It may be foggy and cloudy where you are right now, but as of 7am, sunshine was falling on the slopes of Mt. Hood. We’ll see clouds move in midday and precipitation start around 4pm. The free air freezing level (FAF) will be at 10,000 this morning, falling to 7000′ by 4pm. When the precip hits this evening, we’ll have a snow level of 4000′, and that will drop to 1000′ by tomorrow morning. Models have gone back and forth on the precip amount; the GFS is currently calling for .5” water value (WV) between 4pm today and 4am tomorrow. That would give us 4-6” of snow at 5000′. Wind today will be SW 20-25 for much of the day, becoming W 25-30 in the evening and fading overnight. Continued after the chart.
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4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a |
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| Tomorrow 1000′–>0′ |
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| The Next Day 0′ aka “the surface” |
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…
Tomorrow looks like westerly snow flurries in the morning, a break midday, and possibly easterly snow flurries in the afternoon. The snow level will fluctuate between 500′ and 1000′ tomorrow, before dropping to the surface after midnight. It’s possible we’ll see another 1-3” of snow tomorrow. Wind tomorrow will be W 15 early, N 10 in the afternoon, and NE 40 by Wednesday morning.
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Wednesday looks clear, cold and windy, with the free air freezing level (FAF) at the surface. Temps at 5000′ on Wednesday will be in the upper teens. The wind will be NE 40 all day. That’ll give us a wind chill reading of -4 degrees F. Thursday also looks clear and cold with the FAF at the surface. Temps at 5000′ will moderate a bit, with mid 20’s early and low 30’s in the afternoon. Wind will be NE 50 early and E 40 in the afternoon, with a wind chill reading of +4 degrees F.
The next possibility of precipitation is next Monday, but as of right now, the models suggest it will come in as rain. Next Monday, however, is a long ways out to be making a forecast. A better way to phrase this is: there’s no chance of precip between Tuesday and Sunday.
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Gorge Wind Forecast
The Rooster Rock sensor is reading 40mph this morning with an air temp of 35 degrees. That’s a wind chill reading of 20 degrees, if you were wondering. Expect easterlies this morning, switching to light west wind by 1pm (maybe – models tend to be too fast at ending easterly wind events in winter). At the very latest, the wind should switch by 7pm when a cold front hits.
Expect leftover west wind at 13-16 tomorrow morning (or maybe less), fading to light wind by the afternoon. Easterlies return by Wednesday morning at 25-35. Expect easterlies at 40+ on Thursday and 30-40 on Friday.
For those of you wanting to watch the wind speeds at Stevenson, you can check the town’s weather station.
Random Morning Thoughts
It has come to my attention that some people in the Gorge are confused about the nature of the gray cloud that sits over the mid-Columbia in the winter. The cloud, on a purely scientific level, forms where the moist and cold ground air becomes fully saturated, forming a cloud.
Above this cloud, of course, is sunshine. You may also find sunshine to the west. In the west, the air is often warmer, less likely to be saturated, and thus less likely to form a cloud. Also, easterly winds to the west of Hood River will break up the Nothing. Up above us today, the air is warmer and drier (in the 40’s, to be more precise) and thus not cloudy.
That’s the scientific take. The unscientific take is that this cloud is the real-life Nothing, the deadly world-destroyer from the movie The Neverending Story. See what the Nothing can do in this video clip.
The Nothing, of course, can lead to despair (also known as Seasonal Affective Disorder). To combat it, make sure you still spend time enjoying the Gorge’s treasures: waterfalls, hikes, bike rides, jogs in the woods. Do these things in the company of good friends, and the Nothing won’t destroy you. The Nothing may have awesome powers, but the Gorge is far more awesome. And so are you. Have an awesome day.
Disclaimer required by my grad school program: I am not your therapist. I am your weather forecaster. Take everything I say with a grain of salt, and consult with your actual therapist about your mental health issues.
Gorge Weather Forecast
The Nothing is back this morning, hiding the blue sky from those of us here in the Hood River valley. Up above the Nothing, at Meadows, for example, there’s sunshine. Here’s hoping we see some of that today, although I’m doubting it, given the incoming weather system. The Nothing seems to be keeping the air moist enough for icy roads, despite the lack of precipitation. I went for a nice four-wheel drift last night around the cemetery corner on Tucker Road. After that, I went straight home and put my snow tires on. So, be careful out there!
Expect temps in the low 30’s this morning and low 40’s this afternoon with rain starting as early at 4pm, and most definitely by 7pm. Several factors have combined to make this likely to fall as rain, not snow. However, if you live above 1000′, you’ll still want to be prepared. East wind early, west wind late. No rainbows.
Tomorrow looks cloudy with occasional showers possible all day, first out of the west, then out of the east. The snow level will be 500-1000′ during the day, falling to the surface overnight, for a few flurries but no real accumulation, except maybe in Parkdale. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and the low 40’s (maybe) in the afternoon. Light west wind fades by afternoon. 13% chance of rainbows.
Wednesday looks quite cold with Nothing in the morning and sunshine (maybe) in the afternoon. This is a really dry continental airmass headed our way, so it’s possible we’ll set up with clear sky for a few days. Anyway, NOAA is calling for temps in the upper 20’s early and the upper 30’s in the afternoon. That seems overly optimistic, given the temps on the 12k surface model. Strong east wind (all the way through Friday, actually). No rainbows. Thanksgiving looks cold, sunny and windy.
Looks like this cold air will slowly moderate over the weekend. However, if the models are correct, a warm-wet system will ride over the top of sub-freezing air next Monday, setting us up for everyone’s favorite: freezing rain. But then again, long-range models are notoriously incorrect, and tend to break down continental high pressure systems too quickly.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
I didn’t get out to ride yesterday, which leaves me a bit uncertain as to the current freeze-thaw situation on Syncline and Whoopdee. I suspect the exposed higher-elevation areas are starting to take a beating (Sidehill Dodger comes to mind). If you want to ride, stay under the canopy if possible (Nestor, Gorge 400, parts of Post) in order to have the least impact on the trails. Road biking, well… it sure was icy on the roads yesterday afternoon. Be careful out there.
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Riverside Grill Thanksgiving Dinner
Enjoy Thanksgiving dinner at Riverside Grill at the Hood River Inn so you can play hard on Thanksgiving Day! Delicious plated dinners served from 11:00 am to 8 pm. Menu includes Thanksgiving Turkey dinner with yummy trimmings, Prime Rib, Columbia King Salmon or Vegetarian Thanksgiving, with appropriate side dishes. (Gluten-free or other dietary restrictions always happily accommodated!) Reservations are recommended. Call 541-386-4410 or visit www.riversidehoodriver.com for the complete menu. Happy Thanksgiving!
Upcoming Events
Today at 6:30, there’s free yoga at Yoga Samadhi, free Zumba at the Mt. Hood Community Center, and free yoga at the Mt. Hood Town Hall. There free Tai Chi at the Town Hall at 1pm. Coming up tomorrow, there’s pickup touch rugby at 5pm at the ballfields next to Jackson Park. There’s free Zumba at the Mt. Hood Town Hall at 6:30. There’s community yoga at the Mosier Senior Center at 7pm. As always on Tuesday night, there’s meditation with the monks from Pacific Hermitage at Yoga Samadhi at 6:30. After that, you can enjoy $12 Prime Rib at Cebu.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
