Meet Temira, your Gorge Forecaster
Temira (they/them) has been exploring and playing in the Gorge since 1997 – starting out as a windsurfer, then expanding into kiting (briefly!), mountain biking, winging, gravel biking, SUP foiling and even extreme gardening! With all that experience, they understand the importance of a reliable forecast. In 2009, frustrated by the lack of accurate forecasts, Temira took matters into their own hands. What began as a daily email chain between friends (Laura Green, Dave Brown, and Temira) quickly grew into a full-blown website and subscription email service.
So, why The Gorge is my Gym? Because I don’t need a traditional gym – and neither do you. The Gorge is our gym! But this blog isn’t just about my adventures; it’s about helping all of you make the most of your limited free time. Whether you’re on the snow, in the river, or on the dirt, this forecast is here to help you have fun.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Hi skiers and snowboarders! What a fine early-season storm this has been! Timberline is up to 30” at the base. Teacup tried to groom (they had a foot of new), but it was just too wet. If you want to ride some lifts, Pucci will be open at T-line today. At Meadows, you’ll be hiking to earn your turns. Looking at this week, we have a little snow today, a bit of rain Monday followed by snow into Tuesday morning, and then a few dry days. Hey, maybe we’ll get some early season corn snow! Precip returns late next week, but our models have different ideas of how warm it will be. We can talk more about that in a bit.
Sunday starts with lingering light snow at 5000′ and turns partly high cloudy this afternoon. The snow level will be around 4000′-4500′ this morning, 3000′ this afternoon, and 4500′ overnight. Wind: NW 25-30 all day turning to W 20-25 after midnight.
The next system barrels in on Monday. Fortunately, the bulk of it is headed to BC. If it were headed to us, oh my goodness would it be a windy one. Unfortunately, the fact that it’s headed north of us leaves us in warm air with drizzle for a period. The snow level starts at 4500′ and quickly rises to 8500′. It’ll fall back to 4500′ in the afternoon and as low as 2000′ overnight, but not before rain has implanted a crust layer in the snowpack. Models give us 0.4” water equivalent (WE) during the day. We’ll see maybe 1” of snow out of that and a quarter inch of rain. It’s worth mentioning that the snow level will be bouncing around; this sort of situation can ice up lifts and make a big mess. Overnight, as the snow level falls, we’ll get another 0.1” WE for an inch of snow. During the day, the wind rises from W 20-25 to W 55 and then turns to NW 50-55 overnight. Wind this strong, despite the lack of deep moisture, could result in 25-50% more WE than expected. So, it’s possible we could see quite a bit more snow than the couple inches I just called for. Let’s cross our fingers for that outcome!
Lingering light snowfall on Tuesday morning eventually gives way to high clouds in the afternoon and clear sky overnight. The snow level will be 2000′ all day and 1500′ overnight. About 0.1” WE is forecast in the morning for an inch of new snow. Wind: NW 50-55 early fades to NW 30-40 in the afternoon and N 10-20 overnight. That’s enough wind to disrupt lift operations. Fortunately, there probably won’t be any lifts running that day due to it being early in the season!
Dry weather and warming temps persist Wednesday through Friday. Next system: late Friday into Saturday morning. That one will probably be rain, not snow. Models then offer up quite the range of possibilities for temps going forward. They do like the idea of precipitation, but it’s unclear what type. We’ll leave it there for now and cross our fingers for 0C or less at 850mb. Have a great day on the slopes!
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Gorge Wind Forecast
Hi friends! We definitely have some fun in the forecast for the next five days. You’ll have westerlies today, tomorrow, and potentially Tuesday. Those are followed by lesser easterlies on Wednesday and (probably) stronger east wind on Thursday. Tomorrow looks like the biggest day of all, and is likely to get quite rowdy on the river!
Sunday opens up with 6am pressures of 30.11/30.03/30.00 for gradients of 0.08 and 0.03. Models are still all over the place for wind today, but they do suggest today will be stronger than yesterday. They think you’ll find the best results from Viento to Avery this morning and Mosier to Rufus this afternoon, but in this setup, Swell can over-perform. Okay, setup done. Let’s dig in: the GFS offers up gusty 22-25 from mid-morning on (after the drizzle stop) from Viento to Avery with 10-13 in Stevenson and 7-10 east of Avery. The GFS gives us 21-24 this afternoon between Mosier and Rufus with 17-20 from Stevenson to Swell. That said, the ensembles of the Euro suggest that the Lyle to Rufus launches will rise to 26-29 thanks to support from aloft. That’s quite a lot of range in the possibilities, eh? My plan, if that helps, is for Swell. I think the Rufus area will be right on the edge of “enough”. River flow over the last 24 hours was 83-127kcfs, river temp is 57.56F, and high temp forecast is 53F under clearing sky.
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Save some energy for Monday, and don’t be fooled by the calm start. As a beast of a low (992mb) pushes into BC, strong high pressure builds off the Oregon Coast. Aloft: super strong NW wind. This is a pretty sure-fire setup for the eastern Gorge, and we’ll also see wind west of The Dalles. As this system approaches mid-morning, expect the Stevenson to Mosier zone to rise to gusty 30ish mph with more at Viento and ginormous gusts dropped in for added spiciness. By early afternoon, everywhere from Lyle to Boardman joins in at 30-35+ with huge gusts. Strongest wind should be between Maryhill and Arlington, but Threemile and Boardman should see 30+ as well. The wind keeps building into the evening with the strongest period like to be from 4pm to 7pm, which unfortunately coincides with darkness. Still… the wind should arrive early enough for you to have plenty of fun! One more thing: it’s likely to be raining west of The Dalles until early afternoon, so you’ll have rain along with your blowing smoke. High temp: 52F for Hood River and 54F for Arlington. Sunny in the desert.
Lingering westerlies are in the cards for Tuesday as high pressure builds inland. The strongest wind is likely mid-morning between Lyle and Boardman; call it 25-28 for now, but potentially 28-31 from Rufus to Arlington. Eastern Gorge wind fades quickly, and the focus returns to Swell with 18-22 in the afternoon. High temp: 51F and partly cloudy. Wednesday brings easterlies at 20mph or so, perhaps a touch more. The wind focuses more on the river and less on elevated locations on Thursday for 30mph near Stevenson and 35mph near Iwash (Rooster Rock). As of this morning, Friday looks calm. That’s plenty for now. See you on the river!
Jones, Sauvie Island, Oregon Coast: done for the season
Alan’s Sauvie Island Wind Sensor
Very basic Hood River weather forecast. Don’t plan your life around this. You really should read Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook
Showers this morning stop by mid-morning and leave us mostly clear. Temps start in the upper 40s and rise to the low 50s. Moderately strong westerlies. 100% chance of rainbows. Monday will be cloudy then mostly clear with rain through early afternoon. Temps start in the low 40s and rise to the low 50s. Calm wind early. Very strong westerlies in the afternoon and into the night. 99% chance of rainbows.
Link to my Local-ish Outdoorsy Events Google Calendar
Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!
Cycling
Please see the HRATS/Hood River County for complete details on Post Canyon closures. Newly reopened in Post: lower Trail 100 paralleling the lower part of Post Canyon Road. The Twin Tunnels Trail between Hood River and Mosier has reopened. Kreps and Green Diamond Lands have reopened. That includes Whoopdee, Hospital Hill, and Underwood. Closed: Gorge 400 and lots of other trails due to the Whisky Creek Fire. Trail near Mt. Adams due to the Williams Mine Fire. Remember that E-bikes are not allowed on USFS non-moto trails. They are allowed on moto trails.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
