It’s a good thing we’re in the middle of winter with a very low sun angle, because that means Mt. Hood’s snowpack will stay in snow form, not granular form, for quite a while. I remember one period several years ago when it didn’t snow for a couple of weeks and the snow stayed packed powder and hardpack through the whole period. It’s possible we’ll see a little snow this week, but there’s not a lot of precip in the forecast to refresh our snowpack. Get it now while it’s still awesome! Continued after the chart.
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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast, continued…
Expect sunshine on Mt. Hood today with the free air freezing level at the surface all day. 5000′ temps will be in the mid 20’s all day. The wind will be ESE 30-40 early, backing off to ESE 20-30 in the afternoon.
Tomorrow starts off clear and becomes cloudy mid-morning with a chance of light snowfall between 10am and 7pm. The snow level will be at the surface all day long, with 5000′ temps in the mid 20’s early and the upper 20’s to low 30’s in the afternoon. We’ll see .1-.2” water value, for 1-2” of new snow. Wind will be SW 15 early and SW 10 in the afternoon, rising to SW 20 overnight.
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Monday looks partly to mostly cloudy with occasional flurries possible, but no accumulation. The snow level Monday is tricky to predict – the air mass will be warming, but it’s going to take a while for the incoming warm air to overcome the entrenched cold air. That said, models predict the snow level will rise to 5500-6000′ on Monday, and then fall back to the surface on Monday night. Interesting, right? Total precip Monday will be in the trace category. Wind will be SW 20 early, turning to S 10-20 after noon.
Tuesday starts off cloudy with precip starting around 4am and lasting through 1pm. Again, the snow level is a little tricky. The sounding model says it will be between 0′ and 3000′, but the 850mb model shows 5000′ temps at 32-34 degrees. Dang cold pool… messing up this forecast… Anyway, expect .1-.3” water value between 4am and 4pm, likely as snow, and possibly as a period of needles, rather than snowflakes, for 1-3” of accumulation. There’s really not much precip in the forecast for the rest of the week, but you know those long-range models… that could change…
It’s Temira’s birthday week. Send her a card!
Happy New Year, everyone! The first week or so of January is my birthday week. It’s the one time of year I feel totally okay asking for the things that means the absolute most to me: love and positive feedback. Do you have a greeting card of any sort sitting around. Do you have a few extra moments? Please take the time to send me birthday greetings letting me know how I and this forecast impact your world in a positive way. That kind of feedback in tangible, greeting card form, keeps me going. My address: Temira. PO Box 841. Hood River, Oregon. 97031. Thank you so much for taking the time. Have a wonderful 2016!
Gorge Wind Forecast
It’s positively nuking out there this morning with the Corbett sensor on Wind on the Water reading 37-56 and the City of Stevenson sensor reading 31-35. Expect 40-50 in the west end of the Gorge today with 30-40 at Steven’s Locks. Same tomorrow. Same Monday morning, backing off to 30-40 Monday afternoon. Tuesday starts with E 30-40 and backs off to E 15-20. The easterlies return to 30-35 on Wednesday.
Random Morning Thoughts
It’s becoming unclear to me how many days in a row I’ve worked. I believe it’s equal to the number of days that I’ve been on winter break from school. I’ve fallen into a bit of a routine, and it’s starting to impact my ability to experience life with awe, wonder, openness and excitement. This happens to all of us from time to time.
I think it’s important to combat that sense of routine by stepping off our usual road and trying something different, even if our regular routine is exciting stuff like skiing, snowboarding, kiting or windsurfing (please tell me you people aren’t out windsurfing and kiting in sub-freezing weather!).
Yesterday I went for a hike at Tamanawas Falls first thing in the morning. Talk about way outside of the normal! Water’s still flowing, but there are monster icicles, a field of blue bubble ice, and lots of snow. Now, don’t you all go there, because there are only about 15 parking spots right now. But if you want to shake up your routine, there are going to be a lot of frozen waterfalls in the Gorge. Your mind won’t know what to make of the spectacle – how often do you see frozen waterfalls?
You’ll give yourself a little awe-and-wonder kickstart by making a drive through the Gorge and doing a hike in the next couple of days. Take lots of warm clothes and a thermos of hot cocoa or tea – the wind chill will be bitter. And while you’re staring at the half-frozen waterfalls, take the time to soak in the uniqueness and rarity of the experience. Frozen waterfalls = pure awesome, and the perfect medicine to shake up your routine. 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
For this morning’s weather inspection, I walked outside planning on making it quick. With the temp at 24 degrees and the dewpoint at 15, I felt sure we’d have clear sky. Nope. Somewhere above my house, it’s cold enough to form clouds, even in this very, very dry air. I wasn’t very quick – I stared at the sky in surprise, made a face, looked again, and still couldn’t see stars. At that point, I noticed my feet were freezing, so I went inside. Expect the Nothing this morning with partial Nothing or sunshine this afternoon. Temps will be in the mid 20’s early and the upper 20’s this afternoon. I already feel the east wind at my house, so add some east wind to that mix. No rainbows.
Tomorrow may start out clear, but may start out with the Nothing. Clouds move in midday, and there’s a chance of a few snow flurries between 1pm Sunday and 4am Monday, which could really F up your Monday morning commute to Portland. As you head closer to Portland Monday morning, any precipitation that falls will probably switch from snow to freezing rain. Even better! Temps tomorrow will be right around 20 degrees in the morning and right around 30 degrees in the evening. East wind. No rainbows.
There will be lots of clouds around all day Monday, with occasional snow flurries or freezing rain or sleet or whatever possible, but unlikely in the afternoon and evening. Temps will be in the mid 20’s early. NOAA suggests temps in the mid 30’s in the afternoon, but I’m not buying that. I think it’s more likely we’ll stay below freezing. East wind. No rainbows.
Let’s issue another TATAS travel advisory for Tuesday. Temps will be below freezing to start, with a chance of freezing rain in the Gorge between 4am and 4pm. Models suggest we’ll warm up above freezing in the afternoon and drop back below freezing Tuesday night through the weekend. Meh. Looks like a rough commuting week.
White Sprinter Van of the Day
Road and Mountain Biking
It’s very cold today, and isn’t going to get above freezing. Does that mean Syncline will stay frozen enough to ride? Maybe. Depends on whether the sun comes out. If the sun comes out, it’ll melt, and you’ll muck it up. If you get out early, you might just be able to sneak in a few lower Syncline laps. Brrrr. Those east winds will be chilly over there! On the roads, there will be icy areas. Careful! In the gym, on the trainer, it’ll be warm and dry. Boring, perhaps, but warm and dry nonetheless.
Simcoe Accounting
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Upcoming Events
The Burton Mountain Festival is at Meadows all weekend long with free Burton demos. The (very) Cold Lap cyclocross ride is today, leaving Dirty Fingers at 3pm. Plan on doing some yoga tomorrow – there are three by-donation classes: 9am at Yoga Samadhi, 4pm at Pure Yoga in The Dalles, and 6pm at Pure Yoga in Hood River. Following yoga, there’s an 11am meditation at Flow. Coming up tomorrow, it’s the annual Tea Party at Teacup Nordic. There will be free lessons for both XC and skate technique along with tea and snacks. You’ll need to bring gear.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira
The Clymb: free membership.
Cheap gear.
Temira approves. Click to join.
