Support it with a contribution!
Thank you for using this forecast. Writing it takes 60-120 minutes a day; I can only keep it going with your generous financial support. Make a contribution or subscribe and get it in your inbox with bonus material. What’s that cost? Not $99 a year. Nope. Not $49. Contribute $19.99 or more, and you’re on the list for a year. People are added to this list on Thursday and Sunday. Thanks for your patience! Click below to contribute and keep the forecast going for everyone, nearly every day. Please include your email address in your contribution – PayPal/Venmo do not tell it to me!
Click here to use your PayPal
Venmo: @theGorgeismyGym
Snail Mail: Temira Lital, PO Box 841, Hood River, Oregon 97031
(note: I am not a non-profit entity. The only way to accept credit cards with a user-defined amount is to use the ‘donate’ button. Thanks for understanding!)
Auto-renewing subscription. New! Awesome!
The Forecast
| 4a-8a | 8a-12p | 12p-4p | 4p-8p | 8p-4a | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thursday 3000′->3500′->2500′ |
 |
 |
|
 |
|
| Friday 2500′->6000′ |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
| Saturday 6000′->2500′ |
|
|
|
|
|
Mt. Hood Weather Forecast
Sub-freezing temps this morning continue to protect the mountain snowpack. We’ve got plenty of additional moisture predicted in the next week or so. Unfortunately, the first round of it is going to be just a little too warm for snow at 5000′; we’ll continue building the snowpack from 6000′-6500′ on up. Temps return to the snow zone by Saturday morning and stick around.
Slopeside Thursday will be cloudy all day. Light snow kicks in midday, and slightly heavier snow, aided by orographics, arrives this evening. The snow level will be 3000′ this morning, 3500′ this afternoon, and 2500′ after midnight. About 0.1” water equivalent (WE) is forecast during the day, for 1” new. Up to 0.4” is expected tonight, for 3-4” additional accumulation. Wind: variable to 10 early becoming W 20 from mid-afternoon on through the night.
Friday starts with flurries, turns clear, adds high clouds in the afternoon, and then turns into a mixed precip mess overnight. The snow level will be 2500′ in the morning and will rise to 6000′ overnight. Just a few flurries are forecast in the morning. Overnight precip should be around 0.8” and up to 1.0” WE. That’s going to fall as mixed precip; 850mb temps will start at +4C and fall to +2C by Saturday morning. Most likely that means rain switching to snain with little to no accumulation at 5000′. Up higher, 7-9” of dense snow is possible. Wind: W 20 in the morning, SW 10-20 in the afternoon, and SW 15-30 overnight.
The snow level starts to drop on Saturday, but there won’t be a lot of moisture left. 5500′ snow level starts the day. It falls to 3500′ in the afternoon and 2500′ overnight. About 0.3” WE is predicted during the day. That starts as snain and transitions to snow, for 1-3” new. Another 0.1” WE is forecast overnight, for another inch of new. Wind: SW 15-30 all day becoming W 20 in the evening and NW 10-15 overnight.
Sunday looks dry and warm; the free air freezing level rises to 10,000′ in the afternoon. It’ll be back to 4000′ Monday morning as a strong cold front arrives. Snowfall out of this system could be 7-10” new. That is your forecast for now… I’ll be on retreat this weekend, and the person staying in my house has no ability to do forecasts. You’ve got this. Have a great weekend!
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
Gusty westerlies are forecast for about 50% of the days in the next week. The long range forecast has some hints of a couple big west wind days. Fingers crossed for those and for the vacation time to use them! Thursday kicks of will light westerlies and a .05 gradient from PDX to DLS. Nothing out east to add. By late morning, westerlies pick up to 19-23 from Viento to Rufus with 10-13 near Stevenson and 10-13 east of Rufus. Afternoon: gusty 24-27 from Lyle to Arlington with gusty 11-14 and drizzle west of Lyle. River flow is 157kcfs, river temp is 49F, and high temp forecast is 56F.
Friday starts off with very light westerlies and a bit of drizzle. A strong and rainy system moves in during the evening. In between: not much wind. The western Gorge stays under 10mph all day, and areas east of The Dalles max out at 10-13mph in the morning before going calm in the afternoon. High temp: makes up for the lack of wind and maxes out in the mid 60’s. Saturday starts light and variable. Mid-afternoon brings a burst of westerlies as this powerful front approaches. You’ll find gusty 24-28 from The Dalles to Rufus. Arlington joins in mid to late afternoon. The western Gorge won’t serve you well; it could have an hour or so of strong wind, but more likely it will hover in the 10-15 range.
Now, let’s look long term. First, I’ll be away from The Internets through Monday. But Monday holds some potential for 29-33 east of Hood River as offshore high pressure builds in behind a departing system. Even more interesting is the hints of a 20F temp drop from Wednesday to Thursday. Thursday (way, way too far out to be forecasting!) currently shows a big Corridor day. We’ll look again when I return from my retreat. Have a great weekend!
Coast, Jones, Coast
Done until spring, unless there’s an obvious Coast or Sauvie’s or Jones day.
Hood River Weather Forecast
Clouds stick around all day and add some drizzle this afternoon and early evening. Temps will be near 40 early and in the mid 50’s later. Moderate westerlies. 4% chance of rainbows. Friday will be sprinkly in the morning, dry midday, and drenching overnight. Temps will be in the low 40’s early and mid 60’s later. Light and variable wind. 2% chance of rainbows. Saturday will be showery. Temps will be in the mid 40’s early and mid to upper 50’s later. Light westerlies. 99% 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
Whoopdee has muddy areas that are too wet to ride. Syncline doubletrack is a stream, and it’s best if you don’t ride on it. Go up Maui instead. Hospital Hill: cows are out – no dogs allowed. Underwood: do not enter areas that are closed due to logging operations. Post: snow on the upper part of Eldorado. Much of Post is still too wet/snowy to ride. Do not ride in muddy areas or you will do major and sometimes permanent trail damage. If you do, you’ll force people to repair your mess rather than building new trails. Not cool! Ride gravel roads instead. Columbia Hills is rideable with lots of wildflowers.
Local Events
Please let me know about events. I often only hear about them if you folx let me know!
Big Winds and Oregon E-Bikes are having their 35th/5th anniversary sales Friday through Sunday. This is in-person purchases only, and there will be music, food, and other fun stuff happening in the parking lot. This weekend is the Cherry Festival in The Dalles (Friday-Saturday), and there’s a gravity-sport downhill race all three days at the Maryhill Loops Road.
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!
Click here for the Sprinter Van map of the world!!!
Have an awesome day!
