MT HOOD WEATHER FORECAST
Hey skiers and snowboarders! The snowstorm you’ve been waiting for is finally here! It’s going to come in relatively warm, hopefully stick to the scoured granular surface underneath, and leave us with enough new snow for a reset on the slopes. Intense snowfall wraps up tonight and leaves us with powder on Saturday and cold packed powder all the way through next week. That’s blue wax weather for you Nordic folks. But first… let’s talk about Friday’s system.
FRIDAY
Temps this morning at 5000′ were hovering right at freezing, but snow was falling all the way down to about 4000′. As of 8am, the resorts had picked up a couple inches of wet, good-bonding style snow. The snow level today will; be 4000′ this morning, a touch higher midday, and it’ll crash to 500′ overnight as temps at 5000′ fall from 32F to 20F. Models have backed off a little on anticipated snowfall, but we still have plenty coming: during the day today, models suggest about 0.9” water equivalent (WE), for 6-8” dense new snow. Overnight, as the temps drop, we’re expecting another 1.0” WE, for around 10” of increasingly dry powder.
Liking this forecast?
SATURDAY
Expect a very, very, very busy day at the resorts on Saturday. If you can carpool or take CAT or another mass transit option, do so! Weather: orographic snow flurries with sun breaks. The snow level will be 500′ in the morning, 1000′ midday, and 0′ in the evening. Temps at 5000′ will be right around 20F all day. An inch or two of snow falls during the day, and that’s followed by maybe another inch overnight. Wind will be W 35 all day and W 20-25 after midnight.
SUNDAY
Sunday brings a bit of sun in the morning with increasing snow in the afternoon. The snow level starts around 0′, rises to 500′, and falls back to 0′ overnight Temps will be near 20F again all day. About 0.2” to 0.3” WE is forecast during the day, mostly in the afternoon, for 2-4” dry powder. Another inch or two is forecast overnight. Wind will be W 20-25 in the morning, SW 10 in the afternoon, and WNW 20-25 after midnight.
NEXT WEEK
For the first few days of next week, Mt. Hood weather consists of intermittent light snowfall and sunshine with cold temps. While there’s still some range in the forecast temps, you can expect teens or less. Snow conditions on the groom will be stellar packed powder. Off-piste conditions will improve with the Friday system, but it’s probably not going to be enough snow (or wind) to completely fill in all the icy moguls. Still, it’ll be way better, and will hopefully allow Meadows to finally get more terrain open in Heather Canyon. Fingers crossed. Down in Nordic land: blue wax all the time, all next week, starting Saturday. If you’re in alpine land, you too may want to consider a fresh hot wax with cold-snow wax. It’ll make a world of difference as you shred the groom and parks over the next week. See you on the snow! Make a donation if that was helpful in planning your fun time!
GORGE WIND FORECAST
Hi friends! Wow – the Hatch really over performed yesterday, and I’m glad some of you got it! We’ll see a couple more days of tricky-to-predict westerlies as moderate high pressure off the coast combines with incoming weather systems. Today (Friday) kicks off with light east wind, less than 10mph. Not much happens during the day. Around 4pm, the cold front associated with this rain moves inland. That drives the westerlies up to gusty 20-23mph (or a touch more) from Stevenson to Hood River and also from Avery to Arlington, where there could be a brief stronger period near Rufus. A couple hours difference in the timing of this system could make the difference between the wind arriving before or after dark. River flow over the last 24 hours was 94-143kcfs, river temp is 39.74F, and high temp forecast is 48F with intermittent showers.
Saturday kicks off with westerlies and keeps them all day. The day starts with 10-13mph from Stevenson to Hood River, less than 10mph east of there to The Dalles, and 14-17 from Avery to Boardman. Afternoon wind rises to 17-20mph (perhaps a bit more) from Stevenson to Hood River, 10-13 from Mosier to The Dalles, and 19-22 from Avery to Arlington. High temp: 42F with intermittent showers in Hood river and partly cloudy sky to the east. Sunday will be calm in the morning with light westerlies, 10mph or so, from Stevenson to Hood River, in the afternoon. High temp: 40F with flurries early, showers later, and partly cloudy sky. Light easterlies are forecast through the first part of next week. We’ll probably be waiting until the Arctic air really pushes in Wednesday for strong enough westerlies, and at that point, it’ll be WAY too cold to be in the river. Even for TJ. Sharpen your ice skates, folks!
BARE BONES HOOD RIVER WEATHER FORECAST
Clouds and rain all day with light snain/snow tonight. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the upper 40s. Moderate westerlies. 71% chance of rainbows. Saturday starts mostly cloudy with light snain/snow, transitions to showers with sun breaks, and switches to light snow overnight. Temps start right near freezing and rise to the low 40s. Moderate westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Sunday brings intermittent flurries in the morning, showers midday, and light steady snowfall overnight. Temps start in the upper 20s and rise to the upper 30s. Calm wind early, light westerlies later. 10% chance of rainbows. Next up: cold weather for a week.
TEMIRA’S AWESOME TRAVEL ADVISORY SERVICE (DETAILED COLUMBIA GORGE WEATHER FORECAST)
Good morning, neighbors! Like I said, that was a tricky forecast last night. I really thought Parkdale would get some snow, but no. It did not. Weather sure is tricky to forecast! It’s less tricky coming up: cold with intermittent light snowfall at all elevations. VERY cold next week. It would have been warmer, but DEI policies are directly related to ambient air temperature. Without those policies, this upcoming week would have been 70 degrees and sunny. Too bad.
FRIDAY
But first we have a rather wet Friday. How wet is it? Well, it’s as wet as my panties after I laugh or sneeze with an overfull bladder. Ah, the joys of aging! We’ll see heavy rain for your morning commute with light rain all the way east to the Arlington Triangle. Rain backs off out east and continues on-and-off to Hood River into early afternoon. Daytime wind: not much until late afternoon when westerlies pick up to 20-5mph west of Mosier. Our next system then plows on in like my Lord (I’m the serf) turning up my giant pumpkin patch. Rain rates pick up late afternoon and make your commute home from the metro area an unpleasant one. We’ll see drizzle all the way to Arlington as well, and even South Wasco and Sherman Counties pick up some drizzle. Overnight, the snow level plummets from 5000′ to 500′ and the sky starts to clear. Parkdale, York Hill, and Odell should pick up 1-3” tonight. Underwood, Mill A, Husum, Trout Lake, Snowden, and other similarly located communities should see a trace to 1.5”. High temp along the river: mid 40s. If you’re out and about driving tonight, be careful – anywhere exposed to the clear sky is going to ice up.
SATURDAY
Saturday starts clear and dry to the east (black ice, yo!) with light snowfall above 500′ and snain down to the river level from Mosier westward. Daytime snow totals will be less than 1” for all areas as the snow level stays at 1000′ or less. Cascade Locks sees drizzle/snain until early afternoon. High temps will be around 40F along the river. After a few dry hours into early evening, the Gorge is penetrated by a rather phallic area of light snowfall overnight. North Shore elevated communities (Underwood, Mill A, Trout Lake, Husum, Stabler) should pick up 1-2” overnight. Corbett: an inch or so. South Shore: probably not so much, even in Parkdale. Wind on Saturday will be west 10mph in the morning west of The Dalles with 15-20mph east of The Dalles. Afternoon wind will be 15-20mph out of the west from Stevenson to Hood River, 10-15mph from Mosier to The Dalles, and 20-25mph east of The Dalles, including the area around Amayah’s, which, by the way, is food only possible because of immigration. Go eat there, and you’ll be clamoring for an exception for chefs from other countries.
SUNDAY AND BEYOND
On to Saturday night and Sunday: cold! Temps start below freezing. Watch out for very, very slick roads. After a dry morning, moisture strikes in the afternoon. While models suggest temps will rise to near 40F, I suspect they are overdoing it. Anyway, there’s a chance we could see a couple inches of widespread snow Sunday night. We’ll take a more precise look as we get closer. Cooler weather with flurries is forecast on Monday. Tuesday will probably be dry. Late in the day Tuesday, colder arctic air is forecast to push in from the east side. After that, the weather turns even colder: highs near freezing, lows in the teens. And that’s along the river, where everyone from Minnesota will be staring at the ponds and waiting for ice to form. Away from the river, temps will get very cold overnight. It’ll be fun to check in on Glenwood each morning, cuz it’s going to be cold as the oxtail in the freezer at Butcher Block in Mt. Hood. Speaking of, I got some soup to make! Safe travels. -TATAS
HEY! DON’T STOP READING! Is this community-focused forecast helpful to you? It sure it! It takes me a couple hours a day to write. Please jump in a contribute to keep it going. Venmo: @thegorgeismygym PayPal: [email protected] USPS: Temira / PO Box 841 / Hood River, Oregon 97031 You can test out the forecast subscription for a few days for free by clicking this link: https://subscribepage.io/YhevGc
Leave a Reply