mt. Hood - The Gorge is my Gym

Good morning!

First things first. You might have noticed some street closure action in
Hood River this morning. That’s because 2nd Wind is putting on the USASA
rail jam all day on 4th Street. And that right there is why I love Hood
River. We’re not afraid to close roads to run a rail jam. Thank you to Pepi
for putting it on, and thanks to the City of Hood River (aka Arthur) for
helping make this happen.

The La Nina chill continues in the Gorge today with strong east winds
through the Gorge. The morning gradient is at .23, and that’s enough for
averages in excess of 40mph, along with early morning windspeeds of 20mph at
Stevenson. The wind at Stevenson will pick up a bit (how could it not, with
such a huge gradient) later today to 30mph or so. These east winds will hold
through Wednesday.

The easterlies are not a good sign for driving in the Gorge late Tuesday
night to Wednesday, as we’re going to see a very wet frontal system ride
over the top of the cold air. Expect 1″ or so of moisture in the Gorge
Tuesday night into Wednesday, making for a snowy day on Wednesday.

Now, on to the mountain forecast. Light snow today, light snow tomorrow,
and a few inches on Monday. The next storm moves in late Tuesday night or
during the day Wednesday with a chance of a period of rain on the slopes.
Snow levels will start off near 6000′, dropping to 4000′ after the front
passes Wednesday. If we don’t see rain, we’ll see a total of 18-22″ of new
snow with this system, making Wednesday night or Thursday the best ski
session of the week.

Okay, I’d better get back to work before someone sees me writing a forecast
(Hi Paul Jones)

Have a great day, and sorry about the text-only forecast. Better than
nothing, right?

Temira

Good morning from sunny Meadows!

Get up here early and get Upper Heather, Cascade and Vista before it warms up, and then head down to the valley before teh crowds show up. It’s beautiful up here. Best office in the world. =)

If you’re looking for something else to do today, check out the wildflowers on all the hikes in the Gorge, or break out your road bike. It’s too muddy for Post and Hospital, and I’m guessing Syncline could use an extra day of rest too. (Report, anyone?)

The wind forecast for today is for light east winds, switching around to west as a front approaches late today. Next chance for big wind is overnight Sunday into Monday morning. A strong front will hammer Oregon and Washington, and as it crosses the Northwest, winds pick up in the desert. At this point, it looks like the wind wil be declining by daylight, meaning it’s not going to be a good day to make the drive.

If you’re a skier, however, Monday looks great. We’re expecting .75″ water value with snow levels at 3-5k. That’s 6-8″ of new snow falling Sunday into Monday. That sounds good, but Tuesday looks amazing, assuming lifts run in the high wind. I’ll just quote NWAC for Tuesday: “Water equivalents of 2 inches or more are possible, and with ridgetop winds approaching or exceeding 60-80 mph, this should be a very dangerous storm.” Snow levels will be at 1-2k, meaning absolutely epic powder’s going to fall. Teh weather starts to clear on Wednesday.

I haven’t said this all season, but…. Tuesday looks like the first epic Skibowl day of the season. Or Crystal Mountain Monday and Tuesday. Anyone want to go?

Have a great day!

Temira