The Gorge Is My Gym

MT HOOD WEATHER FORECAST

Hey skiers and snowboarders! Mt. Hood weather is going to be a bit of a wild ride for the next couple of days. The probability of lifts running Tuesday is quite low, except perhaps at Skibowl, which is lower and somewhat more protected. After Tuesday’s blizzard, we’ll have a few days of unseasonable warm weather with quite a bit of sunshine. Looking at next weekend, models hint at cooler, wetter weather, but the details are far from clear, and a forecast isn’t yet possible.

Let’s look at Monday: a system sweeps in from the south. Models have temps at 5000′ rather borderline this morning and plenty cold for snow, lots of it, this evening. That said, at 7;30am, it was snowing at 5000′. The snow level today, daytime, bounces around between 5000′ and 6000′ before falling to 3500′ tonight. Temps rise to 33F or so mid-morning before falling to 29-30F overnight. About 0.6” water equivalent (WE) is forecast during the day as mixed precip or very wet snow. Call it 2-4” new. Overnight, as the wind ramps up and orographic assistance kicks in, we’re expecting 1.1” WE for 11-15” new snow depending on how the wind helps us out. Wind today will be S 10-20 this morning, SW 30-55 this afternoon, SW 40-65 this evening, and WSW 70-80 after midnight. That’s strong enough to turn all the new snow into windslab and sastrugi rather than powder.

Tuesday’s weather will be a full-on blizzard with zero viz and trees falling down. Yeah, it’s going to be THAT windy. The snow level starts around 3500′ and falls to 2500′ in the afternoon before rising to 9000′ under clear sky overnight. Temps start around 29-30F, fall to 26F in the afternoon, and rise above freezing overnight. During the day, 1.3” WE (or more, thanks to orographics!) is forecast. Call it 13-16” new snow. Just a trace is forecast after 4pm. Unfortunately, the wind will be blasting all the way through 4pm. Keep an eye on Skibowl’s night ops for the best chance at pow riding. Wind: WSW 70-80 in the morning (no lifts at Meadows or T-Line), W 60 in the afternoon (ditto – no lifts), W 45 after 1pm (lifts become possible), and SE 10-15 after midnight. That much wind combined with lots of available moisture could drive snowfall totals even higher.

Get it as early as you can on Wednesday – temps will be warming rapidly. The day starts with the freezing level between 9000′ and 3000′, depending on location. By afternoon, the freezing level will be 10,000′ with temps pushing 50 degrees! Wind: SE 10-15 in the morning, SWW 10-15 in the afternoon, and SW 10-20 after midnight. Thursday and Friday both look dry and warm with temps pushing into the mid/upper 40s. Saturday will probably be sunny and dry and warm as well. Models hint at a return to snow (probably) on Sunday. That’s it for now. Have a great day on the snow!

GORGE WIND FORECAST

Hi friends! Hopefully you’re in windsport shape with your game in top shape, because there’s a darn good chance you’ll be wanting all those skills on Tuesday. That’s followed by more reasonable easterlies on Wednesday. Beyond that: probably not much, but we can’t rule out moderate westerlies on Thursday along with 55-60 degree weather. Monday sees easterlies build as a strong low pressure system moves north along the coast. Iwash (Rooster) builds to 40mph by early afternoon, and Stevenson builds to 35mph. Sometime after 4pm, probably later than yesterday (stoked for those of you who got those late laps yesterday), the wind turns westerly at 15mph or so. River flow over the last 24 hours was 112-162kcfs, river temp is 37.58F, and high temp forecast is 50F with pouring rain starting from 8am or so on.

That low I mentioned moves inland into northern WA on Tuesday. We’ll be south of it in the zone of strongest wind. Models aren’t consistent in telling us exactly how windy it will be on the river, but “nuking” is definitely a possibility, especially east of The Dalles. Why? Because “nuking” will definitely be happening aloft, and that’s a great sign for Rufus. At daybreak, we should have 30+ from Iwash to Mosier, lighter wind between Lyle and Avery, and 25-30 out east. 30-40 sees reasonable mid-morning for the Hatch and also for Avery to Boardman with 25-30+ from Hood River to Doug’s.

After 1pm, the wind starts to fade: 17-20ish west of The Dalles and 26-30+ to the east. It keeps dropping after 4pm. The west side finishes at 10mph or so as high pressure pushes inland. You’ll need to head east of Rufus for lingering 25-28 for the Executive session. High temp: 50F with pouring rain west of The Dalles through 11am or so, pouring rain in Stevenson through 1pm or so, and dry weather out east after 10am with mostly clear sky.

Easterlies return for Wednesday with sunshine and 50+ degree temps. Stevenson maxes out at 30-35 midday before fading to 25mph in the evening. Iwash starts at 40mph and fades just a bit to 35mph. Light westerlies are possible but far from certain on Thursday. That’s enough for today. Get ready for tomorrow! Also, don’t forget to plan for dinner from Amayah’s tomorrow night!

BARE BONES HOOD RIVER WEATHER FORECAST

Mostly clear sky this morning quickly turns cloudy then wet then very wet. Temps star tint he mid/upper 30s and rise to 50. Calm wind most of the day. Westerlies build overnight. 11% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be very wet through midday then showery, then dry in the evening. Temps start in the low 40s and rise to 50. Nuking westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Wednesday will be Nothing to start then sunny then partly high overcast. Temps start right at freezing and rise to the mid 50s. Light easterlies. No rainbows.