Meet Temira, your Gorge Forecaster
Temira (they/them) has been exploring and playing in the Gorge since 1997 – starting out as a windsurfer, then expanding into kiting (briefly!), mountain biking, winging, gravel biking, SUP foiling and even extreme gardening! With all that experience, they understand the importance of a reliable forecast. In 2009, frustrated by the lack of accurate forecasts, Temira took matters into their own hands. What began as a daily email chain between friends (Laura Green, Dave Brown, and Temira) quickly grew into a full-blown website and subscription email service.
So, why The Gorge is my Gym? Because I don’t need a traditional gym – and neither do you. The Gorge is our gym! But this blog isn’t just about my adventures; it’s about helping all of you make the most of your limited free time. Whether you’re on the snow, in the river, or on the dirt, this forecast is here to help you have fun.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast
Hi skier and rider friends! Mt. Hood picked up about three feet of snow so far, and there’s a bit more coming in the next 24 hours after a period of rain. We then drop in on a three-day period of sunny, warmer daytime weather and excellent radiational cooling at night. Will it be enough for corn snow by Friday? Mayyyyyybe! I sure have my sights on it. Beyond Friday, models agree on precipitation, but they don’t agree on temps. If you’re a voting person, vote for the GFS over the Euro, because it has feet and feet of snow headed this way. The euro is more aggressive with warmth, meaning we’d see alternating periods of snow and rain. But that’s way out in the future. Let’s look at today:
Today’s system starts out cold-enough, turns too-warm, and drops back to the snow zone in the afternoon. Along with the fluctuating freezing level, we’ll have tons of wind, enough that lifts would go down if they were running. Not a great day to hike for turns. Not at all. The snow level will rise to 8000′ mid-morning with temps in the 32-34F range before falling to 3500′ this evening and 2000′ overnight. About 0.8” water equivalent (WE) falls during the day in about a 6 hour window. Most of that will be mixed precip. Some of it will be rain. The snow level falls to 3500′ in the afternoon, and we’ll pick up 0.2” WE overnight. That’s a couple inches of snow, unless the orographic assistance (wind/terrain combo) really kicks in. If it does, we could see 3-6” of new. Wind: WSW 25-35 early, W 55 mid-morning, WNW 55-60 in the afternoon, and NW 35-45 overnight. That much wind is going to pile what snow we get on the leeward slopes and also, perhaps, make windslab rather than pow-pow. Still… you’ll wake up to shredding possibilities on Tuesday.
Lingering snowfall Tuesday morning gives way to sun, filtered through high clouds, in the afternoon. The snow level will be 2000′ in the morning, 2500′ in the afternoon, and the free air freezing level will drop to 1500′ overnight. About 0.2” WE falls in the morning. Call that 2-3” with orographic aid. Wind: NW 35-40 in the morning, NW 25-30 in the afternoon, and NE 5-10 overnight.
The next three days bring beautiful weather to the mountain: clear sky, above-freezing daytime temps, and relatively light wind. With temps rising into the 40s each day, there’s a chance the snow could transform to corn before the next system on Saturday AM. Fingers crossed! Looking out deeper into the future, the GFS and Euro both drag us back into an active weather pattern. The GFS keeps temps at 5000′ below freezing with some shorter periods of warmer weather. The euro is more aggressive with the warmth, and thus less aggressive with snowfall. All that said, the forecast looks darn good for early November. If it holds, we’ll end up with a substantial early season snowpack and an early season!
Go ahead and subscribe to the forecast using the fancy auto-renew option. Don’t like electronic payment? No problem! You can send a check or cash to: Temira / PO Box 841 / Hood River, Oregon, 97031. Thank you so much for supporting the forecast. I’m glad you find it helpful, and I appreciate your kindness in supporting the work I’m doing!
Gorge Wind Forecast
Hi friends! Today’s the day you’ve been waiting for if you like big days with big gusts. I like big gusts and I cannot lie! We should see strong westerlies all through the Gorge; NWS has issued a rare High Wind Warning for The Dalles, and there’s a Wind Advisory posted for the Arlington area. Models have pulled back some on the strength of the wind, but they do tend to underestimate this particular setup. Looking beyond today, we have a lighter westerly day tomorrow and then a switch to east wind for the Wednesday-Friday time period.
Monday started out with pressures of 30.21/30.19/30.15 for gradients of 0.02 and 0.04. You can pretty much ignore that; today we’re counting on a cold front moving through, lee-side troughing with a low-level jet, and offshore high pressure. Just trust me on this! As the cold front approaches this morning, areas between Iwash (Rooster) Rock and Hood River (maybe Mosier too) rise to gusty 25-30. Viento is likely to climb even higher; it really likes this setup. Along with this pre-frontal wind, we’ll have drizzle/rain as far east as Lyle. As the system moves inland late morning or early afternoon, areas between Lyle and Boardman rise to 30-40mph (strongest, probably, from Avery to Arlington) and hold into the evening. Models keep the gusty 25-30 going from Stevenson to Mosier into the evening as well. River flow over the last 24 hours was 99-123kcfs. River temp is 57.20F. High temp forecast is 53F in Hood River with 55F near Arlington. The sky should turn clear or mostly clear, even on the west side, in the afternoon.
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We’re left with lingering westerlies on Tuesday as high pressure builds in. The day starts with 10-13mph from Stevenson to Doug’s with 22-25 from Avery to Boardman. The desert drops during the morning and finishes up with 14-17 in the afternoon. Between Stevenson and Mosier, westerlies rise to 18-22 mid-morning. Afternoon sees the wind drop to 14-17. High temp: 51F under clearing sky.
High pressure builds inland on Wednesday and turns the wind around. As of right now, we’re looking at easterlies at 20-25mph at Stevenson and Iwash (Rooster) Rock with 15-20 at Viento. Stronger easterlies, perhaps 30-35mph at Stevenson and Iwash, are forecast on Thursday as well as Friday. A more active weather pattern returns for the weekend, so we’ll leave it here for now. Have a great day on the river. Be safe out there, and keep an eye on your buddies!
Jones, Sauvie Island, Oregon Coast: done for the season
Alan’s Sauvie Island Wind Sensor
Very basic Hood River weather forecast. Don’t plan your life around this. You really should read Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook
Clouds this morning add rain mid morning. The sky mostly clears this afternoon. Temps start near 50 and rise a few degrees. Strong westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be cloudy with a little drizzle to start then mostly clear. Temps start in the low 40s and rise to the low 50s. Moderate westerlies. 16% chance of rainbows. Wednesday starts partly nothing and frosty with temps right around freezing. Temps rise to the low 50s under clear sky. Light easterlies. No rainbows.
Link to my Local-ish Outdoorsy Events Google Calendar
Please let me know of outdoor-related local-ish events. If you don’t tell me, I don’t know!
Cycling
Please see the HRATS/Hood River County for complete details on Post Canyon closures. Newly reopened in Post: lower Trail 100 paralleling the lower part of Post Canyon Road. The Twin Tunnels Trail between Hood River and Mosier has reopened. Kreps and Green Diamond Lands have reopened. That includes Whoopdee, Hospital Hill, and Underwood. Closed: Gorge 400 and lots of other trails due to the Whisky Creek Fire. Trail near Mt. Adams due to the Williams Mine Fire. Remember that E-bikes are not allowed on USFS non-moto trails. They are allowed on moto trails.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
