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The Forecast
| 4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a | |
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| Saturday 8000′->2000′ |
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| Sunday 1500′->500′ |
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| >Monday 500′->0′ |
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Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
Clear sky on Saturday morning gives way to snow in the afternoon. Snowfall lingers through Tuesday thanks to magical easterly orographics. Models have been upping the total available moisture and associated precipitation. We like that!
Sunshine Saturday morning quickly adds high clouds and low clouds as a cold front pushes our way. Snow starts up early to mid afternoon. The snow level will be 8000′ this morning, 2000′ when the precip hits, and 1500′ overnight. About 0.5” water equivalent (WE) is forecast by Sunday morning. That’s 5-6” powder plus 2-3” bonus snow due to orographics. Call it 6-9” total. Wind will be W 30 this morning, WNW 35-40 this afternoon and evening, and W 35 after midnight.
Snow continues on Sunday. The snow level will be 1500′ all day and will fall to 500-1000′ overnight. About 0.7” WE is forecast during the day, for 7-9” powder. Another 0.6” arrives overnight, for 6-7” pow-pow. Wind: W 4\35 in the morning, NW 20-30 in the afternoon, and NW 15-25 overnight.
Lingering snow flurries are forecast Monday in an unstable atmosphere. In an interesting twist, we’ll have westerly orographic assistance in the morning and easterly orographic assistance in the afternoon. Instability means the location of heaviest snowfall will be difficult to anticipate. So… the snow level will be 500-1000′ in the morning and will fall to sea level near Mt. Hood as cold air surges in during the afternoon. About 0.2-0.3” WE is forecast during the day, for 2-4” new. It’s very unclear how much snow will fall in the easterly orographics overnight… 2-4”?? Anyway, easterlies will likely redistribute snow in strange locations. Be prepared. Wind: NW 15-25 in the morning, E 15-20+ in the afternoon, and E 20-30 overnight.
Lingering flurries on Tuesday morning quickly give way to cold, clear weather with temps dropping as low as the single digits with moderate easterlies. Next chance of precip is next weekend, when the GFS finally breaks down this persistent ridge of high pressure. The ECMWF is not as certain. Definitely vote for the GFS – it’s far more consistent about the return of longer-lasting precip.
Note on wind speeds. Different wind directions are experienced in different ways on Mt. Hood. For example, west wind at 50mph will hit the slopes and exposed ridges at W 50. SW 50 may hit the ridges at SW 50, but will likely only be SW 20 below tree line. Hence the ranges for wind. Depends where you are on the mountain. Hopefully that helps clarify.
Gorge Wind Forecast
Two more days of westerlies will be followed by a midday wind switch on Monday with a chance for widespread east wind wind sports. For Saturday, we start with gradients of 0.08 and 0.06 with wind in the single digits in the west and 13-16 range out east. High pressure offshore combines with lowering pressure inland and an approaching front for a strong, but gusty day. By late morning or early afternoon, the wind builds to 28-32 from Viento to Threemile with 20-25 at Stevenson. The western Gorge wind drops when rain hits early afternoon. Maryhill to Boardman could touch 30-35 for a couple hours today. River flow is 147kcfs, river temp is 38F, and high temp forecast is 49F. Sail with a buddy, and keep them in sight. This is cold, dangerous weather to be in the river.
Sunday starts with lingering westerlies at 12-15 west of Swell and east of The Dalles with 0-10 in the central Gorge. Afternoon wind picks up to 10-13 in the west and 22-25 from Mosier to Threemile. Showers are possible at any time, especially in the afternoon, west of The Dalles. High temp: 44F.
Monday starts with west 10-13 all through the Gorge. Easterlies surge in from the NE along with cold air midday. We’ll see 20-30mph all through the Gorge, first way out east and eventually pushing in to the far west. Expect temps to drop as this happens. High temp: maybe 43F, but likely colder. East wind then sticks around for several days as strong, cold high pressure settles in to the east side.
Coast, Jones, Coast
Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Clear sky this morning turns cloudy midday. Rain moves in tonight. Temps will be in the mid 30’s early and upper 40’s later. Strong westerlies. 3% chance of rainbows. Sunday will be showery, heavy at times. Temps will be in the upper 30’s early and mid 40’s later. Moderate westerlies. 99.99% chance of rainbows. Monday may start with light flurries and will have scattered showers during the day. Temps will be in the low-mid 30’s early and low 40’s later. Moderate to strong easterlies. 99% 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.
Cycling
Out in the woods, the trails above 2000′ are snow covered. Down below: brown pow to the east and wet conditions in Post Canyon. Freeze-thaw information: if you notice that temps were below freezing last night and will be above freezing today, don’t ride any trail that’s not under a tree canopy. If you do so, you will cause significant damage. Then people will have to come fix your messes instead of building new trails. Better idea: gravel and road riding.
Local Events
Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!
Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is back. Meet there at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. There’s a night-lit shop mountain bike ride with the Mountain View Cycles crew at Syncline on Wednesday evenings at 5:45pm. The Cold Lap mixed surface ride is at Dirty Fingers at 2pm on Sundays. The John Craig memorial ski race and tour is March 19th in Sisters on McKenzie Pass.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
