Thursday: snow returns to Mt. Hood

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! Snow is falling on Mt. Hood this morning, and there’s excitement in the air. People are scenting fresh tracks and getting all jacked up about them! Our friends at Timberline, Meadows, and Teacup are out there grooming away making perfect soon-to-be-covered corduroy for you. We’ll pick up a couple inches more today followed by more snow Friday and Saturday. A period of mixed precip is possible Friday afternoon and evening, btw, before a return to snow early Saturday morning. Sunday looks mostly dry and perfect for groom and Nordic and parks, and then another snowstorm arrives for Mt. Hood Monday into Tuesday. Models still have a TON of range on the details of the weather; the Euro is much more enthusiastic than the GFS. It gives us 10-15” by Sunday where the GFS is calling for a mere half a foot or so. Let’s all vote Euro!

Thursday sees light snowfall continue all day. That’s followed by a dry, partly cloudy period overnight. The snow level will be around 3000′ this morning and 4000′ overnight (except in the Gorge, where the snow level is currently 0′). About 0.2” water equivalent (WE) is forecast today for a couple inches of relatively dense snow; temps will be in the upper 20s this morning and will rise to the low 30s (but stay below 32F) overnight. Wind: SW 10-15 this morning, W 20 this afternoon and evening, and SW 10-120 after midnight.

Friday starts with fog/clouds below 6000′ and sun above. That lasts maybe until sunrise, when the next system and accompanying precipitation arrives. From this morning’s perspective, it appears we’ll see snow in the morning and mixed precip in the afternoon at 5000′. Overnight, temps drop, and the p-type switches back to snow. There’s quite a bit of range in precipitation amounts for this system. I’ll lean towards the lower end, because surprises are always nice! Let’s call it 0.2” WE during the day for an inch or two of wet snow. Temps will be in the 30-33F range. Overnight, we’re looking at 0.2” WE additional precip for an inch or two of increasingly dry snow. All the snow for this 24 hour period will fall into the category I like to call “base building snow”, in other words, dense. Between 4pm and 10pm (ish), we could see warmer temps cause the p-type switch to snain or, below 5000′, rain. It switches back to snow late in the evening. Wind: SW 10-20 in the morning slowly builds to SW 25-50 in the afternoon and then slowly drops to SW 15-25 after midnight.

Light snowfall is forecast on Saturday with the snow level initially at 3500′ and eventually at 2000′. We’re expecting about 4” of decent-quality snow in the 24 hour period. Wind: 15-25mph. Most members of the ensembles give us a brief break in the weather on Sunday. The most likely scenario is dry, sunny weather in the morning and dry, high overcast sky in the afternoon with decreasing wind during the day and temps rising to 33F or so in the afternoon. We’ll be back to snowfall, potentially heavy snowfall, Monday into Tuesday before a warm-up next week. That’s your forecast. Have an awesome day on the slopes today!

Gorge Wind Forecast

Hi friends! Easterlies continue, and they’ll probably be just strong enough today and tomorrow (if you don’t mind being rained on) for river play time. Thursday starts with pressures of 29.77 and 29.95 for 0.18 PDX-DLS. That was enough at 6am for 44mph at Iwash (Rooster), 26mph at Stevenson, and 15mph at Viento. The wind slowly fades today. Finishing numbers: 20-25mph at Iwash and 10-15mph at Stevenson. River flow over the last 24 hours was 97-156kcfs, river temp is 46.58F, and high temp forecast is somewhere in the mid-upper 30s with drizzle in the windy zone pretty much all day.

A rainy, east wind day is on tap for Friday. Iwash starts with 25-30mph, builds to 40-45mph midday, and fades to 35-40mph in the afternoon. Stevenson starts with 20-25mph and slowly builds to 25-30mph. High temp: 39F and rainy all day long. Saturday looks like a light wind day: 10-15mph at Stevenson and Iwash in the morning and less than 10mph in the afternoon. High temp: 40ish. Have a great day on the river. Stay dry. Oh wait, you’ll be in the river. Get wet!

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.

Clouds, snain, and drizzle this morning. Clouds this afternoon. Temps start in the low-mid 30s and rise to the mid 30s. Light easterlies. 0% chance of rainbows.

Friday will be wet all day, probably with some sleet mixed in early or potentially freezing rain at higher elevations. Temps start in the low-mid 30s and rise to the upper 30s. Light easterlies. 2% chance of rainbows.

Saturday will be intermittently drizzly in the morning, dry with sun breaks (maybe) for a bit in the afternoon, and wet again in the evening and night. Temps start in the mid 30s and rise to the upper 30s. Calm wind. 10% chance of rainbows.

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Cycling Update

Trails have been a mix of frozen, hoar-frost (unrideable), and freeze-thaw. When it’s wet and muddy, or when there are freeze-thaw conditions, 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.