It’s raining on the slopes of Mt. Hood today, and shall continue to rain, drizzle, or sprinkle through about 10am, when the sun will come out. The sunshine will be short-lived, as clouds move in mid-afternoon, bringing a possibility of precip overnight. The snow level today will be 8000′ for much of the day, dropping briefly to 6500′ mid-morning and rising to 10,000 after 7pm. The tricky part of the forecast is whether the next weather system will push far enough inland for rain on the mountain tonight. I suspect we’ll see mist, if not rain, but I’m not going to predict an amount. Wind today will be SW 10-15 early, rising to 20-25 this afternoon and 30-40 overnight. Continued after the chart.
 |
4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today 8000′->10,000′ |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Tomorrow 10,000′->5000′ |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
| The next day 5500′->2000′ |
 |
|
|
|
|
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…
Whether it rains tonight or not, it will rain starting by 7am Thursday. The precip will continue through 4pm, followed by clear sky overnight. The snow level Thursday will be 10,000′ early, dropping to 5500′ by 10am and 5000′ by 1pm. In the 7am-1pm period, we’ll see 1.2” water value (WV). It’s possible the last .2-.4” WV will fall as snow, for 1-2” of heavy new snow, but it’s also possible all the moisture will fall as rain. So there ya go – another day of uncertainty! Wind Thursday will be SW 30-40 early, turning to WNW 35-40 by 10am, and dropping to NW 15 after 10pm.
Friday looks really interesting as a compact upper level low goes right over the top of Mt. Hood. A small change in the track of this storm could have a huge impact on both wind speeds and precipitation type, so take this forecast with a grain of salt. We’ll see heavy precip between 7am and noon, with orographic (terrain-enhanced) precip between noon Friday and 4am Saturday.
Donate and keep the forecasts coming
See below for details.
The snow level during this period, should the track of the low not change from today’s model run, will be 5500′ early, dropping to 2000′ when the precip hits. As the system slides over our volcano, we’ll see the snow level possibly jump to 8000′ for a period, before falling to 3500′ in the afternoon and 2000′ overnight. So… there’s approximately 1.2” WV between 7am and 4pm. I think we’ll see 5-7” of dense new snow with a period of mixed precipitation likely. Then we’ll see .2-.4”’ WV after 4pm, for 2-4” of regular old snow. Wind on Friday will be S 10-15 early, SW 30 mid-morning, and W 50 in the afternoon.
As of right now, Saturday looks like one of those days with flurries, sunbreaks and strong wind. The snow level will be around 1500′ all day.
Support your forecaster, Temira!
Thank you for using this forecast. Does it save you time, gas money, or help you have more fun in your life? Make a donation! Get your forecast here for free or donate and get on the mailing list for year-round wind forecasts and ski season snow forecasts. Just click on my photo to donate via PayPal or credit card. The email isn’t $99/year. Not $50/year. No, just $12.34 or more gets you on the list for 12 months, and sometimes there are cool prizes. Don’t PayPal? Send a check to Temira @ PO Box 841 in Hood River. Thank you for your support, and thank you for trusting my forecast.
Gorge Wind Forecast
East wind at 25-30 all day today. Light east wind tomorrow morning becomes W 20-23 near Hood River and W 26-30 east of The Dalles, strongest between noon and 3pm. Friday starts off with E 30-35. In a very confusing move for the trees, birds, and other wind-affected creatures, the wind will switch to W 25-29 after noon from Viento to Mosier, with 30+ possible east of Mosier, all the way to Arlington. Saturday looks like 26-30 all day, likely from Mosier eastward, as a strong upper level low moves into BC and high pressure builds off the coast.
If this were summer, we’d call this a Classic Gorge Setup. But it’s winter, not summer, and we’ll call this a pipe dream unless the models continue to predict this over the next couple of days. Remember, there will be a LOT of debris in the river after the heavy rain Thursday and Friday. That’s important to take into account if you plan on kiting, windsurfing, or doing a SUP downwinder in all the west wind.
Random Morning Thoughts
Some people have special gifts. An acquaintance of mine has the ability to make the person with whom she’s conversing feel totally at ease, safe, and completely accepted. Knowing a bit about this person’s background, I suspect the mechanism of this involves 1) finding something about the person to love and cultivating that, 2) being curious about the person in front of her, and 3) being completely in the moment.
When we interact with people, we bring our entire history with the person into the interaction. We expect them to behave in the same ways they have in the past. We label our conversation partner, and because humans are wired to be more sensitive to negative things than positive (it’s a survival mechanism), we bring up negative associations more frequently than positive associations.
I suspect my acquaintance approaches each interaction as a completely new experience. You too can try this. The next time you run into someone you’ve known for a long while, approach them with curiosity, openness, and a sense of newness. Pretend you are meeting them for the first time, and see if there’s something there to like, something that engages you.
It may just have been one day since you last saw this person, but, believe it or not, people do change. Sometimes they change quickly, much faster than our memories of them will change. So, give people the benefit of the doubt, and approach them with curiosity each day. You’ll have less negativity in your mind, more positive interactions in your world, and more love in your heart. Have an awesome day.
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist. I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues.
Gorge Weather Forecast
I’m always amazed that the same temp can feel so different on different days. This morning’s 41 degrees felt freezing when I went out to check the weather. It was cloudy, but that’s not going to last. I think we’ll see partly cloudy sky midday with more clouds in the afternoon. We may or may not see sprinkles tonight, depending on the eastward progression of a frontal system. Temps will be right around 40 this morning and 50 this afternoon. East wind. No rainbows.
Tomorrow may start off cloudy, but then it’ll rain hard through 2pm or so, followed by showers and sunshine. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and the low 50’s in the afternoon. Light wind in the morning, moderate westerlies after noon. 97.4% chance of rainbows. Friday brings heavy rain for much of the day, followed by showers after noon. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and mid 40’s in the afternoon. East wind early, strong westerlies after 1pm. 99.9% chance of rainbows.
Looking at the long-range forecast, the GFS proposes periods of light snowfall between Sunday morning and Tuesday. The Euro proposes a drier solution. It’s worth saying that not even the GFS is proposing a lot of snowfall. Just some.
For weather specifically directed at travel through the Gorge, please visit Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
It didn’t rain all that much last night, which means Syncline is likely still in great shape. Steve D. let me know that Whoopdee is still under several inches of snow, so that’s not an option. If Whoopdee is snowy, Post is also too snowy (not to mention muddy) to ride. Hospital Hill, well, maybe the front side, but there’s definitely quite a bit of snow at the top.
Riverside and Cebu Restaurants. Yum.
Riverside is offering again its Winter Special: Buy 1 Pasta, Get 2nd Pasta FREE! Valid Sunday – Thursday, 4 pm – 9 pm with 20 of Chef Mark DeResta’s specialty pasta dishes (gluten-free options too). Available in Riverside and Cebu at the Best Western Plus Hood River Inn. $5 Kids Menu offered in Riverside. (Not valid on Feb. 14, on to go orders, or with other discounts.) 541-386-4410 for reservations www.riversidehoodriver.com
Upcoming Events
This morning: 7:30am Hatha community yoga at the Heartgate in Odell and meditation at Flow Yoga at 8:15am. There’s no ping pong tonight it was canceled for some reason or another, and there’s Aikido at Trinity Natural Medicine in Hood River at 6pm. Coming up Friday, Helping Hands Shelter has their annual bacon-themed fundraiser at Springhouse Cellars. $20 gets you in the door for bacon-themed goodies from eight local restaurants and amateur bacon cooks. Plus, it helps fund and raise awareness for a great local service.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
The Clymb: free membership.
Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.
