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The Forecast
| 4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a | |
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| Thursday 3000′->4000′->1500′ |
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| Friday 1500′->6500′ |
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| Saturday 6500′->10,000′ |
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Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
Snow is forecast for the mountain today (it’s Thursday), but after this we’ll switch to a drizzly pattern through the weekend. Will this be enough for me to switch around the forecast presentation and prioritize the wind forecast? Hmm. Maybe? Maybe not?
Thursday weather grabs hold of an incoming cold front and rides it. The snow level will be 3000′ this morning, 4000′ this evening, and will fall to 1500′ tonight after the moisture has been completely tapped and used up. We’ll see about 0.5” water equivalent (WE) during the day, for 5” new snow. Another 0.2” is forecast tonight. Orographics could kick that up a bit, so let’s call it 2-4” fresh powder. Wind: SW 10-20 this morning, SW 30-45 this afternoon, W 30+ this evening, and W 20 overnight.
Friday starts clear with a few flurries possible. Sunshine sticks around for a few hours before a blanket of high clouds moves in midday. The next system, a warm front, strikes in the evening and brings some light rain to the mountains. The snow level will be 1500′ early, 4000′ in the afternoon, and 6500′ overnight. About 0.2” rain is forecast overnight. Wind: W 20 early, SW 5-15 during the day, SW 20-35 overnight.
Saturday looks misty or drizzly, but models do not agree on rain intensity. The snow level rises from 6500′ in the morning to 10,000′ in the afternoon and stays there. Wind will be SW 15-30 all day. Drizzle continues on Sunday with the snow level at 10,000. That falls back to 5000′ by Monday morning. Next week: lots of spread in the model predictions, but quite likely cold enough for snow at 5000′. Have fun out there!
Note on wind speeds. Different wind directions are experienced in different ways on Mt. Hood. For example, west wind at 50mph will hit the slopes and exposed ridges at W 50. SW 50 may hit the ridges at SW 50, but will likely only be SW 20 below tree line. Hence the ranges for wind. Depends where you are on the mountain. Hopefully that helps clarify.
Gorge Wind Forecast
Very active weather continues to impact the strength and quality of wind over the next week or so. Instead of offshore high pressure, we have a series of upper level lows. As you’ll remember from the good old days, the ULL is a dreaded influence on the Gorge. That said, now that we have various awesome ways to use lighter wind days, we’re better off.
For Thursday, we have a cold front swinging through. It’ll bring rain and moderate but very gusty westerlies. Light and variable conditions stick around through early afternoon. Break out the sculling boat or the flat-water SUP gear. After noon, areas east of The Dalles jump up to gusty 13-16 and continues to build to gusty 18-23 between Avery and Rufus. Between Stevenson and The Dalles, the wind stays calm until early/mid afternoon and then builds to gusty 11-14 early evening. River flow is 171kcfs, river temp is 52F, and high temp forecast is 55F.
Friday sees an upper level low move towards the coast. Positive: the weather will be dry until 5pm or so. Negative: the wind will be calm all day other than a 10-13mph west wind start east of The Dalles. High temp: 59F. Perfect for no-wind activities.
Saturday’s highlight is not wind. It’s mugginess. We start the day with W 10-15mph at Rooster and E 10-15mph near Stevenson with calm conditions everywhere else. If you wait until early afternoon, you’ll find gusty 15-28 east of The Dalles and very light westerlies to the west. High temp: 65F. Weather: muggy and potentially misty. An approaching cold front may kick off some stronger but gusty westerlies on Sunday afternoon. That’s your best shot at 20+mph. Active weather continues next week.
Coast, Jones, Coast
Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Cloudy sky gives way to drizzle then rain, heaviest between 1pm and 5pm. Temps will be in the upper 40’s early and mid 50’s later. Light and variable wind most of the day. Light westerlies in the evening. 2% chance of rainbows. Friday will be mostly cloudy early, clear for a little bit, then increasingly high overcast. It’ll be dry during the day and rainy from about 5pm on through the evening. Temps will be in the upper 30’s early and upper 50’s later. Calm wind. No rainbows. Saturday looks muggy and potentially misty. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and mid 60’s later. Light and variable wind all day. 58% chance of rainbows.
Looking for a complete Columbia Gorge forecast? Looking for more humor in your weather? Obscenities? You’re looking for my TATAS: Temira’s Awesome Travel Advisory Service on Facebook.
Cycling
A good portion of the Eldorado Trail (below the intersection with Riorden Hills Road (near the top, below the clearcut) is closed starting today for approximately 10 days due to nearby timber harvest. Do not enter that area for your safety. Also, Post is too wet too ride right now, so just don’t! Courtney Road (the road that goes up above Syncline) is closed until October. Do not attempt to use it to access trails. Starting this summer, you will need a parking pass to park at Post Canyon. This money will support trails. Speaking of trails… it’s too muddy to ride them right now, and it will stay that way for a while. If you ride wet, sloppy trails, you will do significant and potentially permanent damage. Please don’t. Hospital Hill: cows are out – no dogs allowed. Underwood: do not enter areas that are closed due to logging operations. Recommendation: ride gravel roads and pavement for a while until the trail systems dry out.
Local Events
Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!
This weekend is the Stevenson to Carson Ridge Run. Ferment’s Tuesday night 4-mile walk/run is at 6pm. At 7:15am on Wednesdays, there’s a run from the White Salmon Bakery. At 7am on Friday morning, you can get a donut and coffee for going for a run at Kickstand Coffee. The Small Boat paddlers have a group paddle on Sunday at 11am at the Event Site. The Dirty Fingers Sunday Service rides happens at 9am – this week is the last one. They are fast-paced. If you are not, bring a buddy. The ride is followed by bike race viewing and beer drinking at the shop. Post and Pint happens Thursday evenings at 5:30 when Post is not too wet to ride.
Sprinter Van of the Week!
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Have an awesome day!
