Monday: winter continues for Mt. Hood… go earn your turns!

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 1000′->3000′->1000′
Monday 1000′->2500′->1000′
Tuesday 1000′->2000′->1000′

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

If you’re looking for riding Monday through Thursday this week, you’re looking to T-Line as your savior. Otherwise, you’re earning your turns by hiking. Mt. Hood will be picking up an undisclosed amount of snow tonight and then light accumulations through at least Wednesday. We have some model disagreement for the Thursday through Saturday time period. Sunday’s probably going to be drier and warmer.

Monday kicks off with about 3” of new snow atop a granular base. Snowfall returns mid to later morning and continues overnight. I mentioned earlier that the snow totals are “undisclosed”. That’s because this system has a lot of convective oomph; that makes it tough to pinpoint snowfall location and intensity. Given that we’re dealing with southerly wind and not a ton of available moisture, at least until after midnight, we’re probably not looking at a giant dumping. Just know that any forecast you’re reading is doing some guesswork. The snow level will be 1000′ this morning, 3000′ this afternoon, and back down to 1500′ or less overnight. About 0.1-0.3” water equivalent (WE) is forecast during the day for 1-3” of new snow. Overnight, 0.2” to 0.5” WE is forecast for 2-5” more. It’s worth noting that instability could turn this snow to graupel and make for a different-to-expectations snow surface. Wind: S 10-15 early builds to SW 20-40 in the evening and W 35 overnight. That west wind could enhance orographics and up the overnight total.

Tuesday starts out sunny but quickly adds snowfall. In the afternoon and evening, the mountain will again have those difficult-to-predict convective showers. The snow level will be 1000-1500′ in the morning, 2500′ in the afternoon, and 1000′ overnight. About 0.2” WE is forecast during the day for a couple inches of new snow. The overnight forecast calls for 0.3” WE for about 3” of snow. Again, we could see graupel mixed in there. Wind: W 35 early quickly turns to SW 20-30, holds during the day, and fades to SW 10-15 overnight.

Wednesday continues with the snowy, unstable weather. The snow level will be 1000′-1500′ in the morning, 2000′ in the afternoon, and 1000-1500′ after midnight. During the day, models toss about 0.3” to 0.4” WE our way for 3-5” new. Overnight: just 0.1” WE for another inch. Wind will be SW 10-15 during the day, W 20 in the evening, and WNW 20-30 overnight. Model variety increases into the Thursday through Saturday stretch. We have one model stubbornly offering up a wide range of precipitation possibilities. We have another insisting it will be dry. The best, most certain chance of totally dry weather seems to be Sunday at this point, but given the uncertainty, don’t solidify your plans yet!

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Gorge Wind Forecast

An unstable atmosphere over the next few days sets the Gorge up for inconsistent, gusty, unreliable westerlies (for the most part). You’ll also find periods of no wind at all, and you’ll even stumble upon a short period of easterlies. Keep in mind that the afternoons will see significant instability which will make the wind gusty and potentially kick off heavy showers and hail.

Monday starts with light and variable wind with pressures of 29.95/29.98/29.97. As a low swings offshore, easterlies pick up to 5-10 east of Hood River with E 15-20 from Stevenson to Viento. That won’t last long. Afternoon wind turns westerly. Gusty westerlies at 11-14 are forecast in the western Gorge with gusty 7-10 out east. River flow readings yesterday were 113-135kcfs, river temp is 47F, and high temp forecast is 53F. Tuesday starts with light westerlies or nearly-calm wind in the west with gusty 16-19 east of The Dalles. Afternoon wind levels out at 12-15 all through the Gorge with a shot at gusty 16-20 east of The Dalles to Arlington. High temp: 52F.

Wednesday starts with light easterlies. Max speeds will be 10-15 near Cascade Locks. You might not even notice the east flow at Rooster. By mid-morning, the wind goes calm. Afternoon westerlies join convective showers for gusty 15-18 from Stevenson to Arlington, briefly. If the instability is as high as forecast, it won’t really be worth chasing the wind. We could see teen-strength westerlies Thursday morning before a fade to calm wind in the afternoon. Friday currently looks calm, but there’s a lot of model spread.

Jones, Sauvie Island, Coast – Done for the Season

Hood River Weather Forecast

Partly cloudy sky this morning adds some drizzle midday and then convective showers with or without hail later. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and low 50’s later. Light and variable wind becomes light to moderate westerlies in the afternoon. 95% chance of rainbows. Tuesday will be rainy prior to dawn, partly cloudy or cloudy midday, and will have convective showers in the afternoon. Temps start in the low 30’s and rise to the low 50’s. Calm wind early. Light to moderate westerlies later. 98% chance of rainbows. Wednesday will be partly cloudy to start and will quickly turns showery with a chance of hail. Temps start in the mid 30’s and rose to 50ish. Light easterlies early. Calm wind midday. Moderate westerlies in the afternoon. 98% 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!
Dirty Fingers has the Sunday Service rides (gravel/mixed surface) weekly for a while. April 15th at 10am is the “Run with the Wild 5k” fun run to support the Wildland Firefighter Foundation.

Regular weekly events: NK Studios in Bingen has a donation-based yoga class at 7:30am every Tuesday. 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. 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.

Regular bike rides (thanks to the Hood River Area Trail Stewards for collecting). Tuesday is Mountain View’s ride. Meet at 5:45pm on Post Canyon Drive where the pavement ends. Wednesday is the Evo/Kickstand all-ability, no-drop Post Canyon ride. 5:30 from the shop or join along the way. All abilities welcome. Thursday is Mountain View’s women’s ride. 5:30pm, Seven Streams Trailhead. No drop. Thursday is also the Dirty Fingers Post and Pint. 5:30 from the shop or later at Family Man. This is hardcore, race-pace. Saturday morning is the Mountain View road/gravel ride. Two hours. 12-14mph average speed. Starting May 6th, Oregon Ebikes has the women’s ride at 8:30am. Meet at Seven Streams parking lot for a 1.5 to 2 hour ride.

Cycling

Cows are going in soon on Hospital Hill. That means dogs are no longer allowed. Even if your dog is cool. Even if you’re a local. Even if … you get the picture! Hospital Hill is private land. Please respect the wishes of the landowners – they’re generous enough to let folks use that land, and dogs have been shot there before. On to trails… be selective. Please don’t ride muddy trails, or you’ll do permanent damage. If it was below freezing the night before your ride, don’t ride trails that are exposed to the open air. Those trails will have freeze-thaw conditions, and you’ll do major damage. Consider gravel riding! If you’re parking at Post Canyon, you will need a parking pass. Those can be purchased at many local shops or online.