’s the “Paddle n’ Pint”. Also: Wednesday Paddle Sprints at the Event Site at Noon.

Cycling

Well, now the trails are going to be frozen solid. That makes for good riding if you can avoid the invisible icy spots. On the off chance that things thaw later this week under sunny sky, don’t ride. Be prepared to turn around due to freeze-thaw mud. If it was below freezing the night before your ride, don’t ride trails that are exposed to the open air. Those trails will have freeze-thaw conditions, and you’ll do major damage. Consider gravel riding! If you’re parking at Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.