Friday: powder to the people! - The Gorge is my Gym

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′
Friday 1500′->2500′->1500′
SAturday 1500′->2000′->0′
Sunday 0′->5500′

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Good morning! It was another late night in crisis world, but here’s your forecast for today and the weekend. Things are looking powdery today (13” of new), sunny with packed pow on Saturday, dry until Sunday afternoon, and then probably snowy, but possibly some mixed precip Sunday night into Monday. The latest slate of models drops the snow level back down to the right level (anything below 5000′ is “right”) Monday afternoon.

Friday’s a “powder to the people” day. Mother Nature will continue to add to yesterday’s dumping. The snow level will be 1500′ in the morning, 2500′ in the afternoon, and 1500′ overnight. About 0.3-0.4” water equivalent (WE) is forecast this morning for 3-4” of new snow. The sky turns partly cloudy in the afternoon, but don’t rule out some orographic (terrain-enhanced) snowfall. Up to an inch of additional pow-pow is possible. Wind: SW 15-25 this morning, W 30 this afternoon, and W 20 overnight.

Saturday starts clear. Clouds build from the west by the afternoon and eventually pile up to about 7000′. Want sunny slopes? Go early. The free air freezing level will be 1500′ in the morning, 2000′ in the afternoon and 0′ overnight near Mt. Hood. That said, 850mb temps (5000′) will be -4C in the morning, -2C in the afternoon, and -1C after midnight. Wind: W 20 in the morning, light westerly in the afternoon, and S 5-15 after midnight.

Sunday starts with The Sunshine. High clouds arrive in the afternoon along with a weather system from the south. This one’s got a tap into some warm tropical moisture and may/may not/probably will result in a switch from snow to rain or at least mixed precip. The free air freezing level will be 0′ on Sunday morning. The environmental snow level (that indicated by 5000′ temps) will rise to 4500′ in the afternoon and 5500-6000′ overnight. A trace of snow is forecast before sunset. Overnight, another 0.3” to 0.4” mixed precip is in the cards. Wind: S 5-15 in the morning, SW 15-25 in the afternoon, and SSW 10-25 overnight.

Monday starts with heavy mixed precip and transitions to snow in the afternoon. By Tuesday morning, we’re back to “powder for the people”. We’ll wait on the exact details of the weather Monday into Wednesday as we wait for models to coalesce – there’s quite a bit of argument still about 5000′ for the Sunday to Tuesday period. Have an awesome weekend on the slopes!

FORECAST SPONSORED BY / AWESOME COMPANIES TO SUPPORT

Gorge Wind Forecast

Calm wind this morning (it’s Friday) gives way to westerlies this afternoon as a low moves inland. You’ll find gusty 12-15 from Stevenson to The Dalles with gusty 20-23 in the eastern Gorge. River flow readings are 86-94kcfs, river temp is 38F, and high temp forecast is 45F. Saturday will be calm to start with light easterlies in the afternoon. High temp: 48F with sunshine. Sunday starts with E 20-25 from Rooster to Viento. Afternoon wind drops to the “light” range. High temp: 47F.

Jones, Sauvie Island, Coast – Done for the Season

Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds this morning give way to partly cloudy sky this afternoon. Some drizzle is possible late afternoon. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and mid 40’s later. Moderate westerlies. 61% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be partly Nothing, then sunny or partly cloudy. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rise to the upper 40’s. Calm wind. No rainbows. Sunday will be partly cloudy or clear to start and high overcast later. Rain moves in overnight. Temps start near 30 and rise to the upper 40’s. Easterlies. 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.