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

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Good morning!

Mountain Weather Forecast:

It’s a cloudy, windy start today, and the models are showing some rain and snow headed our way. They’re suggesting the rain will start in earnest around 10am, but given what’s on the radar, that doesn’t look likely. Steady rain will start sometime early in the afternoon, I think. Models are all over the place with rainfall amounts, but my best guess is we’ll see .4” water value between now and 4am tomorrow. The snow level starts at 8000’ today, falling to 7000’ by 4pm and falling to 4000’ overnight. It looks like the bulk of the moisture will fall as rain before switching to snow around 10pm, giving us an inch or two of new overnight. The real problem today is the wind. West winds at 30-40 start the day, picking up to W 40-50 by 1pm, becoming NW at 40-45 by 7pm.

Models are in disagreement again tomorrow on water value totals. Basically, the bulk of the energy with this system is headed north of us, and a small difference in the storm track will make a big difference in the amount of rain/snow we see. That said, the snow level starts off around 4000’ tomorrow, rising quickly to 5500’-6000’ and holding there for the rest of the day. Total water value will be .1-.25”, for 2” or so of new snow during the day. Winds tomorrow will be NW at 15-20 early, rising to W 20-30 by 7pm.

We may see some freezing rain Saturday night, but the total precip amount is around .1”, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem. The snow level on Sunday starts at 6000’, rising quickly to 8000’, and holding between 8000’ and 9000’ through Monday morning. Winds on Sunday start off at NW 30-40, switching to W 30-35 midday, rising to WNW 45-50 by 7pm.

Monday is a long way off, but at this point, it looks like another arctic blast is on the way. The snow level will fall rapidly on Monday from 9000’ early to 3000’ or less by afternoon. Winds will be quite strong all day: NW 40-45.

Mountain Biking Report:

Unknown. It was pretty warm yesterday, meaning the trails probably thawed. If that’s the case, please let the trails rest, as they’ll be consistently muddy and susceptible to damage, especially in sunny spots.

Gorge Wind Forecast:

Westerlies in the desert late this afternoon as an upper level low crosses the BC border. 23-27mph. Not much going on Saturday. Westerlies in the desert on Sunday as another ULL swings along the BC border: 28-32. Continuing westerlies Monday morning. The Columbia River is now 39 degrees.

Other Fun Stuff
If you haven’t been to Columbia Gorge Community Acupuncture before, you can get free acupuncture on Saturday from 9am-1pm. Call 541-399-3169 to schedule. Coming up on February 16th, ’Wildwater, A Love Story’ plays at Columbia Center for the Arts. This is going to be an incredible film. You can watch the trailers from the link above. I don’t use the word “mindblowing” lightly, but some of this footage is truly mindblowing. This will sell out.

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 button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til November 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.

2/3 Forecast

The Clymb: free membership.
Access to super cheap gear including Trew, Zeal, Sierra Designs, and many more.

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Good morning!

If we don’t get some real weather soon, I’m not going to remember how to write a forecast once the weather returns!

Mountain Weather Forecast:

Today starts out clear and sunny with the freezing level around 8-9000’. Light NW wind in the morning builds to NW 10-25 by 1pm, holding through evening. Clouds move in with the wind, for a partly cloudy afternoon and a cloudy night. It’s unlikely we’ll see any r**n on the slopes tonight.

Tomorrow is another story. The day starts out dry, with the snow level hovering around 8000’. Morning winds in the NW 25-30 range build through the day, going to WNW 40-50 by 4pm as a upper level low swings across the BC border. R**n starts on Mt. Hood around 1pm, continuing through 10am Saturday. Models are in disagreement about the amount of rain we’ll get, varying from .1” to .5”. Just to keep things interesting, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll see freezing rain overnight Friday into Saturday morning.

Saturday starts off with sprinkles or snow showers or sleet or freezing rain with the snow level around 5000’, rising to 6500’ by 7pm. Winds on Saturday will be NW 25-35 to start, dropping a bit to 20-30 in the afternoon, but remaining in the 40-50mph range up high and on exposed ridges. Light sprinkles in the morning give way to a dry day, with steady rain returning by 4pm. Models disagree over precip amounts on Saturday as well, with some predicting less than .1” and some saying up to .5”.

Sunday brings more light rain, with NW wind at 20-30 all day and the snow level at 6500’, rising to 8000’ in the afternoon.

At this point, it looks like a high pressure ridge will rebuild next week, bringing more warm, dry weather.

Mountain Biking Report:

Post Canyon is frozen hard, meaning it’s fast and fun if you can keep your fingers and toes warm. Syncline is going through melt-freeze and freeze-thaw cycles with the midday sunshine, so it’s best to leave it alone right now. I don’t have a report for Hospital, but since it’s mostly shady, it’s probably fast and fun.

Gorge Wind Forecast:

Strong easterlies in the 20-40 range this morning will fade this afternoon. We’ll see light westerlies tomorrow, building into the mid-twenties in the afternoon. At this point, it’s looking like the westerlies will stick around through Monday.

Temira