Monday: massive snow for Mt. Hood. Westerlies for the Gorge.

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

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The Forecast

Snow level	4a-8a	8a-12p	12p-4p	4p-8p	8p-4a
Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Sunday 2000′->1000′
Monday 1000′->6000′
Teusday 6000′->1500′

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Good morning skier, snowboarders, and very, very happy Nordic skiers who finally got to skate yesterday! Yesterday was a heck of a day on the mountain, and we’re about to pick up a, ahem, shitton of snow over the next week. A short period of rain or mixed precip is likely to be mixed in there this afternoon and tonight, and there might not be lifts on Tuesday due to wind, but all-in-all, this week is going to be just the week we needed!

Monday kicks off with light snowfall. The intensity increases during the day, but so do the temps. By early to mid afternoon, temps at 5000′ rise to 34F or so. We may see a switch to snain or rain for a period at lower elevations, but the snow will return around midnight. During the day, we are expecting about 1.0” water equivalent of increasingly dense snow and perhaps some afternoon mixed precip. Let’s call that 6-8” of snow and cross our fingers for more. Overnight, another 1.0” WE is forecast. Let’s call that 6-8” as well and hope for more. Actually, as orographics increase after midnight, snow intensity will increase to (probably) 2” an hour. We’re likely to exceed the above predictions. Wind: SW 15-20 early today building to W 45 this afternoon, turning a bit warmer and southerly tonight at WSW 35-45, and becoming absolutely nuking at W 65 after midnight. That’s full-on blizzard conditions.

Blizzard conditions continue on Tuesday as the snow level falls to 2500′ in the morning, 1500′ in the afternoon, and 1000′ or less overnight. Before you pack your bags, note this: nuking wind is forecast all day. My experience suggests the resorts may not be able to run lifts. Check the websites before you go up. Also, the roads will be experiencing white-out conditions and drifting snow. If you go up there, carry an emergency kit and a shovel. Okay. We’re expecting 1.1” WE during the day for 11-13” of snow. Add in orographics, and Meadows and Timberline could pick up 18” or more. Overnight, another 1.5” WE is forecast. With the orographics, we’ll call that 18-24” new snow. Ridiculous amounts of snow, in other words. If you are at the resorts, you will need a shovel to dig your car out of the parking lot. Wind: W 65 in the morning, WNW 55-65 in the afternoon, SW 20-35 in the evening, and NW 40-50 after midnight.

The fun continues, but not quite as intensely, on Wednesday. Wind could be a problem for lifts in the morning. The snow level will be 500-1000′ all day and will fall to 0-1000′ overnight. As of this morning, models call for 0.6” WE during the day for 7-9” dry, dry powder. Overnight: 0.3” WE for 3-5” dry powder. But wait… the wind is NW, so we can expect 30-50% more snowfall than model predictions indicate. Adjust the previous numbers upwards! Wind: NW 40 early (right on the edge for lifts), NW 35-40 in the afternoon, and WNW 25-35 after midnight.

Models continue with some light orographic snowfall for Thursday followed by (maybe) another round of snow Friday night. Honestly, there’s a ton of uncertainty in the models from late Thursday on, so it’s best to stop forecasting here and recap. We expect at least 4” WE over the next few days, and orographic assistance will up the snow totals. In technical terms, that’s a ton of snow. There’s certainly potential for more later in the week, but there’s also potential for a break. We can see this in the 7 and 14 day percentiles for snowfall – they’re almost the same. We’ll just go with the latest run and the 7 day: 48” at the 25th, 55” at the 50th, and 84” at the 90th percentile. I didn’t do the math on the forecast above, but given the wind strength and direction, I think we’ll have no problem picking up, well, a shitton of snow. See you on the mountain!

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! All sorts of wind is in the forecast over the next week or so, but it might turn too cold to take advantage of it at the end of the week. Let’s leave that be for a bit and talk about the short-term. Monday starts nearly calm with pressures of 30.17/30.17/30.20 and wind in the light/variable range. It picks up to E 15 for a few hours midday at Iwash (Rooster) Rock and Stevenson and turns calm again in the afternoon. River flow yesterday was 100-120kcfs, river temp is 43.5F, and high temp forecast is 42F with rain all day.

Tuesday looks like a big west wind day, but it’s not your typical west wind setup. Expect it to be very gusty – the wind will be dipping down from the jet stream (rather than driven by the typical offshore high, inland low scenario. Expect 20-24+ from Stevenson to Doug’s early with 30-35+ out east. The day also starts with heavy rain. That rain stops east of The Dalles (probably) around sunrise or a bit later. The western Gorge continues with intermittent heavy showers and rainbows. Models suggest the wind will drop into the upper teens west of The Dalles midday and then surge back into the 25-29 range. Out east, the wind will also be up and down, but should hold at gusty 30+ all day long with giant gusts. High temp: 44F in the west and near 50F out east thanks to downslope warming and some sunshine. Be careful out there. Also, I believe my birthday party SUP foil celebration will be at Rufus!

Wednesday starts with 21-24 all through the Gorge and drops into the upper teens. Lighter westerlies are likely on Thursday. After that? Models seem to be converging (maybe) on sub-freezing weather and very strong east wind, but no promises yet. See you on the water!

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Hood River Weather Forecast

Rain continues all day today. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rise to the low 40’s. Calmish wind. 2% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be very rainy then very showery and very windy. Temps start in the low 40’s and rise to the mid 40’s. Strong to very strong westerlies. No rainbows. Wednesday will be very rainy prior to sunrise and then intermittently showery. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rise to the low 40’s. Moderate westerlies. 99% 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.

Local-ish Events

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

The Teacup Tea Party is 1/13 at Teacup with free beginner and intermediate skate and classic ski lessons. Hood River Rotary Night at Meadows is Monday, 1/15. Registration is open for Gorge Ultimate winter league. Sign up here: https://gorge.ultimatecentral.com/e/winter-league-2024 – 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.