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Forecast

Friday: cool, snowy weather with (vote GFS) the potential for lots of mountain snow.

The best snow forecast for Mt. Hood. The best wind forecast for the Gorge.
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The Forecast

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
4a-8a 8a-12p 12p-4p 4p-8p 8p-4a
Friday
6000′->1000′
Saturday
1000′->2000′->1000′
Sunday
1000′->3000′->2000′

Mt. Hood Weather Forecast

Early morning drizzle on the mountain will quickly give way to flurries. We’re then looking at an unseasonably cold and snowy period all the way through the middle of next week. Models don’t agree on the exact details beyond Saturday; vote for the GFS which has triple the moisture of the Euro!

Friday brings a mixed bag of snow conditions thanks to very warm temps on the slopes yesterday. Overcast sky last night prevented the snow from refreezing, so the surface will be a bit slushy to start. Colder temps this afternoon will refreeze it. Not the best shred day. The snow level falls to 2500′ this afternoon and 1000′ overnight. We’ll pick up about 0.1” water equivalent (WE) today, for an inch of new. Another 0.3” ‘is forecast tonight, for 2-3” more. Wind: W 30-35 during the day and NW 30-40 overnight.

That wind direction and speed could aid snowfall amounts despite this system being relative dry. Deeper moisture arrives Saturday afternoon. The snow level will be 1000′ in the morning, 2500′ in the afternoon, and near the surface near Mt. Hood overnight. About 0.2” WE is forecast during the day, for 2-3” new. Another 0.3” WE is forecast overnight, for 3-4” additional powder. Wind: NW 30-40 in the morning, WNW 30-35 in the afternoon, and W 35 overnight.

Models disagree on Sunday’s moisture, but they do agree on cool temps. The snow level will rise no higher than 3000′ between Sunday and Tuesday. At times, snow will mix in to sea level but probably not stick. The (very enthusiastic) GFS calls for 6-8” of snow Sunday daytime and 8-10” overnight plus another foot-plus on Monday. The ECMWF is nowhere near this optimistic. Either way, the weather looks cool, snowy, and good for spending time on the slopes. Enjoy!

Note on wind speeds. Different wind directions are experienced in different ways on Mt. Hood. For example, west wind at 50mph will hit the slopes and exposed ridges at W 50. SW 50 may hit the ridges at SW 50, but will likely only be SW 20 below tree line. Hence the ranges for wind. Depends where you are on the mountain. Hopefully that helps clarify.  

Gorge Wind Forecast

Strong, gusty westerlies are in the forecast for Friday and Saturday. Light wind is predicted for Sunday. From then on, models disagree on all sorts of details, so let’s just start with today. Early gradients were 0.11 (pdx-dls) and 0.11 (dls-psc). With clouds and drizzle forecast in the west, you’ll find the best results o0ut east. Early wind was in the teens in the west and mid-20’s out east. By late morning or early afternoon, you’ll find 10-13 in the western Gorge with 28-32 from The Dalles to Boardman. River flow is 159kcfs, river temp is 46F, and high temp forecast is 56F.

Saturday starts with post-frontal wind at 13-16 all through the Gorge, all the way from Stevenson to Boardman. Midday: 22-25 from Lyle to Rufus with 13-16 to the east and west. Intermittent showers and instability combine with offshore high pressure and a nudge from a low approaching from the west. That gives us brief, gusty, 28-33 between Mosier and Rufus for a couple hours mid afternoon. After that, the wind drops back to the mid 20’s. High temp: 49F. Sunday will be rainy with light westerlies in the morning. Afternoon: rainy with 10-13 in the west and gusty 15-19 east of The Dalles. High temp: 49F.  

Coast, Jones, Coast

Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.  

Hood River Weather Forecast

Drizzly weather continues through the day and night. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and mid 50’s later. Light to moderate westerlies. 84% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be intermittently drizzly and showery. Snow may mix in at times but shouldn’t stick. Temps will be in the upper 30’s early and upper 40’s later. Moderate westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Sunday will be rainy with wet snowflakes early becoming even wetter as the day goes on with heavy rain overnight. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and upper 40’s later. Light westerlies. 49% chance of rainbows.

Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.  

Cycling

Most of the trails are too wet to ride. Those that weren’t have probably experienced freezing temps overnight. Remember the rule: if it was below freezing last night and is above freezing or exposed to the open air now, don’t ride it. You’ll do significant damage. Just wait until tomorrow. It’s not far away! If you ride in the mud, you not only mess up your bike, you do significant damage to the trails. Your brown pow is coming. Go shred the mountain until the trails dry out! Cows are in at Hospital Hill. Do not park near the corral or on Spring Street. Do not take your dog on the land. When cows are there, dogs are not allowed. That means your dog, not just dogs belonging to others. Please don’t piss off the landowners by bringing your dogs – these folks let us use their land, and we owe them respect. Post is clear to the top of Borderline, judging by Strava.  

Local Events

Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!

Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is back. Meet there at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. There’s a shop mountain bike ride with the Mountain View Cycles crew at Syncline on Wednesday evenings at 5:45pm.The Small Boat paddlers have a group paddle on Sunday at 11am at the Event Site. The Dirty Fingers Sunday Service rides start this weekend. Meet at the shop at 9am for a mixed surface ride. Then there will be bike racing on the big screen in the afternoon.  

Sprinter Van of the Week!

  Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!   Have an awesome day!

By Temira

Temira Lital is a recreation and travel weather forecaster based in Hood River, Oregon. Temira uses they/them pronouns. They're also a mental health counselor. Temira bikes, skis, windsurfs, paddles a SUP, swims in mountain lakes, and loves gardening. Most recently they've taken up SUP foiling. Temira is powered by La Croix, protein, and beets.