Thursday: best times to jump on the Mt. Hood roller coaster are…

Meet Temira,
your Gorge and Mt. Hood forecaster

For almost 30 years, Temira (they/them) has been making the most of what the Gorge has to offer: riding river swell on a foil or windsurf board, carving fresh lines through the snow, and cycling all the gravel and pavement and trails. This is Temira’s playground, their gym… their life’s work.

That’s why in 2006, Temira took it upon themselves to create the most accurate, hyper-local weather forecasts possible. Inaccurate predictions had left too many fellow adventurers caught off-guard and in harm’s way. Temira was determined to change that. Today, Temira’s forecasts have become an essential resource for thousands of skiers, snowboarders, wind sports enthusiasts and travelers through the Gorge. With their guidance, you can plan ahead, time your sessions perfectly, and stay safer on the water, snow, and trails.

But the story doesn’t end there. Temira also authors the TATAS Facebook page – the Gorge’s premier source for microclimate forecasts. When winter storms, extreme heat, or other hazardous conditions (avalanches on SR-14 and I-84, for example!) threaten, this community lifeline becomes a vital resource for locals and visitors alike, helping to keep everyone safe.

Mt. Hood Snow Forecast

Hi skiers and snowboarders! Our deep snowpack is settling in for an extra-long ski season, and you should get up there and get some. A couple inches of additional snow fell in the last 24 hours, and Timberline is reporting 61” on the ground. I inspected Teacup yesterday. It passed inspection. There’s … So. Much. Snow! Get it now. We’re expecting a mostly dry day today followed by heavy rain into tomorrow midday (timing shifted a little late from previous model runs). Sub-freezing weather returns Friday afternoon with a little snow Friday night. That leaves us with questionable surface conditions for Saturday, but if models hold, we’ll have dumping snow Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning for an excellent Sunday pow day and stellar groom on Monday. After that: about 70-80% of the ensemble members call for mostly dry, cool weather next week. Can you say… groom and parks and Nordic?

Let’s take a look at Thursday. We’ll have mostly cloudy weather during the day with a few flurries. Temps spike tonight as we become collateral damage to an atmospheric river aimed directly at northern California. Today’s snow level will be 3000′ early, 5000′ in the afternoon, and 9000-9500′ after midnight as temps potentially rise into the upper 40s. Wow. We’ll get lucky compared to No-Cal where 4+ inches of rain falls in 24 hours. Here: about 0.5” rain is forecast tonight. Wind: SW 5-15 early, SW 10-20 in the afternoon, and then a build to SSW 25-50 overnight. Judging by yesterday’s conditions, today conditions will be what I call “packed snow” down low with packed powder up high.

Pouring rain continues just past sunrise on Friday and is followed by a brief period of mixed precip. Then: partly cloudy sky. Overnight, light snowfall returns. The snow level will be 9500′ prior to sunrise and 4500′ at noon. Overnight, the snow level falls to 3000′. About 0.8” rain is expected in the morning followed by 0.1” water equivalent (WE) as mixed precip. Overnight, we’re expecting 0.1” to 0.2” WE as snow: 1-2” new. Wind: SSW 25-50 early, SW 20-45 in the afternoon, and W 15 overnight. How will the snowpack ride Saturday daytime? Well, if it saturates the snow enough, it’ll be fast and fun, but it could also be sticky as a discarded lollipop on a hot summer day.

As of this morning (you’ll note this forecast has changed some), we’re looking at a dry Saturday morning followed by a snowy afternoon and night. Snow surface: depends on how much time the snowpack is exposed to clear sky. Could get icy. Could stay wet. Probably some mix of wet pack, icy, and then new snow mixed in. Saturday’s snow level will be around 3500′ and will fall as low as 2000′ after midnight. Ensembles are all over the place on snowfall amounts for this period and also on the start/stop time. That means I’m going to broad-brush this. We should see a decent snowfall Saturday night into Sunday followed by lighter snowfall Sunday day (yesterday’s forecast had it mostly dry Sunday). We then have (probably) a dry start to Monday, but that’s only one possible outcome at this point. What is clear from the ensembles is that the snow level will stay below 5000′ through at least the end of next week. We’ll probably have a few days of dry weather next week as well, but that’s not quite certain yet. Hopefully that’s all helpful in planning your life. Have a great day on the slopes!

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! Easterlies of some sort are in the cards for the next several days. As of right now, none of them look nuking. No westerlies to speak of except perhaps late Saturday. More on that in a bit. Thursday sees a low offshore drawing east wind through the Gorge. Iwash (Rooster) holds in the 25-30 range all day. Stevenson rises to 20ish and holds. Viento: 15ish. In the evening, well after it’s dark, easterlies spike to 40+. Oh well. River flow over the last 24 hours was 67-144kcfs, river temps is 51.70F, and high temp forecast is 48F with mostly cloudy sky.

Friday brings a brief shot of strong easterlies early, but they’ll fade quickly after sunrise. Expect 35ish at Iwash to start. The wind plummets to 10mph quickly after sunrise. Stevenson starts with 20-30 and falls to 15-20. When it settles at 15-20, it holds for the rest of the day. High temp: 51F and wet. Saturday starts calm. A weather system swings through in the afternoon and triggers short-lived westerlies in the mid-20s east of Threemile. Maybe. Ensembles aren’t all in on this. Sunday and Monday see another low offshore for additional moderate easterlies. Models then hint at inland high for … more days of moderate easterlies. That’s all for now. Have a great day out there!

Very basic Hood River weather forecast

Don’t plan your life around this. You really should read Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook for a detailed weather forecast.

Rain early gives way to dry, cloudy weather. Temps start in the low 40s and rise to the upper 40s. Calm wind. 19% chance of rainbows.

Thursday will be mostly cloudy. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to the upper 40s. Light easterlies. 0% chance of rainbows.

Friday will be very wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon. Temps start in the upper 30s and rise to 50 or so. Calm wind. 0% chance of rainbows.

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Cycling Update

It’s wet and muddy out there. Please don’t ride, or you’ll do significant trail damage. Then peeps have to fix your mess rather than building new trails. Nobody wants that! Everyone wants new trails. Be a good steward, and pick a different activity

Remember: E-bikes are not allowed on USFS non-moto trails. They are allowed on moto trails.