snow - The Gorge is my Gym

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

Good morning!

It’s another gorgeous day. If you like sunshine, take advantage of it, because winter returns tomorrow.

The previous forecast models looks like we’d have lots of snow early in this week, but they’ve backed off on precipitation amounts now. According to NWAC, we’ll see about .25″ of water value between now and tomorrow. With cold temps accompanying the moisture, we could see 3-5″ out of that small water amount. Another few inches of snow will fall during the day tomorrow. Tuesday looks dry, but snow returns to the hills on Wednesday afternoon. Wednesday night through Saturday look like fresh snow days on the slopes.

Of course, that forecast goes a long ways out, so it’s subject to change. Plan on clearing your schedule Thursday or Friday, if you can, and plan on skiing Saturday.

If we only see .25″ of rain tonight, we’ll still have trails okay for biking tomorrow, Elevation gain may be limited by snow levels around 1000 feet. A dusting of snow is possible in the Upper Valley, even.

In wind news, as the sun warms the gorge today, westerlies will pick up. A dual-sport or triple sport day looks likely today, with corridor winds blowing in the 19-22 range, stronger if we’re really lucky. A weak front slides over the gorge tonight. Cool temps and high pressure building in its wake drive winds tomorrow. Go east of the low clouds tomorrow for chilly west winds in the 28-32 range. If we’re really lucky, we could see a big Corridor, Doug’s or Mosier day tomorrow – models tend to underestimate winds with high pressure at the coast. Timing of fronts later in the week is questionable, but I think we’ll see a big day out east towards the end of the week. Ready?

Have a great day today!

Temira