powder - The Gorge is my Gym

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Random Morning Thoughts

There was more new snow at my house this morning than there was at Meadows. Take that, ski resorts!

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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Saturday
Sunday
Monday

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Good morning to Liam and his friends. I love you too, even though I don’t know you. Thanks for using my forecast. =)

Just a couple of weeks ago we were bemoaning the lack of snow and horrendous, crappy, falling-apart frozen granular snowpack. Now we’re buried in fresh pow. And next week brings lots and lots of water our way. See, it’s all going to be all right!

It’s definitely all right this morning with lots of fresh snow on the ground (although I think I got more fresh at my house than the resorts did). So, I thought for sure we’d see it stay snow up here, but there’s currently light freezing mist and sleet and snow mixed. I guess that means we’ll see a light mix today. Oh wait. It’s back to all snow. We’ll see another .6-1” water value (WV) tonight. Some models suggest a bit of warm air between 7pm and 10pm tonight, for mixed snow and freezing rain. Grr…. this is so hard. So, expect 4-6” of new overnight. Wind today will be W 20 early and SW 20 in the afternoon.

By Sunday morning, temps on Mt. Hood will be much warmer – in the upper 20’s to low 30’s. This is where the storm track is going to make a big difference. First things first: we’re looking at .2-.4” WV between 4am and 4pm. Then more light, but not significant, precip overnight. I think it’s going to be mixed sleet and snow and freezing rain on Sunday to 4am Monday. Wind Sunday will be WSW 45 early becoming W 35 midday and holding

On Monday morning, the snow level will be around 5500′ (with sub-freezing air still trapped in the Gorge). The snow level will drop to 5000′ at 7am, 4000′ at 1pm and 3000′ into Tuesday. We’ll see ~.3” WV during the day, for 2-3” of snow. Wind will be SW 40 early, becoming W 40 by mid-morning.

As for next week, the models are predicting a LOT of water value. Snow levels are going to fluctuate a bit, so we’ll probably see some rain mixed in. But whatevs. It’s going to snow a lot too.

Gorge Weather

Definitely the Snowpocalypse or Snowmageddon. I’m not sure how you tell them apart, but I have about 16” of snow at my house. Wishing I was going skiing on 7th Street today instead of going to work! Expect a cloudy day today with temps in the low 20’s. Snowfall picks up again after 1pm. Expect another .4-.6” water value tonight, for another 4-6” of (heavier) snow.

Snow flurries continue tomorrow morning in the Gorge, but at some point, warmer air moves in above us, and we’re going to see a switch to freezing rain. Temps in the Gorge will be in the mid-20’s. It’s hard to say what time, as we’ll see a transition from sleet to freezing rain, but since I have to guess, I’ll say noon. Expect .1-3” of frozen mixed stuff between 10am and 4pm, and more light accumulation overnight into Monday. If you’re driving the Gorge, know that this will be accompanied by east wind at 30-35 in the morning and 20-30 in the afternoon for near-whiteout conditions in the western Gorge. Chain the fuck up, folks, if you’re driving I-84, and turn on your hazard blinkers so people can see you.

Monday starts with temps in the upper 20’s and light freezing rain. We’ll see a transition to rain and above-freezing temps mid-morning. The rest of the week looks rather wet and warmer.

Gorge Wind Forecast

Here we go again with another round of nuking easterlies. It was 43mph this morning at Rooster with an E .17 gradient. That gradient will increase today in response to a couple of offshore low pressure systems, and the wind will increase to 50-60mph. Do not try and drive the Gorge tonight. The wind backs off a bit tonight as the low pressure systems move inland. Expect easterlies at 30-35 tomorrow, decreasing to 20-30 in the afternoon. We’ll have light east wind Monday morning, followed by a switch to west wind late in the day.

Road and Mountain Biking

Maybe if you have a fat bike. Or better yet, take your XC skis to the Twin Tunnels trail or Post Canyon. I had a nice ski up to the TT overlook yesterday. If we get another foot of snow, maybe we can all ski the hills around town?

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Snowmaggedon.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira

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Upcoming charity event involving BACON

Coming up Friday at 6pm at Springhouse, it’s the Aporkalyspe, benefiting Helping Hands, dedicated to serving victims of domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. Tickets are available now by emailing aporkalypsenow1@yahoo.com $20 gets you a judge ticket with 10 tastes and a beer, or $5 gets you in the door with a beer. So, if you’re going out Friday night, you might as well be at Springhouse supporting a great cause, a cause that I support. We still need bacon chefs as well, so email if you fall into that category.

Random Morning Thoughts

So I know you are all wondering if I made it home yesterday. I didn’t. I made it as far as Kalama before the snow hit, and I was 100 yards behind that 27 car fatality pileup at Battleground. Thank god I have studded snows. I was doing 40mph when the wreck happened, and people were passing me like crazy.
I only saw two people chain up (I was one) while we were waiting for the wreck to be cleared. After 7 hours in the car, I gave up and stayed in Vancouver. Oh, the irony. The forecaster takes one day off, doesn’t look at the weather models for 36 hours, and gets stranded away from home because of a blizzard.

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Mt. Hood Snow Forecast – 5000′
Friday
Saturday
Sunday

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

It’s mostly clear on Mt. Hood this morning, and it’s probably going to be the best ski day of the year. Lucky danged kids being out of school. Temps will rise to the upper teens to low 20’s this afternoon at 5000′. Clouds move in mid-afternoon, and snow starts around 4pm, for .6-.9” water value (WV) for 7-11” of new snow tonight. Wind will be NW 20 this morning, rising to NW 25-30 mid-afternoon and SW 25 overnight.

Saturday starts off with snow flurries, becoming partly cloudy with flurries midday. Temps at 5000′ will be in the single digits early, rising to the upper 20’s in the afternoon and evening. We’ll see another .1-.3” WV between 4am and 4pm for 1-3” of snow. Wind will be W 20-30 early, rising to SW 30-40 in the afternoon.

Sunday is a really, really hard call. The low pressure system driving Sunday’s weather is just close enough and just far enough that it’s really hard to predict whether we’ll see snow or switch to freezing rain. And it’s hard to predict how much, if any, precip we’ll see during the day. I’ll start with what I do know: Temps at 5000′ on Sunday will be in the upper 20’s early, rising to right around freezing by the late afternoon. Wind will be W 40 early, W 30 midday and W 20 late. Models currently show mostly dry weather during the day, so maybe we don’t even have to discuss precip! But… I suspect we’ll see some flurries or light freezing mist instead of dry weather.

By late Sunday and early Monday, it’s likely going to be freezing rain of some sort on the mountain.

Gorge Weather

Well, obviously, the weather is the snowpocalypse. And it will continue to be the snowpocalypse, which is why I’m going to get my ass home as soon as I can. I have no idea if it’s cloudy or clear out there. I suspect partly cloudy. Anyway, if it’s not cloudy, it will be by afternoon as the next system approaches. Expect temps in the teens this morning to rise to the low 20’s in the afternoon. Snow starts between 4pm and 7pm, for another 4-7” between when it starts and 4am tomorrow.

Expect temps in the low 20’s all day Saturday with snow flurries between 4am and 4pm giving us another 1-2” of snow. Expect partly cloudy sky overnight. Sunday starts off partly cloudy with increasing flurries after 1pm. We might get another inch on the ground during the day Sunday. Temps will be in the mid 20’s all day.

Things get interesting on Sunday afternoon as warmer air moves in above the colder air trapped in the valleys. By 4pm, there should be some above-freezing air above us at some level, meaning moisture coming in will start as snow and switch to freezing rain. Right now models are showing the bulk of the moisture missing us, but that could change as we get closer to the Sunday night/Monday morning time period. Expect freezing rain Monday morning through Monday afternoon – I can’t give you a quantity yet, but I suspect Monday will be rather treacherous in the Gorge.

By late Monday or maybe as late as midday Tuesday, we’ll see temps rise above freezing in the Gorge. Yay.

Gorge Wind Forecast

The wind has thankfully backed off this morning from a 50mph average at Rooster to a 29mph average at Rooster, meaning I feel comfortable enough to attempt the drive home. At 35mph. Expect easterlies to slowly increase to 40mph this afternoon as the next low pressure system approaches the coast. Expect east wind at 40-50 tomorrow. Expect easterlies at 30mph Sunday. We won’t see a switch to west wind (and warmer weather) until late Monday or maybe even early Tuesday.

Road and Mountain Biking

It’s trainer season! Woohoo! Or spin class season. Yep. Get it on indoors with lots of other people dripping sweat. It’s like group sex, only less fun. Wait a minute. I don’t like group sex. I much prefer it one-on-one.

The Clymb: free membership. Cheap gear. Temira approves. Click to join.

Events – email me if I’ve missed any outdoor-related events

Tonight is the aPorkalypse and the Snowpocalypse rolled into one. I’m going to assume the Cold Lap cross ride is canceled tomorrow, but those crazy boys at Dirty Fingers might just have it anyway.

Have an awesome day today!

Temira