Tag: mt. Hood

Good afternoon,

Sorry for the delayed forecast, but today is my day off. I slept in and that’s all I have to say about that. As compensation, you get a paradox from NOAA’s forecast today: “Wet weather looks to continue beyond the extended forecast.” Hmmm.

So much for clear, cold and calm today. Tomorrow morning actually looks clear, cold and calm, until about 1pm when clouds move in. Light precipitation starts around 10pm, with .25”- .5” of water value falling by 4am for 4-5” of new snow by Wednesday morning. The snow level starts at 3000’ and rises to 5500’ by 7am. Winds tomorrow will be light, increasing to SSW 25-20 by 7pm, rising to SW 40-50 by 1am.

The picture gets ugly Wednesday morning. The snow level will be at 5000-5500’ until 8pm, for a wet day. After 8pm, the snow level rises to 6000-6500’. Heavy precipitation falls from 1am to 10am, with 1.5” of water value in that time period. Precip backs off a little midday, becoming heavy again from 1pm Wednesday through 4pm Thursday. Total water value from 4am Wednesday through 4am Thursday will be approximately 2”. Winds on Wednesday start out WSW 50-60, holding all day, and becoming WSW 40-50 around 7pm. I expect we’ll see wet snow (aka snain) down low all day, switching to rain late in the afternoon.

Strong winds and unfavorable temperatures continue Thursday. We’ll see heavy precipitation from 4am to 4pm Thursday, becoming moderate afterwards. Total water value will be at least 1.5” from 4am Thursday to 4pm Friday. The snow level on Thursday starts off around 6500’, dropping to 6000’ by 4pm, and falling to 4500’ by 7am Friday. Winds on Thursday morning will be WSW 40-50, switching (for the worse), to W 40-50 by mid-afternoon. That switch to west winds will kill most lifts at Meadows.

At this point (and this is a long way out), it looks like we’ll see delicious powder falling from the sky Friday-Sunday.

The Gorge forecast for the next few days includes a lot of chaos. Strong east winds blow from now until late Tuesday night, switching to westerlies around 9am Wednesday morning. Temps stay below freezing in the Gorge until Wednesday morning, meaning we’re going to see snow, sleet and the evil and deadly freezing rain. We’ll see .25-.5” water value fall on the Gorge, for snow early and a slick mess later, with relief in sight with the warming temperatures Wednesday afternoon. It still seems like we’ll see I-84 close due to icy conditions on Tuesday night.

Enjoy.

Temira

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Good morning!
In yesterday’s forecast, there was a typo. I meant to say the “Arctic Oscillation,” but put Pacific Decadal Oscillation instead. That’s 5am brain for you. Anyway, they both affect the weather in the PNW, but on different time scales. We are currently in the cold phase of both, which is contributing to the storm path being in the incorrect place for pow-pow on Mt. Hood.
But first, today’s weather on Mt. Hood. Temps are above-freezing again this morning, and it’s looking like the snow level won’t fall below 5000’ until after 4pm. However, once the temps start dropping, they’ll drop fast, and the snow level will be at 2000’ by 10pm, falling to 1000’ by Saturday morning. The precipitation will start around 1-2pm, which means we’re probably going to see some r**n today. Heaviest precip will happen between 4pm and midnight, for some r**n, followed by some snow. I think we’ll still see 4-6” of new by tomorrow morning, for a total water value of .5”-.75”. Winds today start at WSW 15-25, building to W 25-35 by 4pm.
Tomorrow starts with light snow flurries and the snow level at 1000’. Heavier snowfall will happen between 1pm and 10pm. Total accumulation 4am to 10pm will be 3-5” with water value of .25″-.5″. Winds tomorrow will be WNW at 15-25 all day.
Sunday brings intermittent orographic snow flurries and sunbreaks all day. Total water value will be less than .25″. Snow levels start at 1000’ and drop to the surface. Winds will be WNW 5-10 in the morning, becoming light in the afternoon.
Monday and Tuesday look cold, clear and calm with the free air freezing level at the surface and light east or north winds on the mountain.
If the forecast holds for Wednesday, the Gorge is ******. Very cold air at the surface clashes with an overrunning warm system containing 1-2”+ of moisture. At this point, it looks like the snow level with this system will be at 5000’, except in the Gorge, where it will be at the surface. Cold air will remain in place through late Thursday or early Friday, meaning well over a foot of snow could fall in the Gorge. This is great if you want to skin or bootpack Hospital Hill, but not so great if you want to drive somewhere. If this forecast holds, expect I-84 to close. On the other hand, the moisture could miss us entirely. Stay tuned.
Have an awesome day today!
Temira

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