Mt. Hood snow and Gorge wind forecast | The Gorge is my Gym

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Now that the kids are back in school, the nights are cooling off, and the tourists are starting to leave the Gorge, it’s time to think skiing and snowboarding. Meadows passes are now on sale for the you-don’t-need-three-friends price of $499. Included in that price is the new Stadium Express lift (use your imagination and giggle when you realize the only possible abbreviation for that lift), eliminating the need for you to use the cattle crossing to Star (snowboarders, cheer loudly). The new lift gets you over to Star, HRM and Heather (it tops out at the same spot as Heather) without waiting in the MHX line. At this point, we’re looking at a weak La Nina or a neutral year, meaning average (450”) or better (max=830”) snowfall. I’ll do the statistical analysis and get back to you. Buy your season pass now!

The official weather station for Hood River registered a high temperature yesterday of 96, tying the record high for the day, although the Hood River Weather thermometer gave us 98 degrees and an unofficial new record. Today’s record high is 95, and the forecast is for 96, so there’s a pretty good chance we’ll set another record today.

Helping the heat along is the near-total lack of wind. We’ll see light east wind this morning, at 10-15 or so, going to light and variable midday, and switching to 5-10 mph west wind this afternoon.

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The stagnant weather patter starts to break down tomorrow as the heat low shifts east of the Cascades. This will drop temperatures into the mid-eighties and give us west wind in the 15-18 range tomorrow, possibly 18-22. Tuesday looks very similar, but with a bit more clouds in Portland, we’ll see west winds near Hood River in the 17-20 range in the morning, picking up to 21-24 in the afternoon.

At this point, it looks like we’ll see more significant cooling and stronger wind on Wednesday and Thursday.

If you’re out and about today, there are a couple of things going on. There’s the 50th annual huckleberry festival in Bingen from 10am to 5pm. If you’re in the western Gorge, the Festival of Nations is going on in Cascade Locks all day today.

And if you’re looking to beat the heat, join the crowds standup paddling on the Columbia. Judging by the crowds yesterday, Hood River’s Event Site is the place to be. Or you could go paddling on the White Salmon (2.2’ or so) or make the long drive to the Tieton for rafting or kayaking. You only get three weeks of Tieton each year. Half of that is gone already. Get on it!

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the link below. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til August 2012, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors. If you don’t PayPal, you can send a donation to PO Box 841 in Hood River, 97031.

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Mother Nature isn’t giving us much in the way of wind for the next few days, but if we get lucky, we’ll see something really cool in the sky instead. The sun has been putting out a lot of solar flares over the last week, and extreme auroral activity is predicted, so keep your eyes on the northern horizon this evening and you might just see the Northern Lights. They weren’t out last night, as best I could tell, but who knows what we’ll get tonight.

If you’re hoping for wind, keep hoping. It’s coming. We’ll see light and variable wind today, making for lovely wakeboarding conditions. Tomorrow looks light and variable too, with easterlies at 5-10 in the morning and westerlies at 5-10 in the afternoon.

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The wind picks up a bit on Monday. We’ll start off with westerlies at 13-15, building to 15-18 in the afternoon. Tuesday brings upper teens to low twenties, and strong westerlies kick back in on Wednesday and Thursday.

If you’re headed to the coast to beat the heat, today’s forecast is 20-25 knots with higher gusts and a 6 foot swell at 11 seconds with sunshine. Tomorrow brings lighter wind and clouds to the beach.

It’s going to be in the upper 90’s here today, so if you’re out and about in The Dalles, cheer on the Aluminum Man triathletes. The Olympic distance athletes are doing a 1.5k swim, a 40k bike and a 10k run, and they’re going to need your support to make it through the heat. I considered doing it, especially since there’s that Athena division, but my bike ride up Spring Street in 90 degrees almost killed me yesterday. Good luck Aluminum men and women. My kudos to you.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira