Monday: dismal forecast for the mountains, but not so bad in the lowlands!

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

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The Forecast

	4a-8a	8a-12p	12p-4p	4p-8p	8p-4a
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Monday 5500′->2000′
Tuesday 2000′->10,000′
Wednesday 10,000’>8000′

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Hello everyone! Yesterday was a dismal one on the mountain. The ski resorts picked up 3.5” of rain and were forced to call off operations. They’re all now evaluating on a day-by-day basis to see if they can get us on the slopes. I try and keep things positive here, but the forecast is looking positively dismal between now and Christmas. The ECMWF keeps 850mb temps well above the threshold for snow at 5000′, and the GFS isn’t much better. And what the GFS offers up doesn’t happen until 10 days from now. Between now and then: warm, mostly dry weather with opportunities for precipitation returning late this weekend or early next week. So, let’s look at the next few days.

Monday starts with clear sky up high and clouds to 6000′ or so. With nothing around to stir the atmosphere and dry it out, those clouds will likely stick around. That’s a bummer, because if the slopes had been exposed to clear sky overnight, radiational cooling would have helped freeze them. Overnight tonight, the clouds should lower a bit, perhaps to 4000′, giving the slopes a chance to benefit from the universe’s tendency to suck heat out of everything. The freezing level today will be 5500′ early, 4000′ in the afternoon and about 2000′ overnight. Wind: SW 5-10 this morning, variable to 10 this afternoon, and E 15 after midnight (there’s the source of the drying air that will chip away at the insulating clouds).

Tuesday will be sunny above 4000′ in the morning and above 3000′ in the afternoon. The free air freezing level (FAF) will be 2000′ in the morning and 10,000′ overnight. Still, the snowpack should snap overnight thanks to radiational cooling. Wind: E 15 in the morning, S 5-15 in the afternoon, and S 15-25 overnight.

Wednesday may start out clear, but high clouds from a system well offshore arrive not long after the sun breaks the horizon. They’ll stick around all day and dissipate after midnight. Any moisture associated with this system is going to stay well to the west of the mountain. That’s a good thing, as the mountain would only get rain with these temps. The free air freezing level will be 10,000′ all day and will fall to 8000′ overnight. Wind: S 15-25 early, SW 5-15 in the afternoon, and WSW 15-20 after midnight.

Extended forecast: it’s truly dismal. Precipitation chances return late next weekend or, more likely, early next week. Unfortunately, temps at 850mb (5000′) stay above freezing through the 21st (GFS) or the 25th (ECMWF). Any incoming precip before those temps drop will fall as rain. As usual, there’s quite a bit of range in the possible temps in the extended, but generally speaking, it looks too warm. Also of note: temps in the lowlands will be running 5-10F above normal through this period. Sheesh. My dryland training routine is going to need some improvement, and my gravel bike is coming off the rack. I hope you all have fun things to substitute until we can get ski season going. Take care!

Gorge Wind Forecast

It’s easterly season, and hopefully you’re joyful at that prospect; there are easterlies of some sort in the forecast for the next seven days. At least for now. For Monday, we start with light easterlies, 5-10mph or so, all through the Gorge, all the way from Iwash (Rooster) Rock to Arlington. After 1pm or so, easterlies pick up to 20-25 from Iwash to Stevenson. River flow yesterday was 80-127kcfs, river temp is 47F, and you might find some sunshine in the windy zones. Maybe.

Tuesday starts with E 25-30 at Iwash and 20-25 at Stevenson. The wind picks up mid-morning and holds for the rest of the day. Iwash: 30-35. Stevenson: 30. Viento: 15-20. High temp: 45F under sunny sky in the windy zone. Wednesday starts with 40 at Iwash and 25-30 at Stevenson. Afternoon wind drops to 25 at Stevenson and 30-35 at Iwash. High temp: 44F under cloudy sky. Lesser easterlies are forecast on Thursday. They’ll stick around in some form through the weekend. There are no giant east wind days forecast, but there are also no no-wind days forecast. Have fun out there!

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Hood River Weather Forecast

Clouds stick around all day today with a little bit of scattered drizzle or mist. Temps start in the mid 40’s and just rise a few degrees. Easterlies. 15% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be Nothing. Temps start in the upper 30’s and rise to the mid 40’s. Easterlies. No rainbows. Wednesday will be Nothing and cloudy to start and cloudy later. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rise to the mid 40’s. Easterlies. No 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.

Local-ish Events

Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!

Teacup has an après ski fundraiser at the Ruins on January 27th. $25. Amayah’s Indian Cafe (Biggs) offers a free meal every first Thursday from 1-4pm.

Regular weekly events:. NK Studio’s by-donation Tuesday morning yoga class is back. Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. There’s meditation with monks at 5:15pm (an hour) and 6:30pm (30 minutes plus a talk) at Yoga Samadhi in White Salmon. The Tri Club is done for the season. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, there’s a run from Pine Street Bakery. On Fridays at 2:30pm, there’s a free meditation and stretching class at Yoga Samadhi. On Saturday at 9am, there’s a by-donation outdoor group fitness on the 2rd floor deck about Ferment Brewing.

Cycling

Regarding the trails in general: don’t ride in the mud. You’ll damage the trails. Don’t ride trails if it was below freezing the previous night and is above freezing when you want to ride. Ride gravel. Ride your trainer. Build trails. There are trail builders seeking extra hands on seven additional miles of trail on Whoopdee. Contact HRATS for more information. If you’re parking at Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.