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

Good morning!

First things first. You might have noticed some street closure action in
Hood River this morning. That’s because 2nd Wind is putting on the USASA
rail jam all day on 4th Street. And that right there is why I love Hood
River. We’re not afraid to close roads to run a rail jam. Thank you to Pepi
for putting it on, and thanks to the City of Hood River (aka Arthur) for
helping make this happen.

The La Nina chill continues in the Gorge today with strong east winds
through the Gorge. The morning gradient is at .23, and that’s enough for
averages in excess of 40mph, along with early morning windspeeds of 20mph at
Stevenson. The wind at Stevenson will pick up a bit (how could it not, with
such a huge gradient) later today to 30mph or so. These east winds will hold
through Wednesday.

The easterlies are not a good sign for driving in the Gorge late Tuesday
night to Wednesday, as we’re going to see a very wet frontal system ride
over the top of the cold air. Expect 1″ or so of moisture in the Gorge
Tuesday night into Wednesday, making for a snowy day on Wednesday.

Now, on to the mountain forecast. Light snow today, light snow tomorrow,
and a few inches on Monday. The next storm moves in late Tuesday night or
during the day Wednesday with a chance of a period of rain on the slopes.
Snow levels will start off near 6000′, dropping to 4000′ after the front
passes Wednesday. If we don’t see rain, we’ll see a total of 18-22″ of new
snow with this system, making Wednesday night or Thursday the best ski
session of the week.

Okay, I’d better get back to work before someone sees me writing a forecast
(Hi Paul Jones)

Have a great day, and sorry about the text-only forecast. Better than
nothing, right?

Temira

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

—

Good morning!

It’s snowing in the mountains again today. I prefer starting the day with snow. Uttering the “r-word” at 5am is no fun. 2” of snow fell overnight, and we’ll see another 3-5” today, with temperatures in the mid to upper twenties. That should be enough snow to erase the evidence of yesterday’s rain from groomed runs. You’ll probably still hit the off-piste crust in areas after this snow falls, but the skiing will be to the good side of average.

Tomorrow looks dry and likely sunny on the slopes, but there’s a possibility of strange happenings on Saturday. Deep low level east flow combines with southerly upper flow for wind shear at 5-6000’ Saturday through Sunday morning. That could make for unanticipated strong winds at T-Line and Meadows Saturday evening. We’ll see 2-3” of new snow on Saturday, and we will likely see trace amounts in the Gorge as well (unless we end up in a rain shadow due to the southerly approach of this system).

Sunday looks dry with light wind on Mt. Hood.

Heavy La Nina snow returns to Mt. Hood on Monday, likely during the afternoon, making Tuesday the next powder day at Skibowl (3pm-9pm, Tue), Meadows and T-Line.

I have a wind forecast for you today as well. Nuclear force east winds hammer Rooster Rock and Stevenson on Saturday. Andrew, I know you hate the term nuclear, but these will be cold easterlies, giving your skin a healthy, radioactive glow. Easterlies continue in the 25-ish range Sunday, and then pick up to 30ish Monday into Tuesday as a deep upper low rotates off the coast.

Those east winds combined with a wet frontal system on Monday night into Tuesday give the Gorge yet another chance of snow and freezing rain, as the desert air feeding the easterlies will remain below freezing. This is getting ridiculous. Aren’t you glad you voted for the gas tax last year so we have money in Hood River to plow and sand the roads? Want to see more plowing? Buy more gas. (Arthur’s going to kill me)

Don’t forget about the 2nd Wind / USASA Rail Jam in downtown Hood River on Saturday. Finals will be in the evening, so even if you’re on the mountain during the day, you can still catch the best of the action.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

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