Monday: this week’s forecast for mt. hood is a wild weather ride

Meet Temira,
your Gorge and Mt. Hood forecaster

For almost 30 years, Temira (they/them) has been making the most of what the Gorge has to offer: riding river swell on a foil or windsurf board, carving fresh lines through the snow, and cycling all the gravel and pavement and trails. This is Temira’s playground, their gym… their life’s work.

That’s why in 2006, Temira took it upon themselves to create the most accurate, hyper-local weather forecasts possible. Inaccurate predictions had left too many fellow adventurers caught off-guard and in harm’s way. Temira was determined to change that. Today, Temira’s forecasts have become an essential resource for thousands of skiers, snowboarders, wind sports enthusiasts and travelers through the Gorge. With their guidance, you can plan ahead, time your sessions perfectly, and stay safer on the water, snow, and trails.

But the story doesn’t end there. Temira also authors the TATAS Facebook page – the Gorge’s premier source for microclimate forecasts. When winter storms, extreme heat, or other hazardous conditions (avalanches on SR-14 and I-84, for example!) threaten, this community lifeline becomes a vital resource for locals and visitors alike, helping to keep everyone safe.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Hey skiers and snowboarders! We have one heck of an active week on tap. By the time the dust settles at the end of next weekend, the mountain will have picked up 5-8” of precipitation. Some of that will be snow, but with the snow level bouncing around and often hovering between 5000′ and 6000′, there’s going to be a lot of mixed precip or snain at Timberline and Meadows base elevations with rain at Skibowl and Teacup. Way up high on the volcanoes: lots of snow. Tons. Sometimes very heavy precip like we’ll see this week will bring snow lower than expected; let’s hope for that!

But let’s start with Monday. Monday won’t be wet at all. As a matter of fact, it starts sunny on the mountain. High clouds move in this afternoon, and rain returns this evening. The free air freezing level will be 4000′ this morning (the snow has “snapped”, refrozen, to start the day thanks to clear sky last night). The freezing level rises to 6000′ mid-morning, 9500′ this evening, and falls back to 6000′ after midnight. Starting around 7pm, rain is forecast. We’re expecting about 1.1” rain overnight. After midnight, when the snow level drops, that’ll transition to snain/wet snow above 5000′. Accumulation: basically zero at 5000′. More higher up, but definitely dense and wet. Wind will be WNW 20-25 early, light/variable midday, S 15-20 in the afternoon, SSW 30-50 tonight, and WSW 15 after midnight.

Tuesday starts with snain and falling snow levels. By afternoon, the weather turns dry and partly cloudy. The snow level will be 6000′ early, 5000′ around dawn, and 3000′ in the afternoon. We’re expecting about 0.4” water equivalent (WE) in that transition time. Call it a couple inches of wet snow at 5000′ at best. Wind: WSW 15 early rises to W 30 in the afternoon and WSW 20 after midnight.

On Wednesday, a dry morning gives way to a wet afternoon and night. The snow level will be 3000′ in the morning, and will rise to 5500′ in the afternoon and hold overnight. Temps at 5000′ rise from the upper 20s in the morning to the 33-34F range overnight. That doesn’t mean it won’t snow at 5000′, but if it does, it’ll be wet snow. About 0.1” WE is forecast prior to 4pm, for an inch of new snow. Overnight, models drag in 1.5” WE. Above 7000′, we’re looking at well over a foot of new snow. At 5000′, we’ll be lucky to pick up a few wet inches. Wind: WSW 20 in the morning, SW 20-35 in the afternoon, and SW 25-45 overnight.

The snow level hovers right in that “maybe” zone on Thursday: 5500′ early, 6000′ mid-morning, and then, blissfully falls to 3000′ overnight. During the day, we’ll see 0.5” to 0.6” snain or mixed precip for at best an inch or two at 5000′. Overnight, 0.8” WE is forecast for 6-9” new snow. Wind: SW 25-45 early, W 40 mid-morning, SW 20-40 in the afternoon, and W 40-45 after midnight. Once again, snow totals above 7000′ will be much higher – well over a foot for the 24 hour period.

Looking at the weekend, we have some model disagreement on the path of yet another incoming atmospheric river. The GFS deterministic wants to aim it at NoCal (the ensembles, however, would like to aim it at us, so that’s more likely). ECMWF: bullseye on Mt. Hood. We’ll have to wait on making any precision predictions, but it is likely to be wet with temps right on the edge for snow at 5000′. Cooler, probably dry weather is forecast to start next week. Whew. It’s going to be a wild ride. And I’d like to be a bit more explicit about one part of the forecast: despite the marginal temps at 5000′, snow totals for the highest elevations of the Cascades will be truly impressive. We’ll take it. Have a great week on the snow!

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! Easterlies today, westerlies Tuesday, and light/variable wind on Wednesday. Beyond that, a series of low pressure systems transit north in the Pacific and (mostly) keep the wind easterly. If you’d like a big west wind day, put in a request for one of those lows to move inland with high pressure behind it. Monday starts light and variable. A deep low well offshore this afternoon amps up the easterlies: they’ll build to 25mph at Iwash (Rooster) Rock and 15mph at Stevenson by early afternoon. Both spots rise to 35mph before sunset, perhaps in time for you to get out there. It’ll be dry until sunset. River flow over the last 24 hours was 80-148kcfs, river temp is 45.14F, and high temp forecast is 48F with sun in the morning and increasing clouds later.

Tuesday starts with light easterlies or light/variable wind and turns westerly mid-morning. Models suggest 16-19 from Stevenson to Avery in the morning (with rain). Afternoon wind (without rain) looks like 14-17 from Stevenson to Mosier with 20-23 or a bit more from Lyle to Biggs. High temp: 48F with partly cloudy to sunny sky in the afternoon. Wednesday starts light/variable and turns easterly at 15mph. Looking deeper into the future, the weather is so active that I’m not even going to try to pin down the timing of anything. Generally speaking, the wind will be (mostly) easterly. And the weather will be wet. Have a great day out in the world today!

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 for a detailed weather forecast.

Nothing this morning turns partly cloudy midday then high overcast later. Rain tonight. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the upper 40s. Light and variable wind. 0% chance of rainbows.

Tuesday will be rainy in the morning and dry in the afternoon. Temps start in the low 40s and rise to the upper 40s. Moderate westerlies. 99% chance of rainbows.

Wednesday will be dry and cloudy in the morning and very wet in the afternoon. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the low 40s. Light and variable wind. 0% chance of rainbows.

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Cycling Update

Trails have been a mix of frozen, hoar-frost (unrideable), and freeze-thaw. When it’s wet and muddy, or when there are freeze-thaw conditions, please don’t ride, or you’ll do significant trail damage. Then peeps have to fix your mess rather than building new trails. Nobody wants that! Everyone wants new trails. Be a good steward, and pick a different activity

Remember: E-bikes are not allowed on USFS non-moto trails. They are allowed on moto trails.