mt. Hood - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

Mountain Weather Forecast

Apparently if I say it’s going to snow and stay nice, like I did yesterday, it will rain. Today I’ll predict some rain instead and see if it stays nice.

The mostly clear skies we had this morning are going to give way quickly to cloudy skies and some light rain. We’ll see light rain sprinkles between 11am and 7pm with the snow level at 6000’, rising to 7000’ by 4pm and falling to 5000’ by 7pm, rapidly falling to 3000’ by Monday morning. Winds today will be NW 25-35, rising to W 35-45 around 4pm, rising further to W 45-55 by midnight. Total precip during the day will be around .1”-.2”. We’ll see another .5” or so after the snow level falls tonight, for 4-6” of new snow by 7am.

Light snow continues Monday morning, with the snow level at 3000’ by 4am, falling to 2000’ by 4am. Winds tomorrow will be quite strong, out of the WNW at 45-50 slowly dropping to NW 40mph by 4pm. Total water value between 4am Monday and 4am Tuesday will be .75-1” for 8-12” of new snow. =) =) =) If you’re headed to the mountain, dress for wind and cold.

Light snow flurries continue Tuesday morning before the sky becomes clear. Total accumulation will be around 1” on Tuesday. Winds will be light and variable, with temperatures in the low twenties on the slopes. Wednesday looks dry and cold.

If long term models hold, we’re headed back into normal winter next weekend, with significant snowfall. =) =) =)

Gorge Wind Forecast

Increasing westerlies today pick up into the 18-22 range late this afternoon, building into the 30+ range from Stevenson to the Idaho border overnight. If you want it tomorrow morning, get it early, and I mean sunrise early, because the strong wind will fade quickly. By midday, winds will be in the 14-17 range in the Central Gorge and 23-26 range out east. Westerlies in the 16-20 range will hold at Roosevelt all day Monday. Tuesday looks light, and so does Wednesday.

Have a great day!

Temira

p.s. If you find this report useful, entertaining, or just want to recognize all the hard work that goes into it, please take the time to make a donation by clicking on the button at the bottom of the page. For a suggested donation of $10, I’ll add you to the email version of this list ‘til November 2011, putting you in the running for cool prizes donated by the weekly sponsors.

The Clymb: free membership.
Access to super cheap gear including Trew, Zeal, Sierra Designs, and many more.

—

Good morning!

Mountain Weather Forecast:

It’s a cloudy, windy start today, and the models are showing some rain and snow headed our way. They’re suggesting the rain will start in earnest around 10am, but given what’s on the radar, that doesn’t look likely. Steady rain will start sometime early in the afternoon, I think. Models are all over the place with rainfall amounts, but my best guess is we’ll see .4” water value between now and 4am tomorrow. The snow level starts at 8000’ today, falling to 7000’ by 4pm and falling to 4000’ overnight. It looks like the bulk of the moisture will fall as rain before switching to snow around 10pm, giving us an inch or two of new overnight. The real problem today is the wind. West winds at 30-40 start the day, picking up to W 40-50 by 1pm, becoming NW at 40-45 by 7pm.

Models are in disagreement again tomorrow on water value totals. Basically, the bulk of the energy with this system is headed north of us, and a small difference in the storm track will make a big difference in the amount of rain/snow we see. That said, the snow level starts off around 4000’ tomorrow, rising quickly to 5500’-6000’ and holding there for the rest of the day. Total water value will be .1-.25”, for 2” or so of new snow during the day. Winds tomorrow will be NW at 15-20 early, rising to W 20-30 by 7pm.

We may see some freezing rain Saturday night, but the total precip amount is around .1”, so it shouldn’t be a huge problem. The snow level on Sunday starts at 6000’, rising quickly to 8000’, and holding between 8000’ and 9000’ through Monday morning. Winds on Sunday start off at NW 30-40, switching to W 30-35 midday, rising to WNW 45-50 by 7pm.

Monday is a long way off, but at this point, it looks like another arctic blast is on the way. The snow level will fall rapidly on Monday from 9000’ early to 3000’ or less by afternoon. Winds will be quite strong all day: NW 40-45.

Mountain Biking Report:

Unknown. It was pretty warm yesterday, meaning the trails probably thawed. If that’s the case, please let the trails rest, as they’ll be consistently muddy and susceptible to damage, especially in sunny spots.

Gorge Wind Forecast:

Westerlies in the desert late this afternoon as an upper level low crosses the BC border. 23-27mph. Not much going on Saturday. Westerlies in the desert on Sunday as another ULL swings along the BC border: 28-32. Continuing westerlies Monday morning. The Columbia River is now 39 degrees.

Other Fun Stuff
If you haven’t been to Columbia Gorge Community Acupuncture before, you can get free acupuncture on Saturday from 9am-1pm. Call 541-399-3169 to schedule. Coming up on February 16th, ’Wildwater, A Love Story’ plays at Columbia Center for the Arts. This is going to be an incredible film. You can watch the trailers from the link above. I don’t use the word “mindblowing” lightly, but some of this footage is truly mindblowing. This will sell out.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira