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

Good morning!

First off, Friday is my birthday. As everyone I know has to work early Saturday, we’re celebrating Thursday. Join me, along with my friends from the Hood River Weather website (http://webpages.charter.net/hoodriverweather/weather.htm) at River City at 6pm-ish tomorrow for pool and ping-pong. It’s also Gary Bogg’s birthday, so you can come bug him about mountain waves, lenticular clouds, and glider rides: http://www.nwskysports.com/

Today was my first morning off in the last couple of weeks, and I’m feeling quite relaxed and comfortable on the couch right now. The only thing that would make this better is a 12 ounce nonfat mocha in one hand and a plate of home fries on my lap. Sunshine would be nice as well, but I’m waiting until tomorrow for that.

Last night’s scary NOAA storm never materialized in the Gorge, as cold air took its time filtering westward. It’s still not here, so we still have bare and wet roads and no snow falling from the sky. More moisture moves in later today, for about .25″ water value. I don’t think the ground will cool fast enough for freezing rain, so we’ll end up with snow or rain out of this system. That’s certainly a relief. What’s not a relief is that we’re going to stay in the cold inversion zone for the next couple of days, as strong easterlies maintain their hold on the Gorge’s air cirulation and The Thing That Lives in the Gorge maintains its hold on our sky.

That should leave us with sunshine on the mountain tomorrow, as high pressure holds over Oregon. Rain and snow return to the slopes on Friday (not sure which yet, but I’m leaning towards the wet side). Freezing levels drop a bit on Saturday, for likely snow on the slopes.

Right now, it’s not snowing or raining up there, and the temp is below freezing. Apparently the snow has not yet refrozen, so skiing should still be fun today. Tomorrow, with the sunshine, conditions on the groom should be fun.

In other sports news, nuclear force east winds blow through the Gorge today, tomorrow and Friday. Today and tomorrow look strongest, with everyone blown off the water at Rooster and everyone at Stevenson on 3.2s or smaller. I might just have to break out the windsurfing gear for a pre-birthday sail tomorrow. Laura, you want to go? =)

Have a great day, everyone!

Temira

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For Gorge recreation information and the best wind forecast, check out:
http://www.theGorgeismyGym.com

Good morning!

It’s lucky for us that the cold air in the desert isn’t that cold this morning. We’re dodging the snow and freezing rain bullets today. If only we could dodge raindrops as well…

Right now it’s raining from Hood River to the top of the Cascade lift at Meadows. That means it’s raining at Skibowl and T-line as well, depressing news for skiers. It doesn’t mean the snow is bad; rain-soaked snow is fast and fun and slippery. It just means that you’d better own nice outerwear if you’re headed to the slopes. Either that, or you might want to pack a Hefty bag…

Can’t say I’d recommend heading to the mountain today, unless you have no choice. Snow levels won’t drop, we’ll get .75” of rain, and winds will increase to the 20-30 range by afternoon. If you have some work to get done, today would be a good day for it.

We’ll see more rain on the mountain tomorrow, another .25” or so, with less wind. If temps stay above freezing on the mountain tonight, tomorrow should actually be a good day of skiing, if you can deal with light rain showers. I am not seeing any powder days in the near future, so make the most of your season pass and hit the slopes in the later half of this week when we’ll see dry weather.

Coming back to sea level… on Wednesday, cold air makes its way back into the desert. Combine that with some huge offshore gradients, and we’re looking at a big east wind day for insane windsurfers and kiters. I think gusts into the 50’s are likely Wednesday, with averages in the 30’s. The only catch is that we’ll likely see sub-freezing or near-freezing temps in the Gorge, along with a few snowflakes or freezing rain. I’m pretty desperate, so I might go windsurfing.

Finally, my birthday is Friday. We’ll be going out Thursday night to celebrate. Come join us… not sure where or when yet, but it’s going to be an early night…

Have a great day today!

Temira