Saturday: another day to carve mt. hood’s groom

Meet Temira,
your Gorge and Mt. Hood forecaster

For almost 30 years, Temira (they/them) has been making the most of what the Gorge has to offer: riding river swell on a foil or windsurf board, carving fresh lines through the snow, and cycling all the gravel and pavement and trails. This is Temira’s playground, their gym… their life’s work.

That’s why in 2006, Temira took it upon themselves to create the most accurate, hyper-local weather forecasts possible. Inaccurate predictions had left too many fellow adventurers caught off-guard and in harm’s way. Temira was determined to change that. Today, Temira’s forecasts have become an essential resource for thousands of skiers, snowboarders, wind sports enthusiasts and travelers through the Gorge. With their guidance, you can plan ahead, time your sessions perfectly, and stay safer on the water, snow, and trails.

But the story doesn’t end there. Temira also authors the TATAS Facebook page – the Gorge’s premier source for microclimate forecasts. When winter storms, extreme heat, or other hazardous conditions (avalanches on SR-14 and I-84, for example!) threaten, this community lifeline becomes a vital resource for locals and visitors alike, helping to keep everyone safe.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Hey skiers and snowboarders! Happy winter solstice! Mt. Hood’s going to pick up a few inches of snow today. Tomorrow brings mixed precipitation, and then we’re in for a dry day Monday, snow for Christmas Eve, and dry weather for Xmas and the day after. Beyond that… boy is there a lot of moisture in the picture, and boy does the snow level bounce around. More on that in a bit…

Saturday opens up cloudy above the slopes. That a good thing, because it means the snow didn’t refreeze overnight. At least that’s what my sources say. Expect wet-packed snow conditions. Red wax, if you plan on waxing. Temps drops quickly (but not all that far), and wet snowfall starts up mid-morning. The snow level will be 6500′ early, 4000′ in the afternoon, and 3500′ after midnight. About 0.3” to 0.4” water equivalent (WE) is forecast. With relatively warm temps, that’s 2-3” dense new snow by 4pm. Overnight: just a trace. Wind today will be SW 20-40 all morning, WSW 30-35 in the afternoon, and SW 20-35 after midnight, dropping to SW 10-20.

Sunday kicks off with clouds. Another system moves in midday with a round of mixed precipitation. The snow level will be 4000′ in the morning, 6000′ in the afternoon, and it’ll slowly fall to 3500′ after midnight by which time the moisture will be all wrapped up. Temps max out in the mid to upper 30’s at 5000′. We’ll see about 0.5” mixed precip (snow transitioning to rain or snain) during the day with 0.3” mixed precip (snain transitioning to snow) in the evening followed by 0.3” WE as snow overnight. It’s hard to peg down how much snow we’ll see… maybe 3-6”? At least we finish with snow rather than rain! Wind: SW 0-20 in the morning, SW 25-45 in the afternoon, and W 30 after midnight.

On Monday, we’ll have a dry day followed by rain overnight. Sunshine sticks around for most of the day. High clouds arrive in the afternoon. The snow level will be 3500′ early, 9000′ in the afternoon, 7000′ in the evening, and 5500′ after midnight. About 0.5” WE is forecast overnight, mostly as rain, but transitioning to snain (very wet snow) after midnight. Accumulation at 5000′: not much at all. Wind: W 30 early transitions to S 15-30 during the day, S 20-40 in the evening, and WSW 20-25 after midnight.

On Christmas Eve day, models gift us some snow and cooler temps. The snow level drops rapidly from 5500′ to 2500′. Call it 4-6” of new, but we’ll refine that as we get closer. Christmas day looks cooler with sunshine. Dry weather sticks around through Wednesday afternoon. Beyond that, the weather looks quite wet. Periods of snow alternate with periods of rain through the weekend. There’s no predicting with precision this far out, but that’s the general picture. We’ll dive in as we get closer. Meanwhile… today should be a fun one on the slopes. Have a great day out there!

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! Easterlies for the next three days. We’ll have a shot at westerlies on Tuesday. Keep an eye on next weekend – lots of low pressures systems moving about, but models have at least some chance of one coming inland. If that happens, we’ll have a day of strong west wind. Fingers crossed! Saturday, however, is an east wind day. Pressures started at 29.71/29.99 for E 0.18. The wind is going to drop quickly today, maybe too quickly. Iwash started at 52mph. It drops to 15-20 by 10am and eventually turns calm. Stevenson started with 36mph. It holds through mid-morning and then drops to 15mph. River flow over the last 24 hours was 101-167kcfs, river temp is 45.50F, and high temp forecast is 43F with clouds and rain in the morning and partly cloudy sky later.

Sunday starts with east wind at 25mph at both Stevenson and Iwash. Iwash rises to 35mph and holds. Stevenson holds at 25mph all day. High temp: 43F and cloudy. Monday starts with light westerlies. As a low spins up offshore, east wind returns in the afternoon. Iwash rises to 35-40mph, and Stevenson rises to 30-35mph. High temp:48F under increasing clouds. The day should be dry. Offshore high pressure is possible on Tuesday. If this happens, we’ll have a west wind day. Fingers crossed. Have a great day out there, whatever you do!

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 for a detailed weather forecast.

Clouds and Nothing early. Rain midday. Partly cloudy later. Temps start in the low 40s and don’t budge. Light easterlies in the morning. Calm wind later. 84% chance of rainbows.

Sunday will be rainy. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the low 40s. Light easterlies. 0% chance of rainbows.

Monday will be dry all day and rainy overnight. Partly cloudy early. Cloudy later. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the upper 40s. Light westerlies in the morning. Light easterlies later. 0% chance of rainbows.

Stay Connected with Local Events!

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Local-ish Outdoorsy Events Calendar

Know of an outdoor-related local-ish event? Let me know! If you don’t tell me, I don’t know about it!

Cycling Update

Trails have been a mix of frozen, hoar-frost (unrideable), and freeze-thaw. When it’s wet and muddy, or when there are freeze-thaw conditions, please don’t ride, or you’ll do significant trail damage. Then peeps have to fix your mess rather than building new trails. Nobody wants that! Everyone wants new trails. Be a good steward, and pick a different activity

Remember: E-bikes are not allowed on USFS non-moto trails. They are allowed on moto trails.