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Random Morning Thoughts
Gratitude Month, day 29: Today I am grateful for the friends I spent time with yesterday. You people are great. And I’m grateful that someone’s throwing a Hanukkah party tonight. First one I’ve been to in probably 20 years. =)
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Mt. Hood Snow Interesting Weather Forecast
Today looks relatively calm over the Northwest, with mild temps on the mountain. Expect the freezing level today to be at 8,000′ early and 9000′ this afternoon with NW wind at 10-15mph and increasing clouds. No precip. Saturday looks cloudy, with the snow level at 8,000′ early, dropping to 7000′ in the afternoon. We might see a few sprinkles Saturday afternoon, but no significant precip. Wind will be NW 20 for much of the day, becoming W 30 overnight.
I’m super excited about Sunday, because it promises to be exciting. The snow level, unfortunately, looks a bit high for white excitement, but the weather promises to be entertaining. Expect the snow level at 9,000′ early, rising to 10,000′ mid-morning and dropping to 6500′ around 10pm and 6000′ around 1am. We’ll see .4-.6” water value (WV) that will fall as rain between 4am and 4pm, followed by another .5-.7” WV that will be half rain, half snow, and another .8-1” WV or so that will fall as snow by Monday morning. So, expect 7-13” of new snow by Monday morning. That range will narrow tomorrow – it’s just a little early to be making very precise predictions. Wind on Sunday starts at W 40, rising to W 60 midday and holding overnight.
That leaves us with new snow on the ground Monday morning. The snow level will be 2000′ at 4am, slowly dropping to the surface by Monday night. At this point, it looks like we’ll just see flurries and no significant accumulation Monday, but that could change. Wait and see, I guess. In the meantime, I can predict very strong wind Monday: W 55 early, W 40 mid-morning, fading to NW 20 overnight. After Monday it looks bitterly cold (single digits) for three days.
Plain Old Local Weather
It’s a chilly start to the day in the Gorge today, and the air is filthy and the sky isn’t clear. But that’s okay, because west wind this afternoon will change some of that. Expect temps to rise into the upper 40’s this afternoon with increasing high clouds and a light west breeze that’ll clear out at least some of the smog. Tomorrow sees cloudy conditions with temps in the upper 40’s to low 50’s with light west wind. On Sunday, expect temps near 50 with nuking west wind and sprinkles early with heavy rain late.
The devastating temp drop we’ve all been predicting has been delayed until later Monday, meaning it’s not looking too icy for the Monday morning commute, but by Monday night, expect hard-frozen everything. Temps in the Gorge next week, and this is a long ways out, but low temps look to be in the teens Tuesday and Thursday and in the high single digits on Wednesday.
So, is it going to snow? Probably in Parkdale. But now it looks like the cold air will arrive in the valleys after the bulk of the precipitation, so we’ll probably just see a trace, dusting or maybe an inch Monday night into Tuesday.
If you’ve never had a chance to spend the day looking at frozen waterfalls in the western Gorge, this is your chance. It’s really, really cool. Wednesday or Thursday will likely be best.
Gorge Wind Forecast
Light east wind this morning gives way to west wind at 13-15 this afternoon. Expect westerlies at 15-18 Saturday. On Sunday, expect west wind at 30-40+, likely strongest/steadiest in the eastern Gorge. This will be frontal wind, and will likely be very up and down, but hey, it’s nuking wind. Get it if it’s your thing. I’ll be working at the mountain.
Road and Mountain Biking
Go get some road biking today and tomorrow, because it’s going to be lovely. Please leave the mountain bike trails alone. The dirt is really taking a beating from the freeze-thaw. But don’t worry – by next week everything will be frozen solid for your riding pleasure.
The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.
Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events
I know there’s stuff going on this weekend, but it’s not on my calendar. So you guys get to feed me some events. Please? For now, let me say that Meadows is open today, tomorrow and Sunday.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
