Thursday. Spring is schedule for the middle of next week. In the meantime, it’s definitely winter on Mt. Hood.

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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

It’s a very snowy morning up on Mt. Hood as strong NW wind creates ideal conditions for orographic snowfall. Max gust last night at Cascade, in case you were wondering, was 103mph. Anyway, T-Line picked up a foot of snow in the last 24 hours, on top of the previous foot, meaning it’s a powder day up there today. Meadows is closed, but you can hike it if you want. We’ll see continued orographic snowfall today. The snow level will be 2000′ this morning, 3500′ this afternoon, and 1000′ under partly cloudy sky tonight. Around .3-.5” WV will fall during the day, for 4-6” of powder. Another .3-.5” falls tonight, for another .4-.6” of snow before the sky clears. Wind will be NW 30 for most of the day, dropping to NW 20 in the evening.
 

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
	4a-8a	8a-12p	12p-4p	4p-8p	8p-4a
Thursday 2000′->3500′->1000′
Friday 1000′->4000′
Saturday 4000′->10000′

 

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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued

Friday might start off with a few flurries, but will quickly transition to partly cloudy sky or even sunshine. The free air freezing level will be 1000′ in the morning and 4000′ in the afternoon and overnight. Wind will be NW 20 all day, becoming light and variable overnight. Both Meadows and T-Line are open Friday.

Saturday starts off clear and becomes high overcast in the afternoon with filtered sun likely sticking around for the hours the lifts are turning. The free air freezing level will be 4000′ in the morning, rising steadily during the day to 10,000′ overnight. Wind will be light and variable early, W 15 in the afternoon, and W 30 in the evening.

Rain starts up around 5am on Sunday, continuing through the day and ending in the evening. Around .1/2” to 3/4” rain is forecast to fall, although it could be quite a bit more given the strong west wind. The snow level will be 9000′ early and somewhere between 5000′ and 9000′ in the afternoon, settling at 7000′ overnight. Wind will be W 30 all day and all night.
 

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Gorge Wind Forecast

It’s Thursday, and we started the day off with west gradients of .06 (pdx-dls) and .09 (dls-psc). As high pressure builds in the Pacific during the day, the wind will increase. It looks like the western Gorge, from Stevenson to Mosier or so, will stay under the clouds. That means the wind will probably stay at gusty 15-18 or less in that section of river. Come to think of it, Rowena and Doug’s are going to be right on the edge. I’d guess they’ll stay in the lighter wind zone today as well. As the gradients build this afternoon, areas east of The Dalles will see the wind pick up to 25-28. River flow is currently 390kcfs, pretty darn high for the Rufus stretch. River temp is 49 degrees. High temp today is 54.

Friday sees that offshore high pressure stick around. With no rain and less clouds in the forecast, the strongest, steadiest wind will shift into the western Gorge. A cold start to the day will limit the Dawn Patrol to 12-15 through the entire Gorge. It’s probably not a great idea to drive east, because the strongest afternoon wind will be 23-26 between Stevenson and Doug’s. Locations further east will languish at 12-15 Friday afternoon.

Saturday starts off with clear sky, cold temps, and light wind. As a weak weather system approaches in the afternoon, the westerlies will pick up to 11-14 through the entire Gorge. As of right now, Sunday looks like 25-29 east of the rain, probably east of The Dalles.
 

Jones, Sauvie’s, Coast Beta Test Forecast

If you click right here , you’ll find NOAA’s coast forecast.
 

Random Morning Thoughts

A friend’s middle-aged son died by suicide last week, and I just read the suicide note he posted on his blog. Some of you may be horrified right now, both by the mention of suicide and the concept of reading someone’s death note. I encourage you to read on, because diminishing the taboo around talking about suicide makes it more likely that people will speak up when they are having suicidal thoughts. Suicidal thoughts, by the way, are actually very, very common. If you are having them, please do call the national suicide hotline and have a chat with someone: 1-800-273-8255

First, let me say that at this time, I am neither depressed nor suicidal. Please do not call a welfare check on me. I merely want to talk about this gentleman’s sense of isolation in the world. In his words, he is dead because he could not “fit in”. Endless small talk and superficial interactions left him feeling disconnected from the world. He wanted more, and could not find more.

Many of us find ourselves in the same place, torn between a desire for intimacy and connection, boxed in by social constructions that place higher value on suave small talk than revelations of the heart. Consciously or not, we keep others at bay, while consciously or not, we crave being seen. We want a sense of belonging, and we repel the opportunity with idle chatter.

We fear the silences inherent in intimate, thoughtful conversations, and so we fill potential quiet moments with words or television or music or movies. Loneliness hurts. And yet, we create it by emphasizing our outer, rather than inner lives. Let’s shift this. Let’s talk about our hearts and our hopes. Let’s support each other in our dreams and desires. It’s scary to bring the inner world into the light of day, but that’s what creates a sense of belonging and connection. Rest in peace, Will. The rest of you, the living, have an awesome day.
 

Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist (but I could be 40 graduate school credits from now). 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. One other thing: I plan to keep doing this forecast indefinitely, even when I am a therapist.
 

Gorge Weather Forecast

It’s mostly cloudy at my house this Thursday morning, and that shall continue, with the addition of some sprinkles and showers, especially this evening. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and mid 50’s later. Moderate west wind. 99% chance of rainbows. Friday looks partly cloudy with scattered sprinkles to start and sunny in the afternoon. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and the upper 50’s in the afternoon. Moderate westerlies. 1.5% chance of rainbows. Saturday looks sunny for most of the day with some high clouds in the afternoon. Temps will be in the mid to upper 30’s early and mid 60’s (hell yeah!) in the afternoon. Light wind. No rainbows. Rain (and rainbows) returns on Sunday.

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

Well let’s see. I believe it rained yesterday, so the only place where you won’t hurt the trails is Syncline. In other news, cows are out on Hospital Hill, so dogs are not allowed. In road biking news, the roads are still there. Ride them. Next chance for pure awesomeness on the roads is Saturday: sunshine and light wind.
 

Upcoming Events

Today’s community events include a by donation dance exercise class at the White Salmon Grange at 11am. Then this evening, trail conditions permitting, Dirty Fingers Bike shop in Hood River has the race-pace Post n’ Pint ride and the women’s Post n’ Pinot ride, both at 5:30. There’s community yoga at 6 at Samadhi in White Salmon and free Tai Chi at Our Savior Church in Bingen at 6:30. Coming up Friday morning, it’s the Kickstand Coffee Run. A 4 mile jog at 7am gets you a free cup of coffee and a donut. Healthy. Very healthy.

Looking ahead to the weekend, the Mountain Film Festival runs Friday through Sunday at the Skylight Theatre – this brings together the best of the Banff and Vancounver mountain film festivals. The Overlook Film Festival, a celebration of all things Horror, happens at Timberline Lodge today through Sunday. Up at Meadows this weekend, the Pond Skim is happening Saturday, and the Ram’s Head Randonee uphill-downhill race is happening on Sunday. T-Line has the Airblaster Board Games on Saturday.

Other weekend events include a trail work partly at Sandy Ridge on Saturday and another one in Post Canyon on Saturday and the Bear Springs Trap mountain bike race on Sunday.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira